Pacific University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a large suburb.

Overview

Pacific University was originally founded as Tualatin Academy in 1849 by the United Church of Christ, or UCC. The university still maintains a close relationship with UCC although the two organizations are no longer officially associated.

In graduate level courses, Pacific University is renowned for its College of Optometry. It also provides graduate programs across a number of allied health fields including occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, dental health science, professional psychology, pharmacy, and a master of healthcare administration course through the College of Health Professions.

Pacific University also offers a wide range of undergraduate liberal arts degree courses. The College of Education provides undergraduate majors in elementary education and early childhood education. There are several graduate education programs such as M.Ed. in Curriculum Studies, MAT Special Education, and MAT/MAT Flex. In addition, a joint program in visual function in learning is also offered at the Optometry school. Its MFA in Writing program was ranked among the best five low-residency MFA programs in the country.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in medicine, education and teaching, nutrition and exercise therapy, and therapy and counseling.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• High female/male ratio.
• Superior share of faculty on tenure track.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Masters Colleges and Universities I.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Part-time classes are available.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Pacific University:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 3,167 in 2009-2010 (2,337 full-time equivalent).

About 39% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 61% of the class.

Undergrads are 41% of enrolled students, graduate students are 43%, and those seeking first-professional graduate degrees represent 16%.

Students under 25 years old represent 58% of the student body. About 6% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Pacific University provides on-campus housing for 1,020 of its 2,337 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Northwest Conference for major sports.

Graduate School Focus

Pacific University offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Professional Practice).

Graduate offerings include continuing professional education.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Doctorate, Professional Dominant.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (7 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (26 awarded)

• Business Administration and Management

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (4 awarded)

• Computer Science

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (11 awarded)

• Environmental Science
• Environmental Studies

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (0 awarded)

• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (267 awarded)

• Education
• Elementary Education and Teaching
• Secondary Education and Teaching
• Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
• Teacher Education/Profess Development, Levels & Methods

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (6 awarded)

• Social Work

LIBERAL ARTS (95 awarded)

• Creative Writing
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• German Language and Literature
• History
• Humanities/Humanistic Studies
• International Relations and Affairs
• Japanese Language and Literature
• Political Science and Government
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature

MATHEMATICS (9 awarded)

• Mathematics

MEDIA (27 awarded)

• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (88 awarded)

• Dental Services and Allied Professions
• Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences
• Ophthalmic/Optometric Support Svcs and Allied Professions
• Physician Assistant

MEDICINE (158 awarded)

• Optometry (OD)
• Pharmacy (PharmD [USA], PharmD or BS/BPharm [Canada])

MUSIC (2 awarded)

• Music

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (57 awarded)

• Kinesiology and Exercise Science
• Occupational Therapy/Therapist

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (0 awarded)

• Philosophy

SCIENCE (33 awarded)

• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Biological and Physical Sciences
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemical Physics
• Chemistry
• Physics

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (176 awarded)

• Clinical Psychology
• Counseling Psychology
• Physical Therapy/Therapist
• Psychology