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Two Willamette students playing a game of Chess with more students in the background.
Willamette University

Turning KnowledgeintoAction

An art student works on a computer at PNCA in Portland, Oregon.

Colleges & Schools

Willamette is the Pacific Northwest's leading private university. Our historic campus next to the State Capitol in Salem houses a renowned residential liberal arts college. Our downtown Portland campus houses the flagship Pacific Northwest College of Art. Willamette's professional graduate programs in Portland and Salem include the Northwest's oldest law school, Oregon's top-ranked MBA program, MA and MFA programs in the arts, writing and critical studies, and our MS in Data Science.

By the numbers

Join the ranks of leading scientists, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, notable artists and change-makers throughout the world.

  • Yearly student community service hours

    Students engaged in internships

    Academic Programs

    Students enrolled

  • Governors, senators & representatives

    Ducks living in the Millstream

    Oregon Supreme Court Justices

    Nobel Prize winner

  • 1859

    First Graduate

    In a time when women were frequently barred from college, Emily York is Willamette's first graduate.

  • 1976

    Female political pioneer

    Trailblazer Norma Paulus advanced women's rights, education and environmental protection. In 1976, she became Oregon's first female secretary of state.

  • 1997

    Special Teams

    Liz Heaston was the first female to play and score in a college football game. Since 1997, Willamette has had two more female kickers.

  • 1935

    First Black graduate

    George Cannady was a Senior Scholar who was involved in football and track. He later became an attorney in Los Angeles.

  • 2017

    Resilience Baked In

    Carina Corner has grown through her experiences of cancer and navigating a sighted-world as a blind person. She's founded a Scandinavian-inspired, vegan bakery in Beaverton where she employs people with disabilities.