Top Ranked Programs
Portland State University's program mix is anchored in Business, with additional depth in social sciences, health, and liberal arts — a portfolio shaped by the university's urban public mission in Portland. Business accounts for 21% of graduates, followed by Social Sciences at 12% and Arts at 6%. Across 60 programs serving roughly 4,650 students annually, 49 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold — a broad base that reflects the institution's comprehensive degree offerings. Business Administration is the program that combines the largest cohort scale with strong earnings, making it a central driver of Portland State University's overall financial profile. Among the largest programs, Psychology, General program graduates 365 students with median earnings of $49,063 four years after enrollment, and Azimuth ranks it #230 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The Business Administration program graduates 275 students earning $71,621, while The Social Sciences program graduates 247 students earning $52,562. The earnings spread across these popular programs illustrates how outcomes vary meaningfully by field of study, even within a single institution. The strongest early-career earnings come from Computer Science, where graduates earn $113,889 four years after enrollment — Azimuth ranks this program #89 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. Accounting follows at $77,226, and Business Administration graduates earn $71,621. Several of these high-earning fields — particularly in business and applied technology — are high-mobility pathways where graduates enter the workforce directly and earnings reflect [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) in Portland's regional economy and beyond. Programs in social sciences and liberal arts, by contrast, often serve as foundations for graduate study, where four-year earnings undercount the longer-term trajectory for students who continue to advanced degrees. ```