He went to work briefly at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then decided to go abroad for further study because he felt he needed to broaden his knowledge and to strengthen his command of foreign languages. The five years that followed at the University of Oregon, according to Dr. Wei, were the most challenging and rewarding in his life.
魏鏞認為，在奧立崗大學就讀的五年，是一段極有挑戰性的生活和學習經驗。他說：「我進奧大政治系攻讀時，正是系中的年輕教授全力運用行為研究法，開拓政治學新領域的期間。