Oregon State University mandates two courses on systems of oppression

Oregon State University has implemented a new requirement for undergraduate students enrolling in or after summer 2025. Students must complete two “Difference, Power & Oppression” (DPO) courses as part of the university’s Core Education curriculum.

The requirement consists of two levels: “Difference, Power & Oppression Foundations” and “Difference, Power & Oppression Advanced.” The university states that these courses are designed to engage students in critical reflection on the structures, institutions, and ideologies that sustain systemic oppression and the inequitable distribution of power and resources.

According to the university, the curriculum aims to examine how systemic power operates through the ascription of difference to reproduce structural inequities. Faculty members teaching these courses are required to undergo specialized training through the DPO Academy, which covers topics such as “feminist and critical pedagogies” and “fundamentals of curriculum transformation.”