University of Oregon

The University of Oregon has long served as an agent of change and innovation. For more than a century, we’ve grown along with our state and region. Through it all, we’ve been steadfast in our focus on the future. A place for big ideas, we push the boundaries of knowledge and prepare our students for fulfilling, impactful careers and lives.

Our History:

The University of Oregon is located on Kalapuya Ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. Following treaties between 1851 and 1855, Kalapuya people were dispossessed of their indigenous homeland by the United States government and forcibly removed to the Coast Reservation in Western Oregon. Today, Kalapuya descendants are primarily citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and they continue to make important contributions in their communities, at the UO, and across the land we now refer to as Oregon.

Initially, Oregon’s Euro-American settlers were more concerned with eking out a living than in the refinements of higher education. But in the early 1870s, Judge Joshua Walton convinced residents of Eugene City to commit to building an institution of higher learning. It would grown into the fledgling state’s flagship university. Then, as now, our roots were in our community. Farmers sold produce and mules, and townspeople held church socials to scrape together $27,500—enough to buy an 18-acre parcel that became the heart of our campus.

In 1876, 155 students showed up for the first day of classes at the University of Oregon. They filed into a single, four-story building in the middle of a muddy clearing, with workers inside still hammering away on the upper floors and cattle grazing in the pasture outside. Two years later, we graduated our first class—three men and two women; precursors to the hundreds of thousands who've since earned their diplomas here.

From these rustic origins grew one of the nation’s leading research institutions.

Our Students:

Diverse, well prepared, and multi-talented, our students hail from all fifty states and more than a hundred countries.

• 22,298 students
• 3.76 Average GPA of entering students
• 87% Retention rate of freshmen

Academics:

The University of Oregon is one of only two schools in the Pacific Northwest selected for membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, a consortium of more than 70 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada.

• 315 degree and certificate programs
• 18:1 Student to Teacher ratio
• 20 median class size

By the Numbers:

The fruits of our teaching, research, and public service efforts return billions to Oregon’s economy every year and make positive impacts that reach people throughout the world.

• 1,951 University of Oregon Teaching and Research Faculty
• $180M Grants, Contracts and Competitive Awards (FY22)
• 1,024 Research Proposals Submitted (FY22)
• $1B UO Operating Budget (FY21)
• 6.5% Amount Funded by State Appropriation
• $2.6B Economic Return to Oregon (FY21)
• $3.2B Campaign Gifts as of June 30, 2021
• $1.3B UO Endowment value as of June 30, 2022

What We Do?

• We exist to provide Oregonians and their peers from around the world access to an excellent education.

• We challenge our students to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically.

• We serve the people of Oregon, our nation, and the world through research, teaching, and outreach that benefits humanity, drives innovation, strengthens the economy, and transforms lives.

Admission requirements vary from country to country. Kindly contact our admissions counsellor for more information!