Become the kind of leader that organizations, communities, and governments need now: inclusive, strategic, and collaborative. 

• Designed for working professionals, government and nonprofit leaders, and PSU grad students.
• 5 courses total: 16 graduate credits, complete in just over a year.
  • 3 core courses offered fully online — flexible and interactive for busy schedules.
  • 2 elective courses — options vary by term and may be offered online or in-person.
• Courses available to start any academic term.
• Not sure? You can take individual courses without committing to the full certificate!

PSU’s graduate certificate in Gender, Race, and Nations equips you with the knowledge and skills to better serve marginalized and underrepresented populations.

Professionals working as policymakers, educators, urban planners, counselors, lawyers, and civic leaders are often faced with addressing the effects of inequality, historical trauma, and disparities associated with colonization among the populations they serve.

In our program, you will promote innovative and nontraditional approaches to learning that are consistent with the communities you serve. Our students are empowered to expand critical analytical frameworks of race, gender, and nations to better illuminate the interconnected and complex issues of today's society while engaging in community-based research projects that incorporate Portland’s growing diversity. By the time you graduate, you will have developed collaborative leadership skills that better address diversity and equity initiatives.

Our certificate provides you with a contemporary understanding of the studies of gender, race, and nations, and prepares you for further graduate studies, professional work, community activism, and civic engagement.

The Infant/Toddler Mental Health (ITMH) graduate certificate is a fully online, 20-credit program designed for service providers who work with families with children ages prenatal to 3 years old. Early childhood and early intervention educators, mental health, health care, social services, social workers, and counselors as well as home visitors and childcare providers will benefit from the interdisciplinary and relationship-based approach of the ITMH program. Our instructional team is composed of faculty from the fields of psychology, special education, and counseling and highlights the most current research and interventions throughout ITMH coursework.

The OHSU-PSU collaborative School of Public Health is an innovative structure, in which we bring the best of two universities to you. Our design is a product of our innovative spirit and values: we bring that approach to you, working with you to chart your path into clinical, educational, policy, and direct-service health careers.

With five specialized Health Studies concentrations and two minors, we provide you with specialty training and a core foundation in public health that positions you to excel in the career path you seek.

In our Aging Services concentration, you will learn about the societal, community, and individual-level strategies needed to support our aging population. You will build foundations in gerontology while also acquiring skills in administration and finance, prevention of chronic disease, and health promotion programming, which will position you to enter careers as assisted living or nursing home facilities administrators, long-term care coordinators, health promotion program implementers, or senior health promotion specialists.

We offer:

• Tailored, individualized advising and mentorship
• Expert faculty with extensive research and real-world experience
• Innovative curricula – we bring the community to you through guest speakers, applied learning activities and a focus on current issues – all focusing on developing solutions to real-world problems
• Experiential learning -we bring you to the community through a mentored internship
• Faculty and career development opportunities from both universities

Our school is accredited by the Council for Education In Public Health (CEPH). CEPH is the nationally recognized accrediting body for schools of public health. Its work ensures that schools and programs are meeting the highest standards for education in public health disciplines.

The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health: A great place to make a world of difference.

The OHSU-PSU collaborative School of Public Health is an innovative structure, in which we bring the best of two universities to you. Our design is a product of our innovative spirit and values: we bring that approach to you, working to chart your path into clinical, educational, policy, and direct-service health careers.

With five specialized Health Studies concentrations and two minors, we provide you with specialty training and a core foundation in public health that positions you to excel in the career path you seek.

In our Community Health Education concentration, you will learn the societal, community, and individual-level factors that create risk -- or promote good health -- in populations. In particular, you will build skills to identify and address health disparities across populations, define health problems, and learn to design and implement strategies to promote health in the larger community.

We offer:

• Tailored, individualized advising and mentorship
• Expert faculty with extensive research and real-world experience
• Innovative curricula – we bring the community to you through guest speakers, applied learning activities, and a focus on current issues – all focusing on developing solutions to real-world problems
• Experiential learning -we bring you to the community through a mentored internship
• Faculty and career development opportunities from both universities

The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health: A great place to make a world of difference.

Our online Public Health Practice degrees and Graduate Certificate in Public Health offer professional expertise in a convenient, flexible format.

In the Public Health Practice MPH and Graduate Certificate in Public Health programs, you will gain applied knowledge that enhances your ability to engage stakeholders, identify community needs, gather data, design and implement programs and policies, lead organizations, and collaborate across disciplines.

The Public Health Practice MPH and Graduate Certificate in Public Health programs are ideal for:

• Professionals with full-time careers, including doctors, nurses, social workers, educators, nonprofit personnel, government officials, hospital administrators, and others whose work involves advancing the public’s health.
• Full-time students living in or near metropolitan Portland or those who live outside the Portland metropolitan area, especially those in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest.
• Graduate students in other fields (including medicine, law, and social work) who seek to add a public health lens to their work, through a graduate certificate in public health.

The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health (SPH) offers a fully online MPH in Public Health Practice, a hybrid online/on-campus MPH that you can complete in one year, and an online Graduate Certificate in Public Health. All three programs enable you to:

• Serve populations that bear a disproportionate share of society’s health risks.
• Connect and collaborate with various kinds of public health professionals, including (but not limited to) researchers, policymakers, program evaluators, health care practitioners, hospital and clinic administrators, and community advocates.
• Use a dynamic online course platform that promotes strong relationships and extensive interaction among students and faculty.
• Get personal, one-on-one attention from your instructors.

In addition, both the online and hybrid version of the MPH degree confer practical skills such as grant writing, program design and evaluation, data analysis, and public health research.

MPH in Public Health Practice (online only)

The two-year MPH in Public Health Practice pairs online coursework with hands-on engagement in your own community, wherever you live. Designed to accommodate recent college graduates as well as working adults, our online MPH can fit easily into any schedule, whether you are taking courses full-time or balancing them with your job, family, and other responsibilities.

The online Public Health Practice MPH is taught by the same preeminent faculty who lead the OHSU-PSU SPH’s in-person programs. And, it equips you with relevant, applied expertise in public health practice that you can use to guide health reform, exercise leadership, develop and evaluate programs, and better serve your community.

MPH in Public Health Practice (hybrid online/on-campus)

The hybrid Public Health Practice MPH combines online and in-person courses. Designed for completion on an accelerated 12-month schedule, it equips you with specialized public health expertise to support specific professional goals.

You can complete this rigorous hybrid MPH in Public Health Practice program during a year off from an MD, JD, MSW, MPA, or other graduate degree, adding complementary training that expands your scope of expertise and increases your marketability.

Graduate Certificate in Public Health (fully online)

The OHSU-PSU SPH’s online Public Health Certificate program caters to professionals already working in public health and related fields, including medicine, social work, public administration, and social services. You will develop academic grounding in statistical methods, epidemiology, environmental and occupational health, and health care delivery. The Graduate Certificate in Public Health is designed to be completed in one year.

Child, Youth, and Family Studies (CYFS) is an interdisciplinary blend of liberal arts education and professional preparation for those planning careers with children, youth, and families. Students learn to situate children and young people in current and historical social, political, and cultural contexts while developing the skills to practice effectively in youth work, education, social work, hospital, child welfare, early childhood, and other settings centering children, youth, and families.

The CYFS program is for students interested in improving the lives of children, youth, and families. Whether you are a returning student with years of experience, an activist fighting for justice and equity, or a curious undergrad still exploring your options, CYFS will put you on the path to a career with children and young people.

We offer:

• An outside-the-box interdisciplinary curriculum that breaks the mold of how we think about children and youth
• Nationally recognized faculty who bring original scholarship and real-world experience to the classroom
• Hands-on experience in schools and social service settings committed to awakening the power and potential of children and youth
• Transformative opportunities to build the skills necessary for fast-paced and dynamic workplaces
• Fearless confidence and a strong conviction that the world can be made into a better place and that YOU are an agent of change

Our grads are changing the world through service and direct practice, making a better future with and for children, youth, and families. Our alumni work across education and social service sectors across the greater Portland region and beyond. Across the country, our alumni are accepted into graduate programs in education, social work, youth studies, child life, counseling, public policy, and more.

You can graduate from CYFS with Honors, too! If you're interested in working closely with a faculty mentor, being recognized for your outstanding work, and changing the world in the process, consider our Honors Option. You'll develop and carry out an Honors thesis or project focused on addressing a social problem of your choice, and you'll emerge as a student leader in the CYFS program.

The Graduate Certificate in Urban Design at Portland State University, a joint effort of the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning and the School of Architecture, has been created to offer planners, designers, and architects the opportunity to engage and incorporate in their own work the principles and methods of urban design. It utilizes the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region as a laboratory, an urban place renowned for its use of urban design and attention to urban design concerns. This certificate is intended for those who are currently seeking an advanced planning or architecture degree, or who are currently employed as a professional planner, architect, or designer.

Embark on a cutting-edge journey in technology with Maseeh College's Electrical Engineering program. Our ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science degree provides you with skills and experience in power systems, RF engineering, signal processing, and electromagnetics.

During your time at PSU, you will:

• Learn from experienced engineering faculty with industry experience as they teach you about topics like electronics, electromagnetics, power systems, signal processing, and systems integration.
• Build prototypes of your ideas in our one-of-a-kind Electronics Prototyping Lab and work on power systems, embedded systems, electromagnetics and more in our major-specific labs.
• Create projects with real-world applications involving smart grid technologies, satellite receivers, sustainable energy, and radio astronomy.
• Gain valuable industry experience while working at paid internships with local companies such as Daimler Truck, Intel, Portland General Electric, PAE Engineers, and Lam Research.
• Participate in internships through Engineering Work Experience (EWX) and the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program (MECOP) programs.

You will be deeply engaged in your education as you work with instructors, peers, and the local tech community to build your expertise and create new opportunities through:

Hands-on learning
You will get a hands-on education early in the program as you learn about hardware development, power systems dynamics, and engineering project management. You will interact with electrical engineering technologies in our teaching labs and develop your own project in our one-of-a-kind Electronics Prototyping Lab.

Undergraduate Research
You will have the chance to work with a faculty mentor on specialized research and present your findings to peers, faculty, and industry professionals as part of our Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program.

Dedicated faculty
Our faculty work to protect the power grid, develop new environmental sensors, help treat Parkinson’s disease, and use machine learning to solve pressing problems. They bring their research and real-life perspectives into the classroom, and model what it is like to develop technologies that positively impact society.

In addition to being admitted to PSU, you must also meet the requirements for you must also get approval to enroll in upper division courses in the Electrical Engineering Bachelor of Science program. Review the Upper Division Approval process for more details.

Postbaccalaureate Options

If you are interested in earning a second bachelor's degree or a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, contact eceinfo@pdx.edu. We will work with you to develop a custom postbaccalaureate transition plan towards earning a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree through our ECE bridge program.

Master's Options

Interested in pursuing a master's degree as well? Our combined Electrical & Computer Engineering bachelor's + master's program will help you get a head start!

Portland State University’s undergraduate Social Work major is rooted in justice, relationships and community collaboration. This CSWE-accredited social work degree combines academic coursework with hands-on learning to prepare you for a meaningful career helping individuals and communities thrive.

In addition to being admitted to PSU, students must apply separately to the Social Work major to enroll in upper division courses. The program admits students once a year for fall term. We encourage you to start planning your application to the program in your sophomore year.