Vision, Mission and Values

Our vision: Portland State University leads the way to an equitable and sustainable future through expanding opportunity, serving our city, and promoting academic and research excellence.  

Our mission:

• We serve and sustain a vibrant urban region through our creativity, collective knowledge and expertise.
• We are dedicated to collaborative learning, innovative research, community engagement, and career preparation.
• We educate a diverse community of lifelong learners.
• Our research and teaching make a global impact.

Our values:

• We promote access, inclusion, and equity as pillars of excellence.
• We commit to curiosity, collaboration, stewardship, and discovery.
• We strive for problem-solving innovation.
• We believe everyone should be treated with integrity and respect.

Engaged with the community

With 27,000 students, Portland State University is a nationally recognized leader in community engagement, combining academic rigor in the classroom with community-based learning.

Students from within Oregon, throughout the United States, and across the world choose Portland State because its urban setting and ties to businesses and service organizations make it a living laboratory that prepares tomorrow’s leaders with the experience they need to succeed.

Portland State’s growing reputation for excellence prompted U.S. News & World Report to rank PSU among the "most innovative" universities in the nation for the last several years.