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Above: "Projective Ecologies of Postcapitalist Architecture," by Xander Sligh, Citation Award, AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Student Design Awards 2021


Aim to Create Meaningful Architecture

In our rich, materially based curriculum, we challenge students to address the poetics of material, urban issues and cultural meaning, community engagement and social needs through architecture and design.

With an established reputation for promoting a materially diverse, urban-oriented, socially engaged architectural education, including a pre-professional undergraduate degree in Architecture, a professional accredited Master of Architecture, the Center for Public Interest Design, and strong ties to local design practice, we offer a rigorous educational experience in the ideal setting of downtown Portland.

Our nearly 400 students study the art, theory and practice of architecture in our growing programs, including a Bachelor of Arts or Science in Architecture, Two-year and Three-year Master of Architecture, Graduate Certificate in Public Interest Design, and Graduate Certificate in Urban Design. Residing in Shattuck Hall, an elegant, renovated 1915 red-brick elementary school building on the leafy South Park Blocks, our programs prepare future architects to employ design for the public good.

Architectural Sketch

How To Apply

To become an undergraduate architecture major, just apply through the university's general application process. To learn how to apply for our Master of Architecture degree, Graduate Certificate in Public Interest Design or Graduate Certificate in Urban Design, visit the link below.

Student working

National Accreditation

The Master of Architecture program has full professional accreditation by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. This accreditation enables students who complete the Master of Architecture at Portland State University to pursue a professional architectural license.

Designing for Impact

School of Architecture students created the 2022 Pickathon's Cherry Hill stage continuing the school’s “diversion design-build” tradition of repurposing materials from other uses to create an innovative, sustainable, zero-waste performance environment at the Pickathon festival.

Students building benches for campus patio

Giving

Our programs challenge students to create architecture that impacts the world for the better, and build a career designing healthy spaces that inspire and uplift those who use them. Your gift to our scholarship fund will enable more students to pursue this rigorous, hands-on academic experience.

IPAL

INTEGRATED PATH TO ARCHITECTURAL LICENSURE (IPAL)

We are one of 25 schools accepted to participate in the IPAL Program. This interview with student Shannon Smith tells her experience in this program and its impact on her professional career. This may be the right program for you to help accelerate your career while finishing your degree!