PORTLAND
The UO recently acquired the White Stag block located at 70 NE Couch Street in the Old Town district of Portland, and has now converted it into the home to the fifth year Product Design BFA. A Digital Arts BFA program will join the degrees offered in Portland in Fall 2008. The UO Portland provides studio facilities, a Digital Fusion Lab, classroom, library, exhibit and research space, and work areas for students and faculty members. Product Design students have the benefit of interacting with other professional disciplines like Journalism, Business and Architecture in Portland.
Portland is the largest city between Seattle and San Francisco and is known for its exceptional city planning, progressive residents, and art scene. Public transportation serves all areas of the city, and the new UO campus is located within the "fareless square," enabling students to travel for free from campus to downtown for shopping, living, and connections to other transit lines.
A little over an hour from both the Pacific Ocean and world-class snowboarding and skiing at Mt. Hood, opportunities for recreation abound. Portland residents are known for their enthusiasm for the outdoors, as evidenced by the types of companies that have chosen to make their corporate homes here (Columbia Sportswear, Leatherman, Nike, Nau, and Adidas). A breeding ground for design-based innovators, the city is experiencing an influx of creative people who come here to experience the exceptional quality of life and work for world-class companies such as Intel and Ziba Design.
EUGENE
Eugene, home to the BA/BS Material and Product Studies degree, is a friendly small city and archetypal "college town," with a lot more to recommend it besides. The university brings culture and diversity to the city as well as an influx of several thousand new residents every fall. Eugene has a population of almost 145,000 including the University's 20,000 students. You can buy locally grown produce and goods at the weekly Saturday Market, join the monthly First Friday Artwalk, or attend a concert at performing arts centers and halls around town. Eugene is located one hour from both the Pacific coast and snowboarding at Willamette Pass and is two hours from Portland. Housing is varied and easy to find, from new apartments to classic bungalows.
Students studying in Eugene are be well-equipped with computer and digital-imaging labs, a new digital CNC mill, a laser-cutter, a wood shop, a digital loom, metals and ceramics shops, large-format printing and other specialized art studios in Lawrence Hall and the Northsite studio complex. Additionally, students have access to other university resources, such as the Architecture and Allied Arts and main campus libraries, the UO Recreation Center, the Erb Memorial Union and the Craft Center.
