History Degrees in Oregon

In November 1857 Oregon’s voters ratified a state constitution and answered two questions about race on the same ballot. Seventy-five percent voted against allowing slavery. Eighty-nine percent voted to bar Black people from living in the state. More of the electorate backed that exclusion clause than backed the constitution itself, and when Oregon was admitted in February 1859 it became the only state ever to enter the Union carrying one. The Oregon Historical Society publishes that record instead of working around it, which is a fair signal of how the subject is practiced here. It shows in the degrees as well, where the doctoral work runs in directions most states do not offer at all.

Oregon has 15 colleges and universities offering history degrees, with 27 programs among them: 19 bachelor’s degrees, 5 master’s degrees, and 3 doctorates.

Only one of those three doctorates is a conventional history Ph.D. The other two are in art history and in the history and philosophy of science.

Top History Schools in Oregon

Fifteen Oregon schools offer the subject, and we scored all of them on the four factors we apply nationwide: history degree offerings and program variety (40%), student outcomes (25%), reputation (20%), and affordability (15%). Depth is where the gap opens, with the University of Oregon at 6 programs against 3 apiece at Oregon State and Portland State. Outcomes are close between the two research universities, 72% completing in four years at Oregon and 70% at Oregon State. Reputation favors that same R1 pair over Portland State’s R2 classification. Affordability runs the opposite direction, with Portland State at $11,679 against Oregon’s $16,137. Here are Oregon’s best history degrees.

Most Affordable History Degrees in Oregon

Most affordable history degrees in Oregon

Rank	School	Program	Tuition per year
1	Eastern Oregon University	Bachelor's in History	$11,076
2	Portland State University	Bachelor's in History	$11,679
3	Western Oregon University	Bachelor's in History	$11,879
4	Southern Oregon University	Bachelor's in History	$12,762
5	Oregon State University	Bachelor's in History	$14,400
6	University of Oregon	Bachelor's in History	$16,137
7	Bushnell University	Bachelor's in History	$35,800
8	Corban University	Bachelor's in History	$40,280
9	George Fox University	Bachelor's in History	$42,750
10	Linfield University	Bachelor's in History	$50,850

Annual in-state tuition and fees. Every public university in Oregon prices below every private college, and the two groups do not overlap anywhere on this list.

History Education in Oregon

Oregon separates cleanly into two markets. Six public universities carry 16 history programs at published rates from $11,076 to $16,137, and nine private nonprofit colleges carry 11 programs starting at $35,800. There is no middle. A student comparing sticker prices in Oregon is really comparing two systems, and the private option costs more than double the most expensive public one before aid.

Graduate study is a public matter here as well. All 5 master’s degrees and all 3 doctorates sit at public universities, and every private college in the state stops at the bachelor’s. The University of Oregon and Oregon State are the only two campuses offering history at all three levels.

The doctoral picture is the most distinctive thing about Oregon. Three doctorates, and only the University of Oregon’s Ph.D. in History fits the standard description. The other two, Oregon’s Ph.D. in History of Art and Architecture and Oregon State’s Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science, are specialized enough that they draw applicants from outside the region instead of serving as the state’s default graduate route.

Transfer is unusually well mapped. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission runs three overlapping tools under the Oregon Transfer Compass: Core Transfer Maps, a 30-credit statewide framework that satisfies general education at any Oregon public university; the Oregon Transfer Module, a larger 45-credit block of general education courses; and Major Transfer Maps, which align coursework to a specific major before you transfer. The major-specific layer is the one that matters most for history students, since it protects lower-division coursework in the field rather than only the general education core.

Our directory finds 3 online history programs in Oregon. Two are at Oregon State, its bachelor’s and its M.A. or M.S., and the third is Eastern Oregon University’s bachelor’s, which happens to be the cheapest history degree in the state. Oregon State’s master’s is the only online graduate history program available from an Oregon institution. Our guide to online history degrees covers programs elsewhere.

Becoming a History Teacher in Oregon

Oregon licenses educators through the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, established in 1965 and the nation’s oldest educator standards board.

The Social Studies endorsement works differently than in most states. Oregon issues it for prekindergarten through grade 12 instead of a secondary band, so a single endorsement covers elementary through high school assignments in the subject.

Content knowledge can be demonstrated two ways, and the choice matters for history majors. You can pass the Commission-approved subject mastery test in social studies, or you can complete 36 semester hours of approved coursework spread across eight subjects: world history, U.S. history, geography, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and economics. A history degree covers two of those eight directly, which is why most history graduates take the test, not the coursework route.

Oregon has also required edTPA for the Preliminary Teaching License since September 2018. It is a portfolio assessment built during student teaching, and candidates adding more than one endorsement complete it only once.

Confirm current requirements with the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission before choosing a program, since endorsement rules and approved tests are revised periodically.

History Careers in Oregon

History Careers in Oregon

Occupation	Oregon jobs	Oregon median	vs. U.S. median
Secondary school teachers	11,730	$79,570	+10%
Postsecondary history teachers	260	$104,330	+24%
Curators	260	$62,790	-1%
Archivists	70	$61,880	-4%
Historians	40	$99,560	+30%

Employment and wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

Oregon pays well for history work, and it is one of the few states where that holds across the board. Historians earn 30% above the national median and postsecondary history teaching runs 24% above, at a median of $104,330. Secondary school teachers sit 10% above national. Only curators and archivists come in under, and barely, at 1% and 4% below.

Scale is the constraint rather than pay. The state supports 40 historian positions and 70 archivist posts in total, next to 11,730 secondary school teaching jobs. One number stands out inside that. Oregon reports 260 curator positions and 260 postsecondary history teaching positions, so the state employs as many people in museum collections work as it does teaching history at the college level. Strong wages spread across small counts still means competition, and the classroom remains where nearly all the volume sits.

History Resources in Oregon

• Oregon Historical Society, founded 1898 and based at 1200 SW Park Avenue in downtown Portland. Its research library holds the largest collection of archival and published material on Oregon and Pacific Northwest history, covering photographs, diaries, business and organizational records, political papers, architectural plans, maps, film, and oral histories. Public access to the reading room is free.
• Oregon State Archives, Salem, the official repository for state government records, administered by the Secretary of State.

Frequently Asked Questions