Study Short Courses in Portland, United States

Portland at a glance

Portland is the largest city of Oregon state, USA and the seat of Multnomah County. Portland is known as one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the U.S. due to its many public parks and the large number of bicyclists. Ideal for people that mountain and forest hiking, Portland is placed just at the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains. Portland got the nickname of the "City of Roses", due to having the best climate for growing these flowers and an unofficial slogan of the city is "Keep Portland Weird", as each neighbourhood has a different and funky look in terms of street art and cultural activities. Study abroad in Portland and you will experience a totally unique American friendly atmosphere. Local universities and colleges welcome a number of international students and are truly committed to help learners expand their intellectual horizon and provide them the best possible academic training.

590K

Population
1271 - 2270 USD/month

Living Costs
1

Universities

Studying

Studying in Portland

Portland is home to several universities and colleges and educational institutions specialized in medicine and health care, and art degrees. Several universities from Portland have been ranked in the U.S. News rankings.

Within universities from Portland, you can enroll at Bachelor’s and Master’s degree courses and some also offer doctoral programmes. Study options include fields like accounting, engineering, languages, nursing, social sciences, architecture, business, computer science, music, education, MBAs.

You can also apply to online and pathway programmes in many fields and one university integrates Air Force reserve and army officer training corps programs.

All universities and colleges in Portland have special centres dedicated to foreign students in order to help them adjust easier with the U.S. student life. These student centres include advising and career services, tutoring, mentoring, and study groups on many different subjects.

Career

Career opportunities in Portland

Of all the cities in Oregon, Portland has known the greatest economic progress and development, especially in recent years and the local economy is expected to grow even more in the next years. For this reason, many companies moved their headquarters from other states in Portland.

The largest economic sectors in Portland are commerce and trade, manufacturing (steel, beer, electronics, machinery, food products, transportation equipment), technology, forestry (lumber and wood).

Names of companies with local offices in Portland include Intel, Adidas, Daimler Trucks, Portland General Electric, Digital Trends, Iberdrola Renewables, Galena Biopharma, Tripwire.

International students will find plenty of internship opportunities in many fields within the local companies and organisations.

Life

Portland city life

Travelers and visitors that come to Portland can embrace tons of activities to engage in during their spare time. Portland is known as one of the greatest towns for beer in the U.S. (counting several breweries), a place with cheap food and ideal for people that love mountain hiking; the city is located at the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains.

Interesting sites to visit in Portland:

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
The Portland Art Museum
The OMNIMAX Dome Theater
Oaks Amusement Park
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

In Portland, you can wander around numerous parks, Washington Park is the largest and includes the Oregon Zoo, a Japanese Garden and sport courts.

Portland has many restaurants and was rated as “A rising city with a fast-growing food scene". You can also find plenty of cheap food at every corner; Portland has more food carts that you’ve ever seen. At night, bars and pubs are always crowded with young people.

Have fun at some of the local events, like The Portland Rose Festival, or Oregon Brewers Festival.

If you’re a sports fan, attend matches of the local basketball and soccer teams.

International atmosphere in Portland

Besides the significant number of international students, around 20 % of the population living in Portland is foreign born. The largest ethnic minorities are Asian and Hispanic and several expats from the UK and Australia have chosen to live in Portland as well.

Weather Portland

In Portland, you would experience many rainy days so often times, you would have to carry an umbrella with you. However, summers are hot, sunny and usually dry, with average daily temperatures of 28 °C (81 °F). Winters are pretty cold and rainy, but there is rarely any snow. Average temperatures in December are 7-8 °C (45 °F).

Costs

Accommodation costs in Portland

You can choose from these housing options:

1. On-campus housing: rates are between 1,700 and 3,000 USD/semester, depending on facilities. Additionally, you can also choose a meal plan that is around 400 USD/month.

2. Share and apartment: prices for rent start at about 500 USD/month per person, not including utilities. Living alone in an apartment would cost you between 800 and 1,000 USD/month.

3. Homestays: rates start from 650 USD/month, usually including two meals/day.

Living costs in Portland

Average living costs in Portland would lead to around 1,300-1,500 USD/month, including housing, food bills, transportation and social activities.

Groceries from the local supermarkets would cost about 180-200 USD/month and you would spend another 60 USD/month on social activities.

In terms of transportation, you can easily get around by foot or with a bicycle. A transportation pass for students that enables travelling by bus, light rail and street cars is around 60 USD/month.

Universities in Portland

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