Experiential, interdisciplinary learning is a big part of the mission at the University of Puget Sound .
A class about the Mississippi River teaches history, science and leadership and culminates with an adventure rowing the length of the Mississippi River. Education students are required to work in local classrooms, and students interested in health can take a bioethics practicum and work at nearby Tacoma General Hospital.
Hands-on practice also weaves into residential life: Students help run The Cellar, a popular pizza place, and many upperclass students choose to live in one of 20 Greek or theme houses, where service projects and activities are built around shared interests from baseball to green living.
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Unlike most small liberal arts schools, Puget Sound offers a program in business and leadership and has a conservatory-style school of music. Interdisciplinary majors such as science, technology and society and international political economy are popular.
Located in Tacoma’s residential North End, Puget Sound’s scenic campus boasts towering Douglas fir trees and Tudor Gothic-style buildings. On clear days , Mount Rainier is visible from the center of campus.
Location is a big draw — Tacoma is only 35 miles south of Seattle, with all that the city has to offer — including high-tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, Snapchat, Boeing, Starbucks and Amazon offering coveted internships and jobs .
Megan Schowalter, a 2017 grad from Yakima, Washington, who chose the science, tech and society major, says Puget Sound is often referred to as the Pacific Northwest’s “best-kept secret.”
The school attracts students from 46 states and eight countries, with only 20 percent of its 2,600 or so undergraduates coming from in-state. Starting last year, submitting test scores was optional.
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An 11-1 student-faculty ratio and small class sizes were part of Puget Sound’s appeal for Keao Rivera-Leong, a senior from Hilo, Hawaii, with an interest in conservation biology. “You can go into a professor’s office, and they know you by name,” she says.
First-years are introduced to the school’s interdisciplinary approach early on by taking a two-semester seminar such as Rhetoric, Film and National Identity or The Third Wave: Rock After the Beatles to hone their research, speaking and writing skills.
A strong interdisciplinary Asian studies program prepares about 25 students for an every-three-year intensive academic year traveling and studying in eight Asian countries. “It’s the epitome of a liberal arts education,” says Kumar Flower Kay, a junior politics and government major going on the 2017-18 trip.
About 15 percent of students take advantage of the music offerings. Anyone can perform in groups and audition for scholarships. Senior English major Sophie Myers auditioned with a few piano pieces and got $24,000 toward her tuition each year. To retain her scholarship , she takes weekly piano lessons, accompanies vocalists and keeps her GPA up.
Puget Sound fields 23 varsity teams that compete in the Division III Northwest Conference, and the newly renovated Athletics and Aquatics Center now has tennis courts, a climbing wall and a smoothie bar. Many students note that the campus can feel small but also that that can be easily remedied by taking advantage of nearby attractions.
The student-run Expeditionary rents outdoor equipment and organizes trips every weekend with Puget Sound Outdoors, a campus group. Nearby Point Defiance Park offers hiking trails, kayaking, beach access, a zoo and an aquarium.
The campus is also a short walk from Tacoma’s vibrant arts scene, waterfront and downtown. A bus gets students to Seattle for only a few dollars.
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This story is excerpted from the U.S. News “Best Colleges 2018” guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data.
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Washington College Road Trip: University of Puget Sound originally appeared on usnews.com
