Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is based in Washington, and is a private university offering liberal arts and professional school programmes. Its woodland campus was founded in 1890 by Norwegian Lutheran pioneers; the university is sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

PLU consists of the College of Arts and Sciences – including the Divisions of Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences – the School of Arts and Communication, the School of Business, the School of Education and Kinesiology, and the School of Nursing.

The university is known for its Holocaust Studies programme, which now includes the Kurt Mayer Endowed Chair in Holocaust Studies and the annual Powell-Heller Holocaust Education Conference.

PLU was the first American university to have study abroad programmes on all seven continents simultaneously, while it was also the first private university on the West Coast to receive the prestigious Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalisation.

The university has undergone recent renovation with a new $20 million Karen Hille Phillips Centre for Performing Arts. It is now the premier performing arts centre in the region.

Music is key on campus and there are a plethora of organisations for students to get involved with. The instrumental groups include the University Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, and Chamber Music. While vocal groups include the Choir of the West, University Chorale, University Singers, University Men's Chorus, Choral Union, and Chapel Choir.

Sports teams at PLU are members of NCAA Division III, as well as the Northwest Conference. Varsity sports include: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and tennis.

Notable alumni include Connor Trinneer, an American film, stage and television actor who is best known for his role as Charles "Trip" Tucker III on Star Trek: Enterprise, William Herbert Foege, a renowned American epidemiologist, and Megan Jendrick, an American former competition swimmer, and gold medalist at the Olympic Games.