Transportation defines Portland, Oregon. Portland State University shapes transportation professionals who, in turn, shape cities across the world. Our students conduct cutting-edge research under the guidance of the world’s foremost transportation research faculty at the Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning and the department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

A research center dedicated to transportation Primary tabs

Students have the support of PSU's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) which is home to one of seven national university transportation centers, the National Institute for Transportation & Communities (NITC), a six-university consortium that receives an average of $4.4 million per year from the U.S. DOT to support transportation research projects and students. 

Our transportation faculty are regarded as national and international experts in their fields. Graduate students have opportunities to collaborate in this research and take the lead on their own papers under faculty guidance. Just a few examples of how PSU faculty and researchers have supported the city of Portland’s transportation leadership:

  • In partnership with the City of Portland, PSU has hosted a community transportation academy for 25 years for over 1,200 community members.
  • PSU evaluated the first large-scale installation of bike boxes in the US, allowing Portland to use this safety treatment to prevent right hook crashes.
  • PSU evaluated the city's first protected bike lane, on SW Broadway through campus, setting the stage for the wider-spread use of such lanes throughout the city.

Transportation leadership opportunities for PSU students

An active and engaged student transportation group, the Students in Transportation Engineering & Planning (ITE-STEP), hosts film screenings, tours of transportation agencies in the city, lectures and other activities. Students can take on leadership roles in cultivating community and education around the transportation issues important to them.

Students present their work at national conferences for TRB (Transportation Research Board), ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers), APA (American Planning Association), as well as locally through TREC and our partners.

Scholarship and research funding for students

With an emphasis on learning by doing, PSU students work on real transportation system projects with partners in our community. These partnerships lead to internships and rewarding careers after graduation. PSU students also have a history of collecting prestigious Eisenhower fellowships from the U.S. DOT and other transportation scholarships. Graduate and undergraduate students can find research and funding opportunities including graduate research opportunities, scholarships, other awards that are available through our programs and partners.