School of Engineering: Welcome

Welcome to the University of Portland School of Engineering. 

This is an exciting time to be an engineer at UP. Thanks to the $12 million leadership gift from Donald '51 and Darlene Shiley, the largest in the University's history and second largest for any Oregon private University, the expansion and renovation of the engineering building is underway. The Donald P. Shiley Hall renovation will add over 28,000 square feet to the engineering school, making it the single largest building on campus. Check out the building's progress on our Shiley Hall Construction Cam.

This site should answer many of your questions, but you can’t really get the “sense” of a school through the computer. Come visit us! We’d be happy to show you around the classrooms and labs, introduce you to faculty, and let you talk with current students. 

If you're free on Saturday November 22^nd, come see the Freshman Design Competition. At the Open House beforehand, you’ll also hear from Admissions, Financial Aid, the dean, and others. There’s even a free breakfast.

The University of Portland's engineering program is unique: we are a small engineering school, which means you will get to know your professors and fellow students very well. But our facilities and resources are anything but small. Our engineering programs are fully accredited. A distinguishing characteristic of the UP program is that you are an engineering student from day one -- there isn't a pre-engineering year or two in our school.

University of Portland’s School of Engineering provides all the technical knowledge needed to practice the profession immediately or to earn a graduate degree first. It’s a great balance of classroom theory (answering the question WHY) and practical applications in laboratory settings (answering the question HOW). Effective communications, ability to function on and lead a team, a background in traditional areas such as humanities…these are some of the attributes that set our school apart. Talk to our graduates. They’ll tell you they were well-prepared, whether the first step they took after graduation was a Level I engineering position or enrolling in a masters program at universities such as Carnegie Mellon, Colorado State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Johns Hopkins, the University of Washington, and the University of Wisconsin.

You can receive a degree in Civil Engineering (with either civil or environmental track), Electrical Engineering (with either electrical or computer track), Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management or Computer Science from the University. Not exactly sure which area is right for you? No problem. The first semester is the same for all students in the School of Engineering. This allows you to check out different majors before you decide. In fact, you’ll get a lot of exposure to different areas of engineering and computer science, including guest lectures by professionals who are happy to talk about their work.

The School of Engineering also offers a graduate program leading to a master of engineering degree. Students in this innovative program can take courses in engineering, business and communication. UP also offers review courses in Professional Engineering (Civil Engineering Discipline) and the Fundamentals of Engineering.