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Success Stories

Read feature profiles and first-person narratives about Oregon State students and alumni, and find stories about the world-class faculty, academic advisors, researchers, instructional designers and other folks who make OSU a welcoming and innovative community.

Carlee Sedgwick, a sustainability and sociology double major with Oregon State University Ecampus, stands with ocean cliffs behind her. She is in the environmental and natural resource option in the sociology bachelor's degree program.

Oregon State Everywhere: Prone to wanderlust, but at home with Ecampus

2 minute read “I think my favorite part about Ecampus, besides the community and approachability of all the faculty, is the overall flexibility allowed through online classes. … When I graduate, I want to continue my education before pursuing a career that involves conservation, environmental justice or really anything to do with environmental sustainability.” – Carlee Sedgwick, sociology and sustainability double major

A woman stands over a desk while looking at a computer monitor and using a mouse in a production studio. Digital communication arts

‘Golden ticket’ degree: Digital communication arts online

4 minute read Do you know the meaning of “new media”? If not, don’t worry. People ask what it means all the time. Either way, it’s safe to assume that you interact with and consume new media with nearly every waking hour. It’s how we get our information, how we engage with friends and family, how we entertain ourselves. And it’s the foundation of Oregon State University’s digital communication arts bachelor’s degree program.

Jeffery Tobin, a political science graduate of Oregon State University who earned his degree online

Oregon State Everywhere: Embracing change and challenges

3 minute read “After intense research on which institution to attend, Oregon State became the clear choice due to its rich course selection, excellent faculty and overwhelming positive reception by former students. The guidance of instructors and advisors kept my studies on track and my drive focused in the right areas. Learning online was perfect for me.” – Jeffery Tobin, political science graduate

Executive Master of Public Policy student Bob Horton stands at a podium to give a speech in his role as fire chief in White City, Oregon. The flags of the United States and the state of Oregon are on either side of him.

Fire chief finds his fit in Oregon State’s online Executive Master of Public Policy program

4 minute read Bob Horton, a student in Oregon State’s Executive Master of Public Policy program, says OSU Ecampus “makes a deliberate effort to provide inclusion opportunities” for online students. “It absolutely makes the experience more personal. It is palpable how committed the School of Public Policy faculty are to student success.”

Two shoppers purchase eggs at an outdoor market, with a woman holding a smartphone as she scans a hand-held payment device

An online business analytics degree for a data-driven workforce

3 minute read Given its ubiquity across industries, analytics skills are in high demand in the job market, and research shows the trend is expected to continue. That’s, in part, why Oregon State Ecampus launched its online business analytics bachelor’s program. “(Companies) realize by analyzing this data, they can identify new solutions to optimize their business practices and to identify new sources of income,” says Bin Zhu, associate professor of business information systems in the College of Business.

Oregon State’s Class of 2020 features 1,128 students who earned degrees online

2 minute read On her first day as an OSU Ecampus student in 2013, Cheryl Jobs sat down at a Starbucks in the New York metro area, opened her laptop, and she got to work. “I remember feeling excited,” she recalls now. “The material had me hooked from day one.” Seven years later, Jobs is one of the 1,128 members of the Ecampus Class of 2020 who earned their degrees online.

Headshot image of Sarah Brown, a sociology graduate of Oregon State University

Online sociology degree leads alum from rural town to Fulbright scholarship and more

3 minute read Sarah Brown began as an OSU Ecampus student many years ago, when instruction was often delivered by VHS videos. Technology evolved as her studies continued (thankfully). After graduating with honors in 2016, Brown earned a prestigious Fulbright scholarship for the 2017-18 academic year. And the knowledge she gained in OSU’s sociology program significantly impacted her ability to succeed while conducting independent research in Hungary.

Scott Akins, a professor of sociology at Oregon State University, poses in front of a building. Scott's teachings focus largely on crime and justice.

Crime and justice is a key focus of Oregon State online sociology degree

3 minute read When Scott Akins was “a bit of a juvenile delinquent” growing up. Now he’s a Ph.D. professor of sociology at Oregon State University. “After experiencing criminal behavior and law enforcement from the ‘other side,’ I became very interested in studying the behavior, why it occurs and what can be done to prevent it,” Akins says. That’s precisely what students can study as part of the crime and justice option in Oregon State’s online sociology bachelor’s degree program.

A person's gloved hand reaches toward a discarded plastic water bottle on the ocean sand, with other people in the background also involved in the cleanup effort. Environmental and natural resource option in Oregon State's sociology bachelor's degree program.

Oregon State’s online sociology degree adds environmental focus

3 minute read The OSU Ecampus sociology online bachelor’s degree program gives students the ability to enroll in an environmental and natural resource option. The multidisciplinary coursework in this option examines environmental issues from a social science perspective, and it provides an in-depth analysis of how societies interact with their biophysical environments.