Here at the University of Puget Sound, students take their fresh insights and ideas far beyond the classroom, turning passion projects into reality through the Office of Experiential Learning’s Summer Research program. Working closely with a faculty advisor, they spend the summer exploring questions in their field and developing their own research projects. Along the way, they get the time and resources to deepen their expertise, whether that’s studio art, chemistry, or whatever they’re most passionate about.

The University of Puget Sound is one of the nation’s premier institutions, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company featured Puget Sound in the 2027 edition of its annual guide, The Best 392 Colleges.

The University of Puget Sound’s chapter of the Mortar Board National College Honor Society has been awarded the 2026 Silver Torch Award. This honor recognizes chapters that excel in scholarship, leadership, and service, while also meeting all national standards and deadlines. The chapter’s advisor, Mathematics and Computer Science Instructor Alison Paradise ’82, has also been recognized with the Excellence in Advising Award for her outstanding dedication and leadership in revitalizing the chapter. 

A year after retiring from her position as an English professor at the University of Puget Sound, Julie Christoph was browsing job and volunteer opportunities online. During her search, she discovered a posting for a Peace Corps Virtual Service program working with faculty in Ukraine. Intrigued, she applied, interviewed, and was ultimately accepted.  

“I’d been looking for ways to use my skills,” Christoph said. “This program is great for people like me who have some time, but maybe not enough time to pick up and move for two years.”  

When most people look out at the ocean, they see a vast, nearly empty expanse of water. Associate Professor of Biology Oscar Sosa sees something more dynamic and mysterious. To him, the ocean is “a soup of microbes and organic molecules doing all kinds of things together and independently.” This year, Sosa and five former University of Puget Sound students co-authored a paper in Nature Microbiology alongside collaborators at the University of Washington and Whitman College outlining a newly discovered metabolic pathway used by marine organisms.

Established in 1944, the University of Puget Sound’s School of Occupational Therapy is one of the oldest OT programs in the region and is continually ranked as one of the top programs in the Pacific Northwest. One distinctive feature of the program is its on-site teaching clinic. The clinic includes a simulated apartment, activity spaces, and a 4,000-square-foot outdoor mobility park.

Talk to any University of Puget Sound student or alumni and you’ll likely hear about a faculty or staff member who served as a mentor, challenged them to reach their full potential, and helped them follow their passions and curiosity. Whether at the front of the classroom or working behind the scenes, our dedicated faculty and staff support the success of students and make it possible for the university to fulfill its mission. This year, Puget Sound is celebrating a group of retirees who have given decades of service to the campus community.

The University of Puget Sound recently hosted the Washington State Special Olympics Spring Games, bringing soccer, swimming, and track athletes to campus alongside the vital FUNfitness health screening program. Backed by thousands of volunteers, including Puget Sound students, this marks the second year the university has hosted the games — a partnership that Liz Corwin, FUNfitness clinical director and Puget Sound assistant professor, said has transformed the experience for both Puget Sound students.

The defining variable in the rapid rise of autonomous artificial intelligence may not be a background in computer engineering, but rather the critical thinking skills obtained by a liberal arts education, according to a panel of industry experts convened as part of the recent University of Puget Sound Business Insights event.

The University of Puget Sound recently held the Puget Sound Symposium on AI & Privacy, bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to address the ethical and legal challenges posed by the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence. The event successfully fostered critical dialogue across different sectors about how AI impacts personal data, influences governance models, and redefines the boundaries of mental privacy.