Pacific Lutheran University

Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit · 2,401 undergrads (small, suburb) · website ↗

Evangelical Lutheran Church
Test-optional
No 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	$13,609
$30,000 – $48,000	$12,948
$48,000 – $75,000	$15,756
$75,000 – $110,000	$22,535
Over $110,000	$26,915
All incomes (average)	$19,589

Sticker tuition and fees: $52,254 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 Pacific 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	$13,710
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$13,710
Books and supplies	$810
Other expenses, on campus	$2,828
Other expenses, off campus	$2,828

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (526 of them) in 2022–23; 99% 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	99%	$39,464
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	36%	$5,331
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	99%	$33,257
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	48%	$5,096

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: 78%
Average SAT: 1168
Median ACT: 25
Students with Pell grants: 35%
Graduation rate (6yr): 69%
Freshman retention: 82%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $66,990
Median debt at graduation: $22,578
International undergrads: 87 (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: None
Students per faculty member: 12 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 70%
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: 540–660
SAT Math: 500–600
ACT composite: 22–28

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	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
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	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 4,139
Admitted: 3,333
Enrolled: 624

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.

Health & Nursing27%

Business13%

Visual & Performing Arts9%

Biology & Life Sciences7%

Kinesiology & Sports Science6%

Social Sciences5%

Psychology4%

Communications & Media4%

Physics & Chemistry4%

Education4%

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 (22)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	132	$93,928	$91,528national $88,910	$19,500
Business Administration, Management and Operations	58	$58,247	$75,576national $68,257	$16,750
Biology, General	44	$41,585	$53,077national $57,214	$19,113
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	40	$44,328	$52,113national $54,562	$21,000
Psychology, General	28	$48,724	$55,118national $50,706	$19,000
Communication and Media Studies	27	$42,278	$57,317national $56,359	$19,000
Computer Science	24	—	—national $107,009	$16,500
Fine and Studio Arts	24	$40,294	$43,650national $41,367	$19,275
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	22	$57,038	$66,848national $47,382	$20,758
Social Work	19	—	$67,458national $51,790	$18,862
Criminology	18	—	—national $55,556	$21,000
History	16	—	$43,685national $50,680	$20,000
Chemistry	14	—	$59,993national $65,120	—
Mathematics	13	—	$78,056national $69,562	—
Political Science and Government	13	—	$69,366national $63,293	—
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	13	—	$44,459national $39,775	$25,000
Sociology	10	$44,648	$59,853national $52,657	$20,875
Economics	8	$51,484	—national $82,686	—
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	6	$50,428	—national $55,000	—
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	6	$37,341	$55,178national $55,693	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	5	—	$58,472national $60,190	—
Computer and Information Sciences, General	—	$73,553	$128,703national $92,374	—

Master's degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	37	$73,477	$77,198national $59,916	$30,750
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	31	$92,511	$101,335national $120,193	$71,750
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	21	$42,763	$58,052national $59,571	$59,588
Business Administration, Management and Operations	21	$78,686	$100,684national $103,485	—

Doctoral degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	—	$134,324	—national $138,131	$92,250

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 31 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 12180 Park Ave South, Tacoma, WA 98447-0003
Phone: (253) 535-7411
Institutional accreditor: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

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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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