California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, CA · Private nonprofit · 2,296 undergrads (small, city) · website ↗

Evangelical Lutheran Church
41% Hispanic undergrads
Test-optional
$25 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$22,161
$30,000 – $48,000	$23,668
$48,000 – $75,000	$24,318
$75,000 – $110,000	$29,303
Over $110,000	$38,364
All incomes (average)	$30,109

Sticker tuition and fees: $52,560 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use California Lutheran University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$17,540
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$22,752
Books and supplies	$1,088
Other expenses, on campus	$4,602
Other expenses, off campus	$7,122

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (602 of them) in 2022–23; 100% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	100%	$36,687
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	31%	$5,545
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	100%	$31,699
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	90%	$5,627

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 76%
Average SAT: 1266
Median ACT: 26
Students with Pell grants: 31%
Graduation rate (6yr): 70%
Freshman retention: 79%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $68,712
Median debt at graduation: $21,669
International undergrads: 85 (3.6%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $25
Students per faculty member: 13 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 100%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 590–670
SAT Math: 560–660
ACT composite: 24–31

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Considered if submitted
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 5,290
Admitted: 4,702
Enrolled: 575

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business20%

Psychology13%

Kinesiology & Sports Science11%

Social Sciences10%

Visual & Performing Arts9%

Biology & Life Sciences9%

Communications & Media8%

Computer Science5%

Physics & Chemistry2%

Environmental Studies2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (21)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	106	$54,031	$76,916national $68,257	$20,000
Psychology, General	86	$39,940	$59,153national $50,706	$19,000
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	58	$32,772	$59,820national $54,562	$22,000
Biology, General	42	$37,799	$64,939national $57,214	$21,875
Criminology	42	$42,198	—national $55,556	$17,468
Communication and Media Studies	40	$44,059	$61,653national $56,359	$18,500
Computer Science	24	$69,959	$77,030national $107,009	$23,125
Music	23	—	$32,316national $42,892	$22,125
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	21	—	—national $63,560	$16,375
Fine and Studio Arts	21	—	—national $41,367	$20,500
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	20	—	$60,806national $53,072	$20,842
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	20	—	—national $43,765	$18,500
English Language and Literature, General	15	—	$52,428national $48,590	—
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	14	—	—national $55,000	$19,500
Accounting and Related Services	13	$70,231	$89,573national $76,194	$25,000
Sociology	10	—	$67,998national $52,657	$16,197
Political Science and Government	9	$41,636	$60,243national $63,293	$19,283
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	9	$78,776	$83,310national $86,176	—
Criminal Justice and Corrections	5	—	$63,433national $55,378	—
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	1	$55,659	$70,409national $55,693	—
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other	—	$45,968	$68,806national $55,384	—

Master's degrees (11)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	74	$100,386	$150,979national $103,485	$41,000
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	60	$68,121	$82,204national $60,111	$53,096
Education, General	44	—	—national $65,824	$34,166
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	36	$55,590	$68,901national $59,571	$54,550
Finance and Financial Management Services	23	$100,712	$101,050national $110,694	—
Special Education and Teaching	16	$77,344	$81,041national $64,397	$30,700
Public Administration	16	$81,096	$77,919national $81,408	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	15	$74,828	$95,459national $71,685	$34,600
Marketing	9	$81,263	—national $79,106	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	7	$63,700	—national $124,807	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	—	—	$72,020national $59,916	—

Doctoral degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	—	$108,850	$97,243national $100,573	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	—	$87,918	—national $99,878	$165,062

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 37 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 60 W Olsen Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-2787
Phone: (805) 492-2411
Institutional accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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