Knowledge you can walk. Read the idea below, then step up to the general, across to peers or down to the specific.
Physical
Lower Columbia Institutions
A guide to the region's public colleges: Clark College, Portland State University, WSU Vancouver and Lower Columbia College.
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The idea
The Lower Columbia region has public colleges in both Oregon and Washington. Some are community colleges and some are universities. Community colleges mainly offer job training, certificates and two-year degrees. Universities focus on four-year and graduate degrees, and many also do research.
Portland State University, or PSU, is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It became a university in 1969. In 2023 it had about 21,000 students. Its sports teams are the Portland State Vikings.
Clark College is a public community college in Vancouver, Washington. Through a state program called Running Start, high school students can earn college credit there before they graduate. Many of these students finish with both a high school diploma and a two-year associate degree. Washington State University Vancouver is a branch campus of Washington State University. Its degrees are granted by the main university. Its 351-acre campus lies about 17 miles north of downtown Portland. That puts it about eight miles north of the Columbia River. Lower Columbia College is a public community college in Longview, Washington. It offers options from high school diplomas to bachelor's degrees, grouped into career pathways.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 3
Which of these schools has sports teams called the Vikings?
Composition
what it's made of
- Portland State University — A public research university in Portland with about 21,000 students in 2023.
- Clark College — A public community college in Vancouver, founded in 1933.
- Washington State University Vancouver — A regional campus of Washington State University just outside Vancouver.
- Lower Columbia College — A public community college in Longview, founded in 1934 as Lower Columbia Junior College.
Connection
how it relates
Under Lower Columbia Region
Change
how and why it evolves
- Past
- Clark College was founded in 1933 as a private junior college, and Portland State began in 1946 as a school for World War II veterans. In 1967 Clark College joined Washington's statewide community college system. In 2006 WSU Vancouver, once a transfer college, grew into a full four-year university.
- Now
- In 2025 Oregon lawmakers formally recognized PSU as the state's main public research school in a big city, and that year Lower Columbia College enrolled over 4,000 students.
- Next
- The programs these schools offer will likely keep changing as the region's population and job needs change.