Admission Requirements—Entering First Year

To be admitted as a first year, applicants need to fulfill each of the requirements (or alternatives) as specified in all of items 1-4 below.

1. High school graduation requirement.  Applicants must have graduated from a standard or regionally accredited high school. Students who have not graduated from a standard or regionally accredited high school may meet entry requirements through alternative testing. Alternative testing includes successful completion of one of the following:

• Test of General Education Development (GED):

• Applicants with an overall average GED score of 151 or above on the latest form of the GED exam will be considered holistically for admission to PSU. Takers of prior forms of the exam will need to achieve scores listed below.

• If you took the GED between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2013: earn a minimum overall average score of 580 and a minimum score of 410 on each subject test

• If you took the GED prior to January 1, 2002: earn an overall average score of 46 and a minimum score of 40 on each subject test

• HiSET®

• Minimum score of 15 on each subject test area and a 4/6 on the essay component of the Language Arts-Writing subject test

• TASC®

• Minimum score of 580 on Language Arts-Reading, 560 on Mathematics, 560 on Language Arts-Writing, and at least 6/8 on the Language Arts-Writing essay. 

Non-accredited or non-standard high school graduates:

Students from non-accredited or non-standard high schools, or home-school students, may meet the high school graduation requirement with a minimum score of 1120 or higher on the combined Writing & Language and math portions of the SAT, or with a composite score of 22 on the ACT®.

2. High School Subject requirements.  Resident applicants must satisfactorily (grade of C- or above) complete at least 15 units (one year equal to one unit) of college preparatory work in the following areas, while non-resident applicants must satisfactorily (grade of C- or above) complete at least 13 units (one year equal to one unit):

• a. Language Arts (4 units). Students must have the equivalent of 4 years of courses that focus on writing, rhetoric, literary analysis, and critical reading with emphasis on and frequent practice in writing a variety of genres during all four years. PSU accepts language arts courses for coursework taught in languages other than English. Such courses will count toward our language arts course requirement so long as they focus on the criteria above. Note that most coursework at PSU is taught in English. Applicants who earn the Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy certification will satisfy PSU’s Language Arts course requirement.

• b. Mathematics. Students interested in attending a State of Oregon Public Higher Education Institution should take at least three years of high school math. The third year could be satisfied by any math course with a primary focus on concepts in algebra, calculus, data science, discrete mathematics, geometry, mathematical analysis, probability, or statistics. Prospective students are encouraged to take a fourth math course in their senior year of high school. Those intending to study a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) major or another field for which calculus is required are strongly encouraged to take pre-calculus and, if possible, calculus in high school.

• c. Science (3 units).  Must include at least a year in fields of inquiry based college preparatory science such as biology, chemistry, physics, or earth and physical science. Science courses that are “inquiry based” provide students the opportunity to apply scientific reasoning and critical thinking to support conclusions or explanations with evidence from their investigations. It is strongly recommended that one year be taken as a laboratory science and that a total of three years of science be taken. Applicants with 2 years of science coursework will not be denied based on admission requirements, but may be admitted with a deficiency in coursework.

• d. Social Studies (3 units).  Must include analysis of societal issues and events. It is strongly recommended that study includes knowledge and use of geographic information, patterns of United States history, patterns of human history, structures and systems of the US Government, and analysis of economic systems.

• e. Second Language (2 units).  Must include demonstrated proficiency equivalent to two years of the same high school-level second language. This requirement applies to anyone who graduated from an Oregon high school in 1997 or any year after. Students may demonstrate proficiency by meeting one of the following options: 

High School and College Options

• Pass with a C- or better, two years of the same high school-level second language

• Pass with a C- or better, the third year of a high school-level second language

• Pass with a D- or better two quarters or two semesters of college-level second language

Second Language Proficiency-based Assessment Options

• Score of 2 or higher on an Advanced Placement Foreign Language Test

• Score of 4 or higher on an International Baccalaureate Standard Level Foreign Language Exam

• Score of 40 or higher on a CLEP Foreign Language Exam

• Score of 500 or higher on an SAT Foreign Language Subject Test if taken in July 2021 or earlier

• Education satisfactorily completed through 7th grade in a school or country where English was not the language of instruction

• Satisfactory performance (P) on a Brigham Young Foreign Language Assessment (BYU FLATS)

• Score of novice-high or higher on the Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP)

• Score of 226 or higher on a Proctored WebCAPE (only offered in Spanish for the Second Language Admission requirement)

• Score of novice-high or higher on the ACTFL scale in American Sign Language (ASL)

• Score of novice-high or higher on a ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview

• Credit for Prior Learning

**American Sign Language qualifies as a second language.

Students failing to meet the Second Language Proficiency requirement at the time of admission may be admitted, but will not be able to earn an undergraduate degree at Portland State University until the second language requirement has been completed. Students must provide official high school or college transcripts to demonstrate the Second Language Proficiency Requirement has been met.

Alternatives to the subject requirements if no standard high school diploma is awarded. (Any one of the following.)

Score an average of 470 or above (1410 total) on the SAT II subject exams (English Composition, Math Level I or IIc, and a third test of the student’s choice) if taken before July 2021.

Score 1120 on the combined SAT Math and Verbal reasoning sections.

Score 22 on the ACT Composite.

Take make-up coursework for specific subject requirements missed in high school and achieve a passing grade. Note: Satisfactory completion of Math 95 or its equivalent (Intermediate Algebra) fulfills in total the subject requirement in mathematics. Take make-up coursework for specific subject requirements missed in high school and achieve a passing grade. Note: Satisfactory completion of Math 95 or its equivalent (Intermediate Algebra) fulfills in total the subject requirement in mathematics.

3. Grade point average requirement. High school students with a cumulative unweighted grade point average of at least 3.00 in all graded subjects taken toward high school graduation. Students who do not meet the 3.00 GPA requirement may be admitted based on holistic review.

NOTE: Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year Portland State University changed its minimum admission high school GPA requirement for First Year applicants to a 2.5 GPA or higher for regular admission, with applicants who did not meet a 2.5 GPA eligible for holistic review. This requirement adjustment may be extended or may end at the discretion of the University Faculty Senate. The current status of this temporary adjustment will be found at www.pdx.edu/admissions/first-year.

The Summer Scholars Program for first year students is a free two-course program held the summer prior to a student’s fall term enrollment at PSU. Students earn four free credits upon completion of the courses. This program is intended to prepare students for the rigors of college and is designed to introduce students to PSU, the resources that we offer, and support for exploring majors.