Academics

For more than a century, Puget Sound has offered some of the most forward-looking academic programs in the country, providing a solid intellectual foundation.

Puget Sound’s academic program combines study in the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences with opportunities for discovery at the intersections of knowledge. At the program’s heart is a challenging four-year core curriculum — a vast set of course offerings from which each student selects eight.

As you navigate the core, you work with an advisor to chart a path through Puget Sound’s 1,200 annual course offerings. By your second year, you declare a major. Options include interdisciplinary programs in fields such as Asian studies, international political economy, and neuroscience. Puget Sound is also the only liberal arts college in the Northwest to offer a liberal arts-focused degree in business through our School of Business and Leadership and a music program of conservatory caliber.

Whether in the classroom or laboratory, on stage, or in the gallery, through academic internships or projects in the greater community, you will find avenues for communicating your ideas and testing your theories. Whatever major you choose, you might also pursue independent research, study abroad experience, and a senior thesis or capstone project. Each is a chance to broaden your perspective and deepen your understanding of yourself and the world around you.

Learn more about:

Featured Department

Classics

The Classics Department strongly encourages students to take advantage of opportunities to study in the culture of the ancient Mediterranean on site. Standing on the rostrum in the Roman Forum where Cicero delivered his speeches or helping to excavate a Greek house provides a perspective on the past unavailable in a classroom setting. Popular study abroad programs include the intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, College Year in Athens, and Arcadia University Greece Program.   Learn more about what you can do with a major in Classics.

Featured Faculty

Suzanne Holland, Religion

A faculty advisor to the 2010 National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference to be held at Puget Sound in March, Suzanne Holland is a co-editor of the first book published on the human stem cell controversy, The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics & Public Policy. She  is frequently sought out for commentary on issues related to human genetics by National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and other media outlets. Professor Holland serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Bioethics & Humanities, and the Ethics Committee of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Last year Holland was recognized with the 2008 President’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Learn more about faculty in the department of religion.