Portland State University - School of Business

Taking a cue from its progressive environs in Portland, Oregon, Portland State University offers an MBA program with a “focus on sustainability” and an emphasis on “personal development as a leader.” Offering more than your standard MBA, “this school is committed to the whole student,” and “creativity, along with sustainable, equitable solutions, are promoted, even prized.” Throughout the hefty seventy-four-credit curriculum, you’ll never lose sight of the school’s core values: “PSU also works hard to integrate sustainability into most aspects of the curriculum, from core classes to elective offerings.” The MBA includes plenty of required coursework (as well as required hands-on projects), yet electives give students the opportunity to tailor their education. In fact, “the wide latitude given to students to pursue their studies in a multi-disciplinary manner” is a trademark of PSU’s graduate program. SBA has several Graduate Certificates for students, including: Social Innovation, Global Supply Chain, and Business Intelligence & Analytics.

Thanks to its strong reputation and enviable Portland location, PSU can “attract and retain an extremely high-quality faculty roster.” On the whole, “professors are informed, enlightened educators as well as experts in their respective fields.” Despite overall excellence, students say there are a few instructors who “seem unprepared, disorganized, and unclear on what they’re supposed to be teaching us.” The local community also plays an important role in the PSU experience. “Portland is truly at the center of this nation’s move toward sustainability,” and therefore, “being in Portland is a huge plus—there’s so much sustainable business thinking and practice here that it’s easy to see in the field what I learn in school.” A student adds, “I have been introduced to and met with many people that are driving regional and national movements on the cutting edge of sustainability.”

PSU is a large school, but you won’t get lost in the crowd. Despite its 400-plus enrollment, “The SBA manages by breaking up [its] graduate studies into discrete cohorts and providing a concrete plan of study for each. There’s never much doubt what you should be doing, yet there is flexibility should you need it.” Depending on your schedule, the school offers several program options. For full-time students, “MBA cohort classes are four hours long one day a week from about [noon] until four,” while part-time students “typically go to class two to three evenings a week.” Though students say the business school’s classrooms could use a refresh, (a major renovation will be complete in September 2017), “the academic resources are great.” For example, “the library has done a lot of work to make research as easy as possible, even for those of us who are only on campus a couple times a week.”

The largest business school in the state, the School of Business Administration maintains “powerful connections to the Portland-area business community.” Within the business school itself, faculty and administrators are “are ultra-accessible and always willing to provide career advice or introduce you to people they know in the business commu- nity.” In addition, PSU has “a good alumni network” throughout the state of Oregon. Drawing on its deep ties in the Portland community, the academic experience at PSU is augmented by various professional development activities, like expert panel discussions, alumni networking events, and a mentorship program. At the same time, students note that career services are not as robust as they’d like. While the school affords them many opportunities, “students are expected to leverage other offerings, such as mentoring pro- grams, informational interviews, etc.” Companies that have partnered with PSU through the mentor program, as student project partners, or as employers include Damier Trucks, N.A., Nike, Tektronix, Hitachi Consulting, Intel Finance, and Hanna Andersson. The average starting salary for full-time PSU students is about $65,320.

Friendly and down-to-earth, PSU students “defy the typical business school stereotype of sharkish students dying to get ahead.” A current student observes, “While I expected to enter B-school with a bunch of traders and bankers, I was surprised to find a group of students that shared my, and Portland’s, sensibilities regarding the world, and who are looking forward to showing the world that businesspeople are not only out to bring down the financial system en route to earning billions.” Although there is a general interest in sustainability and ethics, at PSU you’ll meet students from a “wide range” of backgrounds. As such, there are “a variety of activities to participate in regardless of your industry,” and, on campus, there are lots of resources for a diverse student body— including “several childcare centers.”

In both the full-time and part-time MBA program, many “people come to class and then go home,” without making time for clubs or student groups. However, most students are involved in school-related activities outside of class, such as “internships, networking opportunities, and even…regular community service.” In addition, many students are “open to meet after class or on weekends to socialize.” Thanks to PSU’s “vibrant urban location” in downtown Portland, students enjoy everything the Pacific Northwest has to offer, including plenty of “good food and coffee locations close by.”