- 89% Health Professions Advising program medical school acceptance rate (compared to the national average of 33%)
- 100% Health Professions Advising program acceptance rate for programs in physical therapy, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, optometry, and occupational therapy
- Top 10 Peace Corps volunteer producing institution
Our Outcomes
When Frank Reed ’05, MAT’08 came to Puget Sound to play basketball, he had no idea he would be embarking on a journey that would lead him to a career in education.
Puget Sound alumna Ruth Isenburg ’16 was awarded the Nat L. Sternberg Thesis Prize for outstanding doctoral research in the field of bacterial molecular biology studying beneficial bacteria and their animal hosts.
Peter Bittner ’12 credits his education at Puget Sound with preparing him to start his own business and see the opportunities in the emerging field of artificial intelligence.
A Puget Sound education grounds you in a broad understanding of the arts, sciences, and humanities to address the challenges of an increasingly complex world.
Our Students
- 46% of the Class of 2028 had high school GPAs of 3.75 or higher
- 64% of students come from outside Washington state
- Students come from 44 U.S. states and 8 countries around the world
- 31% of undergraduate students identify as minoritized
- 16% of undergraduates are first-generation college students
Linebacker Lily Godwin ’26 made history as the first female football player to make a solo tackle in NCAA history.
Ten women completed their degrees while incarcerated through the Freedom Education Program Puget Sound (FEPPS)—the first program of its kind in Washington state.
International political economy major Phoenix Stoker-Graham ’24 spent a summer researching how community gardens reduce food insecurity.
Puget Sound graduates are consistently among the leading recipients of Watson and Fulbright scholarships, national fellowships, and Peace Corps assignments, as well as successful entrepreneurs, inventors, investors, artists, scientists, and civic leaders.
Our Location
- 97-acre residential campus located in Tacoma's historic North End
- Top 3 "Most Beautiful Campuses in America" according to College Rover
- Located 30 minutes from Seattle, 30 minutes from the state capitol in Olympia, 45 minutes from Mount Rainier, and 1.5 hours from the Pacific Ocean
Explore Tacoma
Tacoma is a vibrant, dynamic city in the Pacific Northwest offering urban, mountain, and sea experiences close to campus.
Puget Sound students gain valuable hands-on experience through research, study abroad and study away programs, internships, and volunteer opportunities.
Our Programs
- 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio
- 1,600 undergraduate and 250 graduate students
- Students choose from more than 1,200 courses in 50 areas of traditional and interdisciplinary areas of study and five graduate programs
- 100+ study abroad programs in more than 40 countries
- Puget Sound is the only independent national undergraduate liberal arts college in Western Washington and the only one in the Pacific Northwest with a School of Music and a School of Business & Leadership
- Puget Sound is one of only two independent colleges in Washington state and one of five in the Northwest granted a charter by Phi Beta Kappa, the country's most prestigious academic honor society
Professor of Business & Leadership Lynnette Claire provides her students with real-life and career preparation through a senior research seminar where students consult with small businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies.
As a Master of Public Health student at Puget Sound, Rebekah McCosby MPH’23 worked with an NGO in Nigeria, an experience that led to an internship and later a full-time job with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Julia Kaeppel ’24 and Professor of Computer Science David Chiu won best paper at a major conference for their research on database cache management.
The class sizes are small, and the possibilities are endless. At Puget Sound, you can choose from more than 50 undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs in counseling, public health, teaching, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
Our Accolades
- A top producer of U.S. Fulbright student award recipients (2023-24)
- Named a "Best Value" school by U.S. News & World Report (2019, 2022, 2023)
- Recognized as a College of Distinction (2024-25) for:
- Best Career Services Colleges
- Best Private Colleges
- Business Program
- 4 out of 5 stars on the Campus Pride Index since 2019 for our institutional commitment and resources provided for sexual orientation and gender identity
- Top 10 Peace Corps volunteer-producing institutions
Puget Sound is consistently one of the top schools for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State’s flagship international educational exchange program.
Puget Sound was recognized as one of the universities with the highest student voter turnout in recent elections.
Our History
Since 1888, Puget Sound has harnessed the transformational power of a high-quality liberal arts education to unlock the potential of our community.
Explore Our History & Traditions
Accreditation & Memberships
University of Puget Sound is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). In addition to institutional accreditation, several of our programs have specialized accreditation or status.
Accreditation and Memberships
The University of Puget Sound is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education.
In addition to institutional accreditation from the NWCCU, the following programs have specialized accreditation or status:
- The Bachelor of Science Degree in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Puget Sound is approved by the American Chemical Society.
- The School of Education at the University of Puget Sound meets the standards of the Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) for professional certification of teachers and school counselors. The Master of Education in Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
- The School of Music at the University of Puget Sound is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music, the accrediting agency designated by the United States Department of Education as the agency responsible for the accreditation of music curricula in higher education. In the field of teacher education, NASM cooperates with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The NASM is also a constituent member of the American Council of Education. Baccalaureate programs accredited include professional degrees in performance, music education, music with elective studies in business, and the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in music.
- The School of Occupational Therapy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number, c/o AOTA, is (301) 652-AOTA, and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the program sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the graduate will be an occupational therapist, registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT certification examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.
- The School of Physical Therapy is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone: 703.706.3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http//www.capteonline.org. Accreditation qualifies the physical therapy graduate to take the licensing examination offered by any of the 50 states.
Enrolled or prospective students wishing to review documents describing the university’s accreditation may do so in the Associate Deans’ Office, Jones 212.