Defining Statements:
Educating students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service,
leadership and care - for other people, for their communities and for the earth
Organizational Principles:
The university aims to produce global citizens, future
leaders, and whole, richly-informed persons. At the heart of the university is
the general education curriculum. Through this program of study, students begin
the process of shaping not only a career, but more importantly a life of
meaning and purpose. This general education, in which students grapple with
life's most fundamental questions, is deepened and complemented by the
specialized work students undertake in their majors. An education is a process,
and the following three components that inform the general university
requirements are not discrete, but interconnected and mutually supportive.
Values: The university sustains the Lutheran commitment to the
life of the mind, to engagement and service in the world, and to nurturing the
development of whole persons—in body, mind, and spirit.
Knowledge: An education at Pacific Lutheran University makes
students the center of their own education. The best education understands
knowledge as saturated with value and meaning, as much produced as acquired. It
is a communal undertaking, involving both knower and context.
Skills and Abilities: As described by the university's
Integrative Learning Objectives, skills and abilities that characterize an
education at Pacific Lutheran University are essential for the cultivation of
the potentials of mind, heart, and hand. They are inseparable from what it
means to know and to value. They include the ability to express oneself
effectively and creatively, to think critically, to discern and formulate
values, to interact with others, and to understand the world from various
perspectives.
A general education at Pacific Lutheran University affirms the relationships
among rigorous academic inquiry, human flourishing in a diverse world, and a
healthy environment. Such an education requires first and foremost a faculty of
exceptional scholar-teachers, committed to educating the whole student, and
understanding that learning is active, engaged, and in the best sense
transformative.
Requirements for Graduation:
Specific RequirementsMathematical reasoning |
Number of Credits 4 4 4 4 4 4 24 |
||
Core I (Distributive)Art, music, theatre |
4 4 4 8 4 4 4 32 |
Core II (Thematic - International)Authority and Discovery |
4 4 16 4 28 |
Minimum credits requried for graduation
128
GUR percent
34%-41%
Upper division courses required
40