Oregon State University Rankings by Salary Score

This review is specifically about the Education Double Degree program at OSU. I was enrolled in this program to complete my student teaching and to earn a degree in Education in addition to my primary degree. Pros: Most of the professors that I had in the College of Education were good. I did have one professor whose teaching experience was only in elementary school, but for some reason was teaching future secondary teachers. I liked my student teaching supervisor as well. Generally, the faculty were experienced... Read More teachers who were passionate about preparing new teachers for the profession. There was a decent amount of support for completing the edTPA, which is required for initial licensure in Oregon. Cons: If you're wanting to teach English, social studies, health, or Family/Consumer Sciences, you won't get as much instruction in the pedagogy of your subject area compared to the future math and science teachers. There was very little instruction on how to teach special education students. The ESOL endorsement coordinator here has a hard time finding placements for student teachers that meet the requirements of the endorsement. If you want the ESOL endorsement, there's no guarantee you'll earn it at OSU. The communication that came from the professors/program coordinator (in terms of program requirements, deadlines, etc.) was hit or miss. I can't comment on the elementary program, since I was in the secondary teaching program. If you're already going to OSU for undergrad and want to become a teacher, I would recommend looking into master's programs at other schools such as Western Oregon University or Portland State University. WOU in particular is very well known for its education programs. I took a 5th year of undergrad to complete OSU's education program, but in hindsight I could have finished my primary major in 4 years and then taken 1 year to complete a master's with student teaching at WOU or somewhere else. Also, having a master's degree makes you more marketable.

Obtaining a Bachelor's degree from OSU's EECS department is not easy. 10-week terms mandate a fast-paced learning environment. Asking professors and TAs for help can be a coin flip because many of them have research projects with both limited grant funding and limited time. The quality of instruction is very inconsistent from teacher to teacher, usually because those teachers drew straws to teach certain classes. Use ratemyprofessor or other instructor review sites to avoid the bad apples, and make sure you... Read More have both food and rent security while studying. The pressure to adapt and succeed is immense. Unless you are driven, confident, mentally healthy (or at least receiving treatment), and can make friends in class, it can and will break you. Getting a degree from OSU is not the same as going to a code camp, as it is a research and academic university first. Papers and theory are the primary focus. 90% of my classes focused on instilling the higher-level information, such as what certain algorithms or components are and how they work with each other, rather than how to use a specific language. I did not learn .NET, C#, Java, or any JS framework libraries while studying at OSU for my Bachelor's. This is a shame since so many entry-level job postings on LinkedIn and Indeed ask for one of the above. Having Oregon State's name on your resume won't guarantee you an internship or an interview. There are career fairs and outreach programs the university participates in that draw a lot of outside attention, but you need to make the initiative first and make a good impression. Even still, unless you have multiple advanced projects on your resume, the stars happen to align, or you know someone who knows someone, your chances of getting a work opportunity are slim. I would recommend it for getting a degree in higher education only if you live in Oregon, or have your finances completely covered. Paying out of state tuition for a name on your resume is not worth it.