U.S. News & World Report ranks Pacific Lutheran University highly:

Ranking	Category	Publication
#13	regional* university in west of USA	Best Colleges 2011
named	'A+ option for B students' (recommended for students with average grades)
#8	'Great Schools at a Great Price' in its category
#17	'Most International Students' in its category
Top 30	'Percentage of students graduating within 4 years' in its category
144th	best undergraduate engineering program
named	'Best Graduate Business Schools'	Best Graduate Schools 2011

* The Regional Universities category includes 570 institutions across the USA that provide a full range of undergraduate and master's programs, but offer few, if any, doctoral programs.

Pacific Lutheran University is listed in many other US university rankings:

• 2011 Princeton Review: Best 301 Graduate Business Schools
• Forbes.com 'America's Best Colleges 2010': #232 - top 40% in the USA
• Barron's Best Buys in College Education: one of 240 US universities named as a 'best buy'
• Fred Rugg's "One Hundred Colleges: Just Darn Good Schools"

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Specialized accreditation

Many PLU programs (including the MBA and BS Computer Science degree) are accredited by the leading accrediting agencies in each subject area:

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
An association of educational institutions, businesses, and other organizations devoted to the advancement of higher education in management education. It is the premier accrediting agency for business and accounting programs around the world. The AACSB accredits more than 560 institutions on six continents - around 5% of business schools worldwide.

Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET
ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology) is the recognized US accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. ABET accredits 2,800 programs at more than 600 colleges and universities in the USA. Accreditation is granted for a maximum of six years, after which the institution must request another evaluation. Graduation from an ABET-accredited program is commonly required for professional engineers.

American Chemical Society (ACS)
ACS promotes excellence in chemistry education for undergraduate students through approval of baccalaureate chemistry programs. ACS-approved programs offer a broad-based and rigorous chemistry education that gives students intellectual, experimental, and communication skills to become effective scientific professionals.

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
An autonomous agency, recognized by the US Secretary of Education as a national accreditation agency for nursing education. CCNE ensures the quality and continued improvement of baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing.

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
CSWE is a nonprofit national association. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the USA.

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
NCATE is the teaching profession's mechanism to help to establish high quality teacher, specialist, and administrator preparation. Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education, NCATE works to make a difference in the quality of teaching, teachers, school specialists and administrators.

National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)
The national accrediting agency for music and music-related university programs. NASM is an association of approximately 625 schools of music. It establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees in music.