Oregon Teacher Colleges and Degrees Online Guide

The information found below is designed as a school guide to help future teachers find teaching schools in Oregon. In order to be eligible to teach in the state, teachers must complete an approved program at an accredited school. Fortunately, there are several colleges and universities that offer degree programs. For useful information on the various teaching degrees offered in Oregon, take a look below at our lists of top-rated teaching programs, table of accredited, state-approved teacher preparation programs, and student reviews. This guide is a good place to find the right program for those fresh out of college or experienced teachers looking to advance in their current career.

Quick Facts

• There are 30 colleges and universities with teacher degree programs in Oregon.¹
• 12 colleges and universities offer an associate’s degree in education.*¹
• 15 colleges and universities offer a bachelor’s degree in education.*¹
• 16 colleges and universities offer a master’s or advanced degree in education.*¹
• 3 schools ranked in Kiplinger’s Best College Values 2019.²
• No schools ranked in Princeton Review’s Great Schools for Education Majors 2020.³
• 4 schools ranked in US News & World Report’s Best Graduate Education Programs 2019.⁴
• 3 schools ranked in US News & World Report’s Best Online Graduate Education Programs 2019.⁵
• 7 not-for-profit teacher programs are accredited by the NCATE, TEAC, or CAEP.

*For not-for-profit colleges and universities with teacher degree programs.

Top-Ranked Schools with Education Programs in Oregon

Kiplinger’s Best College Values 2019*

• Lewis & Clark College (#149)
• University of Portland (#177)
• University of Oregon (#299)

*Institution-wide ranking.

US News & World Report’s Best Graduate Education Programs 2019

• University of Oregon (#14 tie)
• Portland State University (#110 tie)
• Oregon State University (#118 tie)
• Lewis & Clark College (#188 tie)

US News & World Report’s Best Online Graduate Education Programs 2019

• Portland State University (#89 tie)
• Eastern Oregon University (#228-299)
• Western Oregon University (#228-299

School Programs for Becoming a Teacher in Oregon

Comparison of Teacher Preparation Programs

We have designed the following table to help you compare teacher preparation programs in Oregon according to various factors. All of the schools included are not-for-profit institutions approved by the Oregon Department of Education for the preparation of teachers. Completing a state-approved teacher preparation program is an important step towards earning licensure.

While accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is not a requirement for licensure, it is included in the following table as CAEP provides a highly-regarded accreditation that is accepted in many states. Read more about the CAEP, NCATE, and TEAC accrediting bodies. We have also included rankings from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a research and policy group that scores teacher preparation programs at the national level using key standards chosen to measure students’ preparation for success in teaching. For further information on the NCTQ’s program rankings, please see the notes below the table.

You will also find data on teacher preparation program enrollment, completion, and licensing exam pass rates by institution for the 2017-2018 academic year in this table. These data points are collected from annual US Department of Education records under Title II (Teacher Quality) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which provides for reporting that holds institutions and state departments of education accountable for increasing academic achievement through improvements in teacher quality.

Programs that are not ranked, or for which data is not available, in a given category are denoted as “-“.

*The NCTQ rated undergraduate elementary teaching programs in 2016 and undergraduate secondary teaching programs in 2017 by national percentile based on their overall scores on the NCTQ’s standards for teacher education. Schools that do not provide data on all key standards or that fall below the top 50% of schools nationally are not included by the NCTQ in their ratings. Visit the NCTQ website for more information on its standards and methodologies.
**Net price is per year for undergraduate tuition as calculated by the National Center for Education Statistics based on the cost of attendance (tuition, books, room and board, and related expenses) for students who qualify for in-state tuition and fees, less the average financial aid award (including grants and scholarships).

Profiles of Well-Known Schools

Oregon State University: Oregon State University’s College of Education is located in Furman Hall on the beautiful campus of OSU in Corvallis. OSU teacher education programs now serve about 1,800 students, about 1,500 undergraduates and about 300 graduate students. Oregon State faculty members believe in spending much of their time devoted to mentoring and developing undergraduate students in addition to conducting research. This philosophy means undergraduate education students have the opportunity to study under the tutelage of full-time tenured faculty who are at the forefront of their fields. The most popular undergraduate major in the School of Education is k-8 teaching, which prepares students to educate students within the k-8 system in Oregon. Popular graduate majors include the Master’s in Teaching (MAT) as well as the Master’s in Educational Leadership, which prepares students for administrative positions in education.

University of Oregon: The University of Oregon’s College of Education houses the departments of counseling psychology and human services, education studies, educational methodology, policy and leadership, and special education and clinical studies. Each department offers current and future educators several degrees to choose from. Offerings include added subjects and added endorsements that are designed to take the educator to new heights in his or her career and area of interest. In addition to coursework taught by outstanding faculty members, there is a wide range of student services each UO student can partake in. Those services include mentoring, academic advising, research opportunities, and time spent in the classroom.

Schools with Teaching Degree Programs in Oregon

Blue Mountain Community College*
2411 NW Carden Ave
Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 276-1260
www.bluecc.edu

Chemeketa Community College*
4000 Lancaster Dr NE
Salem, OR 97305
(503) 399-5000
www.chemeketa.edu

Concordia University-Portland
2811 NE Holman St
Portland, OR 97211-6099
(503) 288-9371
www.cu-portland.edu

Eastern Oregon University
One University Blvd
La Grande, OR 97850
(541) 962-3672
www.eou.edu

George Fox University
414 N Meridian St
Newberg, OR 97132
(503) 538-8383
www.georgefox.edu

Lewis & Clark College
0615 S W Palatine Hill Rd
Portland, OR 97219-7899
(503) 768-7000
www.lclark.edu

Linfield College
900 SE Baker
McMinnville, OR 97128-6894
(503) 883-2200
www.linfield.edu

Linn-Benton Community College*
6500 Pacific Blvd SW
Albany, OR 97321
(541) 917-4999
www.linnbenton.edu

Mt Hood Community College*
26000 SE Stark St
Gresham, OR 97030
(503) 491-6422
www.mhcc.edu

Northwest Christian University
828 East 11th Ave
Eugene, OR 97401-3745
(541) 343-1641
www.northwestchristian.edu

Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
(541) 737-0123
www.oregonstate.edu

Pacific University
2043 College Way
Forest Grove, OR 97116
(877) 722-8648
www.pacificu.edu

Portland Community College*
12000 SW 49th Ave
Portland, OR 97219-7132
(503) 244-6111
https://www.pcc.edu/

Student Review: “I have had a great experience with Portland Community College. I enrolled in my classes before I’d moved here and had tons of help from the financial aid office. I’ve attended PCC three terms now. I’ve always been able to get the class or teacher that I wanted. If you carefully select your professors you’ll get great ones. There’s also an exorbitant amount of help with classwork offered in the Tutoring Center. All of my professors have also been able to help me via office hours. I’ve had several students who have transferred to university tell me to get all I can out of the resources PCC has to offer because once you get to the university everything gets very impersonal. I’ve never had a teacher there who didn’t know my name at the end of the term. PCC also has a great scholarship application program; once a year students fill out one application that applies to hundreds of local scholarships. I’ve never gotten one but I know people that have. The streamlined scholarship process makes it much easier to apply for the aid a student needs.” -Cora S., student at Portland Community College

Student Review: “I was taking general studies to get pre-requisites out of the way to apply for a degree. Since I have two children, the online classes were my best option at the time. The online classes though were sometimes hard to navigate and the options for the classes weren’t as substantial as the campus offerings. Since I didn’t have the required credits, I typically had to apply later for classes than others, and by then there wasn’t much left. I had to take classes that I had not much interest in, since the availability could be difficult. Even for these classes, I would have to be put on a waiting list. For what people pay for college, It would be nice to have better customer service, and not be considered to be “replaceable.” I think that people that attend college should not be considered to be a “dime a dozen”, which is truly the case. Though colleges have an overload of students, it would be nice to be given some consideration. Overall, this college is mediocre. I will not be attending again.” -Leanne G., student at Portland Community College

Portland State University
1825 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
(503) 725-3511
https://www.pdx.edu/

Student Review: “While I was a student at PSU, I didn’t feel like the program was preparing me. However, now that I am a teacher, in the classroom, I realize they actually did a great job. I appreciate the classes on diversity and different learning styles. I had a number of great professors who helped me develop my own teaching style. The best thing about Portland State was the cohort system. To this day I rely on the people I met in my cohort when I need to get feedback or new teaching ideas. The best teacher was Ken Peterson and his classroom management class. The longer I teach, the more I go back to what he taught us.” -Student at Portland State University

Student Review: “Portland State is right in the center of downtown Portland. Because of that, the stated goal of working with the community really happens there. Many of the professors stay in contact with local businesses and invite influential guests for presentations. Portland State works with many government agencies, so a student can gain a good understanding of the government community as well as the business community. At least in my department, there could be a bit more coordination between professors subject matter and, specifically, software. At times it was not clear whether we were intended to learn the subject or just the software. Portland State is a low-pressure university. There was not much competition to be the best. Most students were interested in learning but were not under the illusion that to win, others had to fail. Perhaps a bit more communication amongst the professors and tougher grading would help Portland State’s academic reputation. As an interface between government, business, and even the nearby research hospital, Portland State is in an enviable position.” -Brian M., student at Portland State University

Southern Oregon University
1250 Siskiyou Blvd
Ashland, OR 97520
(541) 552-7672
www.sou.edu

Southwestern Oregon Community College*
1988 Newmark Ave
Coos Bay, OR 97420-2193
(541) 888-2525
www.socc.edu

Treasure Valley Community College*
650 College Blvd
Ontario, OR 97914
(541) 881-8822
www.tvcc.cc

Umpqua Community College*
1140 College Rd
Roseburg, OR 97470-0226
(541) 440-4600
www.umpqua.edu

University of Oregon
110 Johnson Hall
Eugene, OR 97403
(541) 346-1000
www.uoregon.edu

University of Portland
5000 N Willamette Blvd
Portland, OR 97203-5798
(503) 943-7911

Warner Pacific College
2219 SE 68th Ave
Portland, OR 97215-4026
(503) 517-1000
www.warnerpacific.edu

Western Oregon University
345 N Monmouth Ave
Monmouth, OR 97361-1394
(503) 838-8000
www.wou.edu

An asterisk (*) denotes a two-year or certificate program in education. While a two-year degree will not qualify graduates for teacher certification, it can be a good starting point for a teaching career. To learn more about what you can do with this degree, see our guide to associate’s degrees in education.

References:
1. National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator: https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
2. Kiplinger’s Best College Values: https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/index.php#Tile
3. The Princeton Review. The Best 385 Colleges, 2020 Edition. The Princeton Review, 2019.
4. US News & World Report Best Graduate Education Schools 2019: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/edu-rankings
5. US News & World Report Best Online Graduate Education Schools 2019: https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/education/rankings
6. Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP): http://caepnet.org/provider-search
7. National Council on Teacher Quality Teacher Preparation Program Review: https://www.nctq.org/review/home
8. US Department of Education 2018 Title II Reports: https://title2.ed.gov/Public/Home.aspx