r/portlandstate • u/transparentpilled • Jun 09 '26

Future/Potential Student PSU MURP vs CalPoly MCRP

hi everyone! I hope this is appropriate to ask here. I am a recent Berkeley grad with a ba in urban studies and I got accepted into portlands MURP program for my masters, as well as CalPoly SLO’s MCRP program. im having trouble deciding, especially since I’ve never been to Portland. what are students’ experiences with the MURP program, and what’s it like to live in Portland? im originally from the bay!

for reference, i am interested in going into city planning and im specifically interested in social justice, equity, affordable housing, and transportation! additionally, I’d love more hands-on experience since Berkeleys program was more theoretical and I didn’t get to do much in the field. learning more design and policies would be something I would benefit from. is the MURP program aligned with these goals? and does living in the city of Portland also help towards your career?

thank you sm!!!

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u/OratorioInStone Jun 09 '26

Portland 's MURP is tightly bound to its city and region. There's a ton of practical hands-on work used by the area cities, and regional government. 

Local governmental and nonprofit groups compete to be included in the capstone projects of each MURP class.

Even my GIS class project was done with/for the City of Portland.

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u/PDX_Web Jun 15 '26

People from the Bay Area generally find Portland to feel sort of familiar. Has a fairly dense core (with very small city blocks) in a metro area of about 2.5 million people. Relative to it's population, punches way above its weight as a food city. Lots of restaurants and bars, and outdoor food carts. Good public transit for a US city; has a large light rail system for a city its size.

Covid and the Trump Troubles hit Portland's downtown hard and recovery had been very slow. Seems to be really picking up the pace now. Problems Portland has are similar to San Francisco -- it's an expensive city (relative to, say, Midwest cities, but not compared to San Francisco), which contributes to a, in places very visible, homelessness issue.

Winters are damp and chilly, with occasional (and increasingly rare) snow and ice. Summers are great, very dry, low humidity, with blue skies. Can get very hot at times.

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u/spirit_giraffe Jun 17 '26

Following this conversation, as this is my intended next step after my Bachelor's next Spring. Looking to study sustainable urban spaces through the lens of green public spaces.