University Communications follows Associated Press guidelines and encourages university departments to default to AP style when producing or editing content for internal or external audiences.
We do not use the serial comma in copy, and use ‘said’ in news stories and ‘says’ in features. In addition, we’ve highlighted a selection of frequently used and PSU-specific terms in this guide to provide guidelines for copy that is unique to higher education or our university.
We welcome your questions and feedback. You may direct them to our editor, Ashley Gartland, at gartland@pdx.edu.
*Most of the names used as examples in this style guide are figments of our imagination and not intended to represent any person, living or dead.
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ACT
American College Test
acting
Always lowercase.
acronyms
Avoid if possible, particularly for short names. For longer names, on first reference, list the full name with the acronym in parenthesis. Use the acronym on future references.
All-American
Hyphenate and capitalize when referring to an individual or team.
alum, alumni
Lowercase, except when used as part of a proper noun. Use alum when referring to an individual and alumni when referring to a group.
When referring to alumni in features, include their graduation year and degree.
areas of study and specialization
Do not capitalize areas of study or specialization. But capitalize majors if they are proper nouns.
athletics scholarship, athletics director
Note the plural.
bachelor’s, bachelor’s degree
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
Bachelor of Arts
Always uppercase.
Bachelor of Science
Always uppercase.
board, board of directors
Do not capitalize except in formal references.
building numbers
At PSU, Arabic numerals are used with numbered buildings (instead of Roman numerals).
campus
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
campuswide
One word. Not campus wide or campus-wide.
catalog
Preferred to catalogue. The official title of the PSU course catalog is the Portland State University Bulletin, General Catalog Issue. It can also be referred to as the Portland State University Bulletin, Portland State Bulletin or PSU Bulletin. If you use catalog, do not capitalize or italicize it.
century
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
certificates
Capitalize complete names of certificates but do not capitalize when referring to a certificate informally.
chair
Used to refer to a department head at PSU. Do not use head, chairman, chairwoman or chairperson. Only capitalize when used in a person’s title.
city of Portland
Always use lowercase for city.
class of
Lowercase, except when part of a formal name.
class standing
Always lowercase. Use first year, not freshman or freshmen, unless used as part of a proper noun. Use first year, sophomore, junior and senior but only include class standing when it’s relevant to the content.
coach
Always lowercase unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
college and university names
The names of colleges and universities should be spelled out on first reference. Initials (e.g., PSU, UO, OHSU, OSU) can be used in subsequent references.
Avoid placing The before the name of a college or university in a PSU publication even though some universities and colleges have added The to their official names (The Ohio State University, The University of Alabama.)
colleges, departments, schools and offices at PSU
Capitalize the formal name of PSU departments and offices.
Lowercase subsequent references.
Capitalize informal references.
colleges, departments, schools and offices at other universities
Always lowercase.
collegewide
One word. Not college-wide or college wide.
commencement
Lowercase, except when referring to a specific PSU commencement.
committee, center, program
Lowercase, except when used as part of a formal name. Lowercase on second reference. Also lowercase when referring to a committee, center or program at another university.
convocation
Lowercase, except when referring to a specific PSU convocation ceremony.
course, class
A course is offered for academic credit and includes a certain number of class sessions.
course level
Always lowercase. Use a hyphen between the number and the word level.
course titles
Capitalize formal names of courses but do not place in quotation marks or italics. Refer to the PSU Bulletin for correct course prefixes.
course titles with course prefix and number
Do not use course prefixes when referring to academic disciplines. Commas are not used to separate the course number and title.
coursework
One word. Not course work.
credits
Not credit hours, units, hours, quarter hours, quarter credits, term credits or term hours. Always lowercase unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
dean, dean’s list
Lowercase except directly before a name or names.
degrees
Capitalize the complete names of degrees but do not capitalize when degrees are referred to informally. Capitalize abbreviations and use periods, except for MBA.
In most cases, academic degrees following a name are best reserved for very formal contexts such as lists of individuals that appear in invitations, programs or citations.
Also do not mix degrees earned at PSU with degrees earned at other institutions. If Jason Jones earned a B.A. in 1991 from PSU and an M.D. in 1997 from the University of Washington, list him as Jason Jones ’91 or Jason Jones, MD. Never include the two-numeral class year construction with degrees earned from other institutions.
Departments of, Offices of, Universities of
Capitalize departments and offices when placed before the formal names of several PSU departments. The same holds for universities.
Division I
Capitalize and use with a Roman numeral. Refers to the athletic classification in which PSU plays.
doctor
Always lowercase unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun. Do not use the abbreviation Dr. unless it comes before the name of a medical doctor.
doctoral, doctorate degree
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
emeritus, emeriti
Title for a retired professor. Capitalize when used in a formal title. Lowercase in informal uses. Emeriti is plural.
ethnicities
Capitalize:
extension
Ext. is acceptable when used with a telephone number.
faculty
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
Faculty Senate
Capitalize when referring to the PSU Faculty Senate. Lowercase on second reference. Lowercase when referring to the faculty senates of other universities.
fall, fall term
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
federal, federal government
Lowercase, except when referring to the architectural style or to a proper noun.
fellow, fellowship
Lowercase unless part of a proper noun.
first generation
Lowercase unless used as part of a proper noun. First gen for informal uses. Hyphenate when used as an adjective.
first year
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun. Never freshman or freshmen. Hyphenate when used as an adjective.
foreign students
Do not use. Prefer international students instead.
geographic directions and regions
Lowercase north, east, south and west when referring to points on a compass. Capitalize when referring to a specific and well-recognized geographic regions or to a particular region’s culture, people or history.
GPA
No periods. Acceptable for all references of grade-point average.
graduate teaching assistant, graduate research assistant
Avoid using them as titles. Lowercase and list them after an individual’s name.
high school
Do not hyphenate or capitalize unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
junior
Always lowercase unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
incomplete
Lowercase the grade. Do not italicize or quote.
inservice
One word.
interim
Always lowercase.
international students
Lower case. Preferred to foreign students.
lower division
Lowercase, and only hyphenate when used as an adjective.
major
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science
Use Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science on first reference unless the context makes it redundant. On second reference, use Maseeh College or the college.
In some informal instances, in instances where redundancy is an issue and in direct quotations, it is acceptable to use the college, the engineering college, MCECS or similar shorthand terms. Do not capitalize these terms (except the acronym) because they are not proper nouns.
Only use the full name of the college, Fariborz Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, in rare instances such as on formal invitations and stationery items.
master’s, master’s degree
Always lowercase unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
minors
Lowercase the names of minors.
mission statement
Always lowercase.
obituaries
Use courtesy (Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms.) or professional titles (Prof., Sen., President, etc.) on first and subsequent references in obituaries, stories about memorial services, stories about scholarships named for a deceased faculty or staff member, etc. Follow standard practice otherwise.
OHSU-PSU School of Public Health
Note the hyphen. Never OHSU/PSU.
Oregon Health & Science University
Note the ampersand and that Science is singular. Use OHSU on second reference.
Oregon Legislature, Oregon House of Representatives, Oregon Senate, the legislature, the state legislature
Lower case on second reference.
orientation
Lowercase, except when referring to the official PSU new student orientation program.
Pacific Northwest
Used to refer to Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
pass/no pass
Lowercase. Do not italicize or quote.
peer mentor
Always lowercase.
Ph.D.
Use Ph.D.s for plural references.
Portland State University, PSU
Spell out Portland State University on first reference. Use Portland State, PSU or the university on subsequent references. Do not use periods in the abbreviation.
practicum, practica
Lowercase, unless part of a proper noun. Singular and plural, respectively.
professor
Like most titles, use lowercase and place after an individual’s name. Capitalize when used at the start of a sentence or before a name in direct quotations. Never abbreviate to prof. Drop the title on subsequent references.
Note that professor can be used for professors, associate professors and assistant professors. If it is necessary to identify a professor by rank, place the title after the name and spell it out.
professor vs. instructor
One is a professor of or an instructor in.
programs and offices
For an office or program, place the initials of the program in parentheses after the full name only if the office or program is referred to using initials on a second reference.
quarter
Do not use, unless you are distinguishing between a quarter schedule and a semester schedule. At PSU, we use term, not quarter.
race
Consider carefully when deciding whether to identify people by race as it is often irrelevant, and drawing unnecessary attention to someone’s race or ethnicity can be interpreted as bigotry.
The exception is in stories that involve significant, groundbreaking or historic events or other notable occurrences.
room numbers
Use the room number after the building location.
SAT
No periods. SAT no longer stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test so it’s no longer appropriate to spell out.
senior
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
sophomore
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
special campus rooms
When using the name of a special campus room, consider whether your audience will know the room’s location and include it in copy if necessary.
spring, spring term
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
state government
Lowercase.
state of Oregon
Lowercase state.
student ambassador
Lowercase unless part of a proper noun.
Summer Session
Note the capitalization. Use Summer Session formally and in marketing materials. Use summer term internally and in informal usages.
symposium, symposia
Singular and plural, respectively.
term
Always use. Never use quarter or semester unless you are distinguishing between a quarter schedule and a semester schedule.
theater
Not theatre unless it is part of a formal name. At PSU, it is the Department of Theater Arts.
titles
Capitalize formal titles used directly before a person’s name and lowercase titles used after a person’s name.
The notable exceptions are endowed professorships, endowed chairs and special titles that have been bestowed on a very few individuals. These titles should be capitalized whether they are used before or after a name.
Do not capitalize name titles if the individual is not affiliated with Portland State.
Do not capitalize descriptive titles even if they precede a name.
Place especially long titles after the name.
Lowercase titles when they stand alone but capitalize the office.
Only in formal usage are titles capitalized after names. This would occur, for example, in a list of board or committee members that would appear on an invitation of program. This does not apply when names and titles are listed in text format. Note special titles exceptions above.
Do not mix courtesy titles and degrees:
titles of works
Capitalize the first and last words, all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and subordinate conjunctions (is, as, so, unless, although, when). Lowercase articles, coordinate conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, yet) and prepositions (see list below), regardless of length, unless they are the first or last word of the title. Lowercase “to” in infinitives.
Among the most common prepositions are: about, above, across, after, against, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, outside, over, past, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within and without.
Do not italicize titles of works or place them in quotation marks.
university
Always lowercase but capitalize when referring to Portland State University as a proper noun.
university-wide
Avoid.
University Honors College
Use full name in first reference. Use Honors in second reference.
University Studies
Capitalize the components of the program.
upper division
Lowercase, and only hyphenate when used as an adjective.
vice president
Do not hyphenate, and lowercase unless part of a proper noun (i.e. used as a proper title before a name). At PSU, one is a vice president for, not of.
vice provost
Do not hyphenate and lowercase unless part of a proper noun. At PSU, one is the vice provost for, not of.
Vikings, Viks
The name of all PSU intercollegiate athletic teams. Viks is also acceptable.
website
Lowercase and one word.
winter, winter term
Always lowercase, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a proper noun.
work-study
Lowercase, unless referring to the Federal Work-Study program. Always use a hyphen.
years
When abbreviating years, use an apostrophe ( ’ ) to replace the first two numbers of the year. Do not use an opening single quotation mark ( ‘ )