by our College Data Analytics TeamFind out more about how Pacific Lutheran University ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Pacific Lutheran University was awarded 5 badges in the 2026 rankings.
College Factual ranked PLU as #397 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, PLU holds the #11 spot on the Best Colleges in Washington ranking.
The acceptance rate at Pacific Lutheran University is 78%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that PLU is a good fit for you.
About 15% of students accepted to PLU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 540 and 660. Math scores were between 500 and 600.
PLU received ACT scores from 2% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 28.
At PLU, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 12 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Pacific Lutheran University is 65%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Pacific Lutheran University has a freshmen retention rate of 79%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at PLU for first-time, full-time students is 71%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Pacific Lutheran University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 2,350 undergraduates at PLU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Pacific Lutheran University.
The typical net cost at PLU is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for PLU
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $13,847 | $13,035 | $18,653 | $24,898 | $29,289 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of PLU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At PLU, approximately 44% of students took out student loans averaging $11,353 a year. That adds up to $45,412 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.1%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Pacific Lutheran University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University make about $66,990 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for Pacific Lutheran University students since it is 36% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Pacific Lutheran University make the most money.
Pacific Lutheran University is an private not-for-profit institution found in Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Pacific Lutheran University.
Contact details for Pacific Lutheran University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 12180 Park Ave South, Tacoma, WA 98447-0003 |
| Phone: | 2535357411 |
| Website: | www.plu.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/Pacific.Lutheran.University |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/PLUNEWS |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 21 majors graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 787 | NA |
| Nursing | 180 | $70,691 |
| Business Administration & Management | 79 | $46,042 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 59 | $57,744 |
| General Biology | 44 | $27,895 |
| Health & Physical Education | 41 | $27,207 |
| General Psychology | 28 | $28,221 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 27 | $33,589 |
| Computer Science | 24 | NA |
| Fine & Studio Arts | 24 | $24,155 |
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
223 students took at least one online class at Pacific Lutheran University.
Learn more about online learning at Pacific Lutheran University.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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