University of Puget Sound

• Founded in 1888, Puget Sound is one of a handful of selective liberal arts colleges in the Pacific Northwest. The college features an intellectually lively and academically motivated community.
• Located on an intimate and inviting campus between the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges, along the shores of the Puget Sound near the creative urban center of Tacoma, Wash., the college offers close proximity to the cultural offerings of Seattle and the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest.
• Puget Sound offers the distinctive combination of an outstanding liberal arts curriculum and Schools of Music and Business and Leadership.
• Innovative interdisciplinary programs include Asian studies; environmental policy and decision making; gender studies; global development studies; international political economy; Latin American studies; neuroscience; and science, technology, and society.

• In 2026, The Princeton Review ranked University of Puget Sound as one of the Best 391 Colleges. Other top rankings included: Best Value Colleges, Best West, Green Colleges, The Best 391 Colleges, Best College Radio Station, Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation, and Best College Library.
• U.S. News & World Report recognized Puget Sound as a top 100 National Liberal Arts College (2025-2026).
• Puget Sound is the only national independent liberal arts college in Western Washington, and one of just five independent colleges in the Northwest granted a charter by Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious honor society.
• As a founding member of the Nationwide Internships Consortium (NIC) and a participant in the Liberal Arts Career Network (LACN), Puget Sound connects students with thousands of internship opportunities across the country.
• Students study abroad in more than 100 programs in 40 countries.
• The college has close ties to Asia, including an Asian Studies Program; majors in Japanese, Chinese, and East Asian languages; and a three-month Pacific Rim Study Abroad Program that happens every two years.
• Puget Sound’s commitment to environmental sustainability includes STARS certification and numerous LEED-certified campus buildings.
• In fall 2016, Puget Sound opened the Athletics & Aquatics Center, with a new 25-yard pool; a two-level, 12,500-square-foot fitness center with a climbing wall; and a juice bar as part of our commitment to supporting an integrated living and learning experience for our students and competitive training facilities for student-athletes.
• The School of Music at Puget Sound offers degrees in music performance, education, and songwriting. Students benefit from the school’s excellent faculty, broad ensemble offerings, and the opportunity to audition for talent scholarships regardless of their major.

• A student-faculty ratio of 10:1 means small classes and close, personal attention from faculty members.
• More than 1,200 classes are offered each year in more than 50 traditional and interdisciplinary areas of study. All classes and labs are taught by professors, never by graduate students or teaching assistants.
• Every student is guaranteed at least one experiential learning opportunity, including study abroad, independent research, internship, and community-based learning.
• 99% of tenure-line faculty members hold a doctorate or equivalent degree.

Areas of Study
1 – Academic Minor Only
2 – Interdisciplinary Emphasis or Designation
3 – Advising Program

African American Studies
Art & Art History
Asian Studies
Bioethics – 1
Biology (integrative)
Business & Leadership
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Communications Studies
Computer Science
Crime, Law & Justice Studies – 1
Data Analytics – 1
Dual-Degree Engineering
Earth & Environmental Sciences
Economics
Education Studies – 1
English
Environmental Arts & Humanities
Environmental Policy & Decision Making
Exercise Science
French & Francophone Studies
Gender & Queer Studies
German Studies
Global Development Studies – 1
Greek, Latin & Ancient Mediterranean Studies
Hispanic Studies
History
Honors Program in Consciousness, Creativity & Meaning – 1
Interdisciplinary Humanities Emphasis – 2
International Political Economy
Latin American Studies – 1
Latino/a Studies – 1
Mathematics
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Music (Music Performance, Music Education, and Songwriting)
Natural Science
Neuroscience
Philosophy
Physics
Politics & Government
Pre-Med – 3
Pre-Law – 3
Psychology
Religion, Spirituality, & Society
Science, Technology, Health & Society
Sociology & Anthropology
Special Interdisciplinary Major
Theatre Arts

Graduate Programs
Doctorate of Physical Therapy
Master of Arts in Teaching
Master of Education in Counseling (School & Mental Health Counseling)
Master of Public Health
Doctorate of Occupational Therapy
Master of Occupational Therapy

• Students are actively engaged in co-curricular activities, including more than 100 wide-ranging organizations and clubs, student media, student government, and fraternities and sororities.
• Nearly 70% of students, including all first- and second-year students, live on campus. Themed residence halls and houses, such as the Adventure Education community and the Japanese House, support the college’s 24/7 living-learning environment and create strong links between academics and residence life.
• Puget Sound’s robust outdoor program leads trips every weekend and over breaks. Students enjoy backpacking, camping, climbing, cross-country skiing, hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, and surfing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
• Every weekend at Puget Sound, campus comes alive with events ranging from lectures and ensemble performances to plays, musicals, and movie nights.
• More than 75% of students participate in a wide range of service opportunities with approximately 250 community partners.
• Students compete in 23 varsity sports in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference (NWC), as well as in a variety of intramural and club sports.

23 varsity sports in the NCAA Division III, Northwest Conference—learn more on the college website.

• 90% of 2025 graduates are employed or in graduate school, and graduates overall earn a median of $69,594.
• Puget Sound students have earned more than 200 national scholarships since 2001, including Fulbright, Rhodes, Goldwater, Watson, National Science Foundation, Critical Language, Boren, Princeton in Asia, and Luce in Asia Scholarships.
• Puget Sound graduates enjoy 100% acceptance rates for nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletics training, veterinary medicine, and optometry schools; an 80% average acceptance rate for medical school; and 90% acceptance rate for law school.
• Puget Sound is in the top 7% of baccalaureate-granting institutions
  nationwide whose graduates go on to earn doctorates, according to the National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates.
• The college fosters a strong culture of service, and is consistently ranked among the top small colleges for alumni serving in the Peace Corps and Teach for America.
• A strong alumni network 40,000 strong provides students with lifelong connections and learning opportunities.

• Middle 50% SAT: 1180-1370
• Middle 50% ACT composite: 27-32
• Average Unweighted GPA: 3.75
• 31% of undergraduate students identify as minoritized
• 64% students come from out of state
• 43% male; 56% female
• 16% first-generation students