Student enrollment numbers about 17,000, including about 3,000 graduate students. Men and women attend in roughly equal numbers. The university does not limit out-of-state enrollment and attracts a significant number of nonresident students. Campus housing is very limited, and about three fourths of the students live off campus.

The academic year is divided into quarters. The core of the university is made up of seven schools offering an extensive number of programs at both the baccalaureate and graduate levels : arts and sciences, business administration, law, architecture and allied arts, education, journalism and communication, and music. A special option allows students to earn credit for community service. The Center for Innovative Educational Development allows one-time experimental classes to be offered in any area proven to be of interest to students and faculty. Engineering and nursing programs exist in conjunction with other area institutions. For the most promising students, the Honors College at the University of Oregon functions almost like a small liberal arts college within the university and offers its own courses. About three fourths of the faculty hold doctorates.

The school mascot is Donald Duck, officially licensed from the Walt Disney Company. The University of Oregon Ducks compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (except in football, in which they participate in Division I-A). The number of sports scholarships is about equal to the number of merit scholarships-approximately 200. Popular campus activities include crew, fraternities and sororities, and student government. School colors are green and yellow ,