


The University of Portland is institutionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Institutional accreditation evaluates the university as a whole; it is different from accreditation or approval of an individual professional program.
That distinction matters particularly in fields such as nursing, engineering, business, and teacher education, where program-specific accreditation or state approval may affect professional pathways. Applicants should check the status of their exact program and, for a licensed occupation, the requirements of the state where they intend to practice. Institutional accreditation supports eligibility for federal student aid, but it does not guarantee that another college will accept a particular course in transfer.
First-year admission to the University of Portland is selective rather than open: applicants submit an application and a secondary-school academic record for review. The university considers academic preparation, including GPA and college-preparatory coursework, and requires recommendations. Class rank may be considered if supplied but is not required.
SAT and ACT scores are considered but are not required under the reported admissions policy. Only a small share of enrolled first-year students submitted them, so the median scores of submitters should not be treated as thresholds for admission. In the reported entering class, the university admitted 7,391 of 8,289 first-year applicants, an acceptance rate of about 89%; 711 enrolled. Admission to a specific major may involve additional steps even when general admission is granted.
Applicants educated outside the United States or in a language other than English should review the university's current English-proficiency and transcript instructions. The reported admissions criteria include a TOEFL requirement, but applicants should confirm which tests or exemptions apply to their circumstances. Deadlines and application materials can differ for first-year, transfer, and international applicants, so the instructions for the intended entry term take precedence over a general checklist.
Applicants should check the University of Portland's application instructions for the fee attached to their specific application route before submitting. A reliable current dollar amount and a universal fee-waiver policy cannot be established here, so an applicant should not assume that every first-year, transfer, or graduate application costs the same amount.
Students for whom a fee would be a financial hardship should look for a waiver option in the application itself and ask admissions about eligibility before submission if the process is unclear. An application fee is separate from an enrollment deposit, tuition, and housing charges.
Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC opportunities are reported as available on the University of Portland campus. Students interested in either branch should confirm the current unit arrangement, enrollment process, and course schedule with the appropriate ROTC staff before building a degree plan around participation.
ROTC participation and an ROTC scholarship are separate matters. Scholarship selection has its own eligibility and application rules, while commissioning ordinarily involves military service commitments. A student considering Navy or Marine Corps options should verify current participation arrangements directly rather than assume that the presence of other ROTC branches establishes an on-campus Navy unit.
The University of Portland admits transfer applicants and generally considers coursework completed at other accredited colleges for transfer credit. Reported entry options include fall, spring, and summer; availability may depend on the program and term.
Transfer applicants should expect to provide official records of previous college study and follow any additional instructions for high school records or the intended major. Admission and credit acceptance are separate decisions: a course may transfer as credit without satisfying a particular major requirement. This distinction is especially consequential in sequenced programs such as engineering and nursing.
Before enrolling, ask for a course-by-course transfer-credit evaluation and a degree plan showing which general education, major, and university-residency requirements remain. Applicants who have attended several colleges should obtain records from each one; an unofficial estimate is not a substitute for the university's final evaluation.
The University of Portland offers study-abroad opportunities that allow students to earn credit while studying outside the United States. Options can differ in destination, length, academic focus, and whether the experience is university-run or arranged through a partner program.
The practical question is whether a proposed program advances a student's degree. Students in majors with tightly sequenced courses, labs, clinical work, or student teaching should seek academic approval early and confirm how courses will apply before paying a program deposit. They should also obtain a written explanation of program charges, housing, travel, scholarships, and how their financial aid would apply abroad; ordinary campus costs do not necessarily carry over unchanged.
10% of admitted students enrolled (711 of 7,391)
Regular application deadline
February 15Early Decision
NoEarly Action
Yes, deadline December 1Median composite SAT score
1263Median composite ACT score
29Percent of students submitting ACT scores
1%Percent of students submitting SAT scores
4%High school completions
General Educational Development (GED) requiredComputer required
NoComputer purchase/lease plan is available in the institution
NoSecondary school GPA
RequiredSecondary school rank
Considered but not requiredSecondary school record
RequiredCompletion of college-preparatory program
RequiredRecommendations
RequiredFormal demonstration of competencies
Neither required nor recommendedAdmission test scores
Considered but not requiredTOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language
RequiredOther Test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)
Neither required nor recommendedOpen admission policy
NoDual credit
NoCredit for life experiences
NoAdvanced placement (AP) credits
YesOrientation program
YesDisabilities services
YesOff-campus study
YesROTC-Army
ROTC branch unit on campusROTC-Air Force
ROTC branch unit on campusStudy abroad
YesWeekend/evening college
YesStudent can complete their preparation in certain areas of specialization
YesPreparation at another institution required
NoApproved by the state for initial certification or licensure of teacher
YesAccept ACE recommendation for credit
YesPossible transfer
Fall, Spring, SummerData last updated on November 5, 2026
Data sources: IPEDS 2024-25, Peterson 2026, College Scorecard 10/2026, Clery 2024 (2023-24), OpenAlex 2026
Figures on this profile come from federal and third-party datasets in the editions listed above and are refreshed periodically, so they may differ from what the institution currently reports. Confirm costs, deadlines and requirements with the school before making decisions.