Oregon State University is located in Corvallis, south of Portland. The university is a public institution and was founded in 1868. Spread over an impressive campus of almost 577 acres, the university is the state’s biggest and most well developed public research university, specializing in marine sciences, forestry, sustainable food systems, and more.
The university has a total undergraduate population of 20,621, with tuition fees of almost $8,082 and for out-of-state students the tuition and fees are $22,212. However, the generous financial aid program offered by the University makes it possible for all these students to achieve their full potential. Oregon state university offers almost 200 academic programs for undergraduates, while graduate students have the option of choosing from more than 80 master’s programs in Business, education and engineering. OSU students are encouraged to live a highly active life by choosing to join hundreds of clubs, fraternities and sororities.
The Oregon State University is part of the Carnegie Research University which is proof of its very high research activities. It is one of the only two universities in America which holds the Land-, Sea-, Sun- and Space-Grant designations. The Oregon State University is made up of 11 academic colleges which are highly acclaimed for their academic strength in natural resources, earth dynamics and sustainability, life sciences, entrepreneurship and the arts and sciences. Although the Oregon state university offers services in almost every county of the state, almost 25,000 students are enrolled in the Corvallis and Cascades Campuses. OSU also has outreach programs in the 13 regional experiment stations, 36 county extension offices, the marine science center in Newport, and in the Portland region as well.
The student-faculty ratio at Oregon State University is 20/1, with an average class size of just 20 students. Some of the most popular majors pursued by students at the Oregon State University include: Business Administration and Management, General; Human Development and Family Studies, General; Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies; Health and Physical Education/Fitness, General; and Natural Sciences.
The average freshman retention rate is a huge indicator of the kind of education and life offered on campus by any academic institution, for the OSU it stands at 82.0 percent. Each year almost 21.0 percent of the students prefer to live in university-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing, while 79.0 percent of students prefer to live off campus.
The Oregon State University also offers a highly evolved and efficient distance learning program. Degrees of all levels from Associate, Bachelors to Master’s and a lot of certificate courses are also offered. The Oregon State University is also in a league of its own when it comes to sports and athletics, which is why it is an active part of the NCAA I athletic conference.
Apart fro the traditional benefits offered by any good university, the OSU also offers non-remedial tutoring to students, a fully functional and active women's center, placement service, day care facilities along with health service and health insurance.