Pacific Lutheran University

Accounting

The Accounting Certificate program is available for students who hold a baccalaureate degree, or are pursuing a baccalaureate degree (any field) and wish to complete the accounting course educational requirements to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination. It is listed among PLU's graduate and post-baccalaureate certificate programs as the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting. Entry requires a bachelor's degree (or concurrent pursuit of one), not a completed master's.

Applied Mathematics

The applied mathematics major combines required mathematics courses with statistics and a broad set of electives drawn from mathematics, statistics, computer science, chemistry, economics, and physics. It provides a comprehensive pre-professional program for those directly entering applied mathematics fields.

Applied Physics

The applied physics major includes a substantial selection of courses from engineering to provide a challenging and highly versatile degree. Many applied physics graduates pursue professional careers in industry immediately after graduation, and the program also provides excellent preparation for graduate study in nearly all fields of engineering.

Art History

Offered by the Department of Communication, Media, and Design Arts, the art history major combines survey and upper-division art history coursework with studio arts courses and a capstone. Students study art from prehistory through the modern era while practicing the methods of art-historical inquiry.

Biochemistry

Offered by the Department of Chemistry, the biochemistry major combines chemistry coursework with biology and a supporting sequence in mathematics and physics. The degree can lead to American Chemical Society certification when specified courses are included.

Biology (BA)

Biology majors complete a two-course introductory core sequence and a semester of genetics, then build breadth and depth through upper-division courses in cellular and molecular biology, organism structure and function, and ecology and evolution. The Bachelor of Arts is the minimum preparation suitable for further professional study and is often combined with study in an allied field.

Biology (BS)

The Bachelor of Science in biology adds additional upper-division biology coursework and a substantial supporting sequence in chemistry, mathematics, and physics. Students learn to ask and answer biological questions through independent investigation and faculty-mentored research.

Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) can be completed full- or part-time in as little as nine months. The M.B.A. is available to students from any academic background and includes a required 10-day faculty-led international experience. Students choose between tracks in Business Administration or Management Science and Quantitative Methods, the latter requiring 44 semester hours (52 with an emphasis).

Business Administration

The professional Bachelor of Business Administration degree program is composed of an upper-division business curriculum with a strong base in the liberal arts. Students complete a 40-semester-hour business core plus a concentration in accounting, finance, management, marketing, or an individualized area.

Chemical Physics

The chemical physics major joins the chemistry curriculum with additional mathematics, physics, and elective coursework spanning both disciplines. The degree can lead to American Chemical Society certification when specified courses are included.

Chemistry (BA)

Chemistry involves the study of matter at the atomic and molecular level, using the concepts and tools of chemistry to study the composition, structure, reactivity, and energy changes of materials. The Bachelor of Arts combines chemistry coursework with supporting mathematics and physics and is well suited to combination with other fields of study.

Chemistry (BS)

The Bachelor of Science in chemistry provides a rigorous program approved by the American Chemical Society, with hands-on experience using sophisticated instrumentation in coursework and faculty-mentored research. The degree can lead to ACS certification when specified courses are included.

Chinese Studies

PLU's Chinese and Chinese Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program designed to provide students interested in China a broad foundation in Chinese language, culture, and history. It also offers an opportunity to focus on the religious-philosophical world view and economic structure of China.

Communication

The Bachelor of Arts in Communication offers concentrations in Film & Media Studies and in Strategic Communication, built on a shared communication core and capstone. The degree requires the completion of a minor.

Computer Science (BA)

The computer science program provides a broad base of fundamental material that stresses analysis and design experiences with substantial laboratory work, including software development. The Bachelor of Arts program is the minimum preparation suitable for further professional study and is often combined with extensive study or a second major in an allied field.

Computer Science (BS)

The Bachelor of Science degree is a strong, scientific degree that contains additional courses in computer science, mathematics, and science. It serves both students going directly into employment on graduation and those going into graduate programs.

Creative Writing

The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) is a 36-month low-residency program in the fields of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction intended for those wishing to develop and pursue careers as writers. M.F.A. students are on campus for a ten-day residency each summer, and work from home with a faculty mentor for the rest of the academic year.

Criminal Justice

Offered by the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Anthropology, the criminal justice major combines a shared sociology core in theory and research methods with criminal justice coursework and an inequalities requirement. Majors must attain a minimum grade of C- in sociology and criminal justice classes.

Cybersecurity

The Master of Science in Cybersecurity prepares students by equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to address the complex challenges of protecting information systems and data. Graduates are prepared for various roles in the cybersecurity field, with a focus on the technical aspects of the discipline as well as some aspects of management and law.

Data Science

Offered through a partnership between the Mathematics and Computer Science departments in collaboration with other disciplines across campus, this program helps students develop as responsible stewards and critical thinkers about data, analysis, and their impact on society. The curriculum combines foundational knowledge, advanced techniques, and critical inquiry to prepare graduates for both immediate employment and further academic pursuits.

Earth and Environmental Science

The joint Earth and Environmental Science B.S. major offers robust natural science training while integrating humanities, social sciences, and environmental justice. Students choose either an Earth Science or an Environmental Science concentration.

Earth Science

The major in earth science focuses on the scientific study of the processes that shape the earth, including earth materials, past climates, tectonic activity, mountain building, and natural hazards. The bachelor of arts degree is the minimum preparation for the field and is best combined with other degree programs, such as another major or minor.

Economics

Economics is the study of how people establish social arrangements for producing and distributing goods and services to sustain and enhance human life. Its main goals are both to understand these arrangements and to improve them, seeking the best possible allocation of scarce resources.

Educational Leadership

The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership prepares school leaders to meet the demands of school and district leadership. The program equips leaders to implement programs, policies, and practices to improve outcomes for all students. Students can apply to one of two options within the doctorate of education: the Ed.D. with Washington Superintendent Certification (60 semester hours) or the Ed.D. for Certified Superintendents (47 semester hours).

Education (MAE)

The School of Education offers three programs leading to a graduate degree in education; including, two leading to teacher certification and one for international students. The Master of Arts in Education (M.A.E.) with Teacher Certification can be completed in 12 months and includes a year-long internship in a local school.

Education (MEd)

The Master of Education degree provides current educators and related professionals the opportunity to advance their knowledge and skills in critical areas to meet the needs of children and students in our region. Candidates will focus their studies in a chosen concentration to go more deeply into an area of interest. With completion of additional continuing education coursework, candidates may complete an add-on teaching endorsement, administrator certification, or sit for the BCBA exam.

Elementary Education

The Bachelor of Arts in Education prepares students to teach at the elementary (K-8) level and culminates in eligibility for a Washington State residency teaching certificate. The School of Education offers direct admission to the B.A.E. program, and the professional program begins in the fall of the junior year.

English

All English majors complete at least 36 semester hours in English and one of three concentrations: Literature, Creative Writing, or Professional, Public, and Digital Literacies. Each concentration culminates in a capstone senior seminar with a public capstone presentation.

Entrepreneurship and Closely-Held Enterprises

Individuals holding a bachelor's degree in a business or related field from an accredited institution may pursue a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Closely-Held Enterprises. Holders of bachelor's degrees in other fields with relevant industry experience are also considered. Entry requires a bachelor's degree, not a completed master's.

Environmental Studies

The environmental studies major examines human-environment relationships through diverse perspectives, including humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and environmental justice. Students also learn investigation methods by studying the Chambers-Clover Creek Watershed, and must complete a complementary major or minor in another discipline.

Family Nurse Practitioner

The Family Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate prepares nurses for advanced practice in comprehensive primary care across the lifespan. Entry requires a completed master's degree in nursing; the program is designed for registered nurses who hold a master's degree in nursing and seek preparation in a nurse practitioner specialty. Successful completion qualifies graduates to sit for national Family Nurse Practitioner certification examinations.

French & Francophone Studies

The French & Francophone Studies program offers courses in the French language and in the literature, film, history, and cultures of French-speaking societies in Europe, Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. Majors are strongly encouraged to study in a French-speaking country on an approved semester program.

Gender, Sexuality, and Race Studies

The GSRS program provides an innovative curriculum that examines how gender, sexuality, and race are embedded in complex dynamics of power and resistance, and offers intersectional and interdisciplinary ways to understand identities and imagine new configurations of power. Conferral of the degree requires completion of a complementary major or minor from any department or program in the University.

Global Studies

The Global Studies Program educates students to engage critically and actively with contending perspectives on global issues, their origins, and possible solutions to global problems, drawing on methods and perspectives from multiple disciplines. Majors select an issue-area concentration, meet a language requirement, and complete an off-campus study component.

Healthcare Management

Individuals holding a bachelor's degree in a business or healthcare related field from an accredited institution may pursue a Certificate in Healthcare Management. Holders of bachelor's degrees in other fields with relevant industry experience are also considered. Entry requires a bachelor's degree, not a completed master's.

Hispanic Studies

The major in Hispanic Studies combines the study of the Spanish language with courses in Latin American, Latino, and Iberian literatures, linguistics, and cultural studies. Primarily taught in Spanish, the courses engage topics including social justice struggles, migration, race, gender, sexuality, memory, trauma, and the politics of language.

History

History students develop the skills needed to ask important questions, collect and evaluate evidence, work collaboratively with others, and offer clear and evidence-based explanations of past events and phenomena. Majors complete historical methods and research coursework and a senior seminar that satisfies the Culminating Experience requirement.

Individualized Major

This program offers students the opportunity to develop and complete personally designed, interdisciplinary majors that are grounded in the liberal arts and build connections with professional programs. Students work with a faculty advisor to submit a proposal, and the approved course of study leads to conferral of the B.A. degree with an individualized major in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Kinesiology

The Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.) can be completed in 14 months. The practitioner focused program blends strong theoretical knowledge with real-world application. The Master of Science in Kinesiology program is on hiatus for the 2025-26 academic year.

Kinesiology (BAK)

The Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology offers pre-professional concentrations in health and fitness education (with or without K-12 teacher certification) and in health and fitness promotion. Internship experiences are an integral element of all majors in the department.

Kinesiology (BSK)

The Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology offers pre-professional concentrations in exercise science and pre-physical therapy, built on a kinesiology core plus anatomy, physiology, and statistics. Graduates often pursue graduate study in physical therapy, athletic training, exercise science, or public health.

Marriage and Family Therapy

The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) is a 24- to 27-month program that trains students to practice therapy from a systemically oriented, contextually competent worldview. The MFT program trains students to address a wide range of clinical concerns impacting individuals, couples, and families. The M.A. MFT program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Mathematics (BA)

The mathematics program is designed to provide opportunities to explore and enjoy mathematics as a humanistic endeavor, to provide mathematical background for other disciplines, and to develop the mental skills necessary for the creation, analysis, and critique of mathematical and quantitative topics. The Bachelor of Arts pairs a core mathematics sequence with supporting computer science coursework.

Mathematics (BS)

The Bachelor of Science in mathematics extends the core mathematics sequence with additional upper-division electives and supporting coursework, developing the breadth and maturity of mathematical thought needed for continued study at the graduate level.

Mathematics Education

The mathematics education major combines a full mathematics sequence with education coursework and a laboratory science requirement. Together with a master's degree in education, the degree provides a path to teacher certification in secondary mathematics in Washington State.

Music (BA)

The Bachelor of Arts in Music pairs the 27-semester-hour music core with ensembles, applied lessons, a capstone senior project, and music electives. The degree also requires a non-music arts elective and a cognate consisting of an academic minor or second major outside of music.

Music (BM)

The Bachelor of Music is an intensive performance-oriented degree offering concentrations in composition, instrumental performance, organ, piano, and voice. Admission requires an entrance audition, and students are assessed at the end of the first, sophomore, junior, and senior years.

Music (BMA)

The Bachelor of Musical Arts combines the 33-semester-hour music core with ensembles, applied lessons, conducting, a capstone senior project, and electives. The degree requires a cognate consisting of an academic minor or second major outside of music.

Music (BME)

The Bachelor of Music Education prepares students to teach music in K-12 schools, with concentrations in K-12 Choral, K-12 Instrumental (Band), and K-12 Instrumental (Orchestra). In addition to music coursework, all music education majors complete a School of Education sequence culminating in secondary student teaching.

Music Therapy

The music therapy major combines basic musicianship and performance with music therapy and clinical foundations coursework, including practicum, capstone, and internship. Students must interview and audition at the end of the first year and demonstrate proficiency in keyboard, voice, guitar, and percussion by the end of the junior year.

Nursing

The School of Nursing offers three program options leading to the Master of Science in Nursing degree, each differing in the degree requirements for entry: the traditional B.S.N. to M.S.N. program, the RN-B to M.S.N. program (currently on hiatus), and the 27-month Entry-Level M.S.N. for students with a prior non-nursing baccalaureate degree. The M.S.N.

Nursing

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) is designed for nurses seeking a terminal degree at the highest level of nursing practice. The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree prepares graduates in the advanced practice specialty area of Family Nurse Practitioner or Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. PLU also offers post-master's options for advanced practice nurses who wish to complete the D.N.P.

Nursing

Graduates who successfully complete the traditional or accelerated B.S.N. program earn the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN examination for licensure as registered nurses. They are prepared to begin professional nursing positions throughout the health care system, and the program provides a strong foundation for graduate study in nursing.

Outreach Education

A Bachelor of Arts in Education major listed among PLU's undergraduate majors and administered by the School of Education. The catalog notes that this program is not currently being offered.

Peace Corps Prep

The Peace Corps Prep Certificate requires 12 semester hours in one of six work sectors (education, health, environment, agriculture, youth in development, or community economic development) plus foreign language and intercultural competence coursework. Students also complete a professional resume review, an interview skills workshop, and an approved significant leadership experience.

Philosophy

The philosophy major requires a minimum of 32 semester hours, including a capstone and two courses from the department's history-of-philosophy sequence. An honors major is available that adds an honors research project and thesis plus a departmental reading program in primary sources.

Physics (BA)

Physics is the scientific study of the material universe at its most fundamental level: the mathematical description of space and time and the behavior of matter from elementary particles to the universe as a whole. The physics major emphasizes a low student-faculty ratio, teamwork, experimental techniques, and theoretical study.

Physics (BS)

The Bachelor of Science in physics is the department's most complete program, covering mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and advanced laboratory work with supporting mathematics and chemistry. It prepares students for graduate study and for careers in research and industry.

Political Science

The political science major requires 36 semester hours including a research and writing requirement, a public policy requirement, and an international/comparative politics course drawn from Global Studies. Majors plan their course of study in consultation with a departmental advisor.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate prepares nurses to provide comprehensive psychiatric and mental health care across the lifespan. Entry requires a completed master's degree in nursing; the program is designed for registered nurses who hold a master's degree in nursing and seek preparation in a nurse practitioner specialty. Successful completion qualifies students to sit for national Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certification examinations.

Psychology (BA)

The Bachelor of Arts in psychology requires 42 semester hours including statistics, upper-division laboratory and content courses, experiential learning, and a capstone project presented at the Psychology Research Conference.

Psychology (BS)

The Bachelor of Science in psychology adds 20 semester hours from other departments in the College of Natural Sciences, including computational and biology requirements. It is well suited to students planning to enter schools of dentistry, medicine, physical or occupational therapy, public health, or veterinary medicine.

Religion

Located within an ELCA-related university, the Department of Religion stands within a Lutheran Christian and global context and offers the serious academic study of the Bible, the history of the Christian tradition, Christian theology, and world religious traditions. Majors distribute coursework across Christian Traditions and Global Religious Traditions and complete a capstone research seminar.

Social Work

The Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) program has a focus on health and is designed to help students prepare for a career in a variety of settings related to physical and behavioral health. The regular standing option is a 24-month, 60 semester hour program for students who do not have an undergraduate degree in social work. The advanced standing option is a 14-month, 36-40 semester hour program for students who have an undergraduate degree in social work.

Social Work

Firmly based in the liberal arts, the social work major is designed to prepare students for beginning professional social work practice as well as graduate study in social work. Students learn a multi-method generalist approach that enables them to address a wide range of individual, family, group, community, and organizational needs, and complete a year-long practicum placement.

Sociology

The sociology major requires 40 semester hours including introductory sociology, research methods, theory, and a senior capstone sequence, plus coursework on inequalities. Majors must attain a minimum grade of C- in sociology and criminal justice classes.

Studio Arts (BA)

Offered by the Department of Communication, Media, and Design Arts, the studio arts major combines foundation drawing and design courses with technique courses in two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and photographic media, art history, and a keystone/capstone sequence.

Studio Arts (BFA)

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio arts is a pre-professional degree with a concentration in Graphic Design, requiring 70-76 semester hours. Students complete foundation, technique, art history, and artistic practice coursework culminating in a keystone and capstone.

Supply Chain Management

Individuals holding a bachelor's degree in a business or related field from an accredited institution may pursue a Certificate in Supply Chain Management. Holders of bachelor's degrees in other fields with relevant industry experience are also considered. Entry requires a bachelor's degree, not a completed master's.

Technology and Innovation Management

Individuals holding a bachelor's degree in a business or technology related field from an accredited institution may pursue a Certificate in Technology and Innovation Management (TIM). Holders of bachelor's degrees in other fields with relevant industry experience are also considered. Entry requires a bachelor's degree, not a completed master's.

Theatre (BA)

The Bachelor of Arts in theatre requires 44 semester hours plus a minor, covering the theatre industry, acting, production, stage management, script analysis, theatre history, and design or directing electives. Students wishing to declare the major must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or higher.

Theatre (BFA)

The Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in theatre is a pre-professional degree intended to equip students for careers and graduate programs focusing on particular professional fields. Concentrations are offered in Acting/Directing, Design/Technical, and Musical Theatre, and admission requires an audition or interview with the theatre faculty.