Portland's location in the Pacific Northwest provides students with access to impressive natural onders, snow-capped mountains and rugged Oregon coast lines offer ample opportunities for hiking and rock climbing. Outdoor recreational activities vary from windsurfing in the Columbia Gorge to skiing on Mount Hood.

Concordia University is located in the Willamette Valley between the Cascade Mountains and the Coast Range, minutes from downtown and the Portland International Airport. Concordia utilizes the varied resources of the city through internships, educational and cultural events. Their northeast Portland location is close proximity to the Rose Garden, home of the NBA's Trailblazers. Concordia University, Portland, is a private, four-year Lutheran university dedicated to the intellectual and professional development of the whole student. Founded in 1905 as an academy, Concordia grew from a junior college to a four-year college in the late 1970s, awarding its first bachelor's degrees in 1980 and graduate degrees in 1996. Concordia attained university status in 1995. The institution's mission statement is, "Concordia University is a Christian University preparing leaders for the transformation of society."

Nicknamed the "Rose City", Portland boasts 1,200 acres of parks. Miles of hiking trails connect Forest Park to the Japanese Gardens and the Portland City Zoo.

The Art Institute of Portland is downtown offering easy access to museums, shops, galleries and the active performing, visual arts community.

Cascade College, ITT Technical Institute, Lewis and Clark College, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland State University, Reed College, University of Portland, and Warner Pacific College have campuses in the Portland metropolitan area.

Since its founding in 1937, Warner Pacific has developed a full range of liberal arts curricula. Warner Pacific College promotes excellence in its students and offers them an individualized education in a Christian context. Students are challenged in the classroom and encouraged to develop leadership skills by participating in on-campus activities and completing internships with organizations scattered throughout the Portland metropolitan area.

Portland State University, a nationally acclaimed leader in community-based learning, is located along the tree-lined South Park Blocks of downtown Portland. The University's position in the heart of Oregon's economic and cultural center enables PSU students and faculty to apply scholarly theory to the real-world problems of business and community organizations. Portland State offers over 100 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees, as well as graduate certificates and continuing education programs. PSU serves more students and confers more graduate degrees annually than any other Oregon university. The University was established as the Vanport Extension Center in 1946, and in 1952 the Center moved to downtown Portland. In 1955, the Vanport Extension Center became Portland State College, a four-year, degree-granting institution. Graduate studies were added in 1961, doctoral programs began in 1968, and the institution was granted university status in 1969.