Pacific Lutheran University
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 9.9-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 52 Title IV programs, 21 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 30 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing21 · 40.4%
- No Data30 · 57.7%
- Failing1 · 1.9%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Programmatic accreditations · 8
Action history · 6
- Aug 2025Renewal of AccreditationNorthwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
- Oct 2023Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
- Oct 2023Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
- Mar 2021Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNDNP) - Nursing education programs at the doctorate degree levels
- Apr 2018Renewal of AccreditationNorthwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 1,054 students received $6.3M in Pell grants, alongside $19.6M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 733 borrowers who entered repayment, 7 (0.9%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Pacific Lutheran
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 12
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus46
- Non-campus1
- Public property24
Includes 12 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Pacific Lutheran vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Pacific Lutheran selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectPacific Lutheran University | 69% | — | 2,797 | $19,589 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
| 71% | 89.8% | 2,314 | $26,534 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 68% | 83.2% | 1,053 | $22,288 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| — | — | 771 | $24,616 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 65% | 91.4% | 2,709 | $28,856 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 17% | — | 1,881 | $22,677 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| Peer group median | 68% | 89.8% | 2,098 | $23,647 |
Institutions like Pacific Lutheran
Explore the federal data for institutions in Pacific Lutheran's comparison group.
- Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsWashington
Whitworth University
Grad rate71%Admit rate89.8%Enrollment2,314Net price$26,534View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsWashington
Northwest University
Grad rate68%Admit rate83.2%Enrollment1,053Net price$22,288View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsWashington
Antioch University-Seattle
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment771Net price$24,616View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsHawaii
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Grad rate65%Admit rate91.4%Enrollment2,709Net price$28,856View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsCalifornia
Los Angeles Pacific University
Grad rate17%Admit rate—Enrollment1,881Net price$22,677View data
Pacific Lutheran Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The page contains a sitemap for Pacific Lutheran University's Office of Institutional Research. It includes links to various documents and resources such as the factbook, teaching and learning resources, graduation outcomes, and annual reporting. Specific URLs to documents from 2018 to 2026 are listed, offering data on enrollment, retention, and other institutional metrics.
Visit IR office page- Craig ChamberlainChief Analytics Officer
- Noel SigafoosInstitutional Research Analyst
Common Data Set
Pacific Lutheran's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Affordability & Value
Cost of attendance
GTotal sticker cost of attendance is $62,663 (2021-2022).
Sticker vs. net price
G+HSticker $62,663 → about $50,566 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($12,097); 91% of demonstrated need is met.
Where grant aid comes from
H144% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H567% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $25,761 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 71%; first-year retention 80%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 8 pts below the overall rate (64% vs 71%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I349% of classes have under 20 students; 3% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Degrees by discipline
JSTEM-dominant: ~18% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B21% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B12,544 undergraduates and 363 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1531 transfer applicants → 469 admitted (88.3%) → 135 enrolled
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Pacific Lutheran University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Pacific Lutheran.
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About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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