University of Puget Sound has earned a national reputation for excellent academics, value, campus culture, and more. Puget Sound is the only national independent liberal arts college in Western Washington, and one of just five independent colleges in the Northwest granted a charter by Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious honor society.

At-a-Glance

  • Founded in 1888 by the United Methodist Church, Puget Sound is a residential, national liberal arts college with approximately 1,800 undergraduate and 300 graduate students.

  • Seventy-four percent of Puget Sound students are from out of state; 46 states and territories and 8 countries are currently represented on campus. Nearly twenty-five percent of undergraduates identify as students of color.

  • Students choose from more than 1,200 courses in 50 areas of traditional and interdisciplinary areas of study, with a student-faculty ratio of 11:1.

  • Puget Sound is the only independent national undergraduate liberal arts college in Western Washington and the only in the Pacific Northwest with a School of Music and School of Business and 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.