No matter your background or how you identify,
we affirm and celebrate you.
we affirm and celebrate you.
You belong at Puget Sound.
We're working hard to create a campus community that is safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all students. We offer a wide variety of academic programs, student organizations, social justice initiatives, opportunities for cross-cultural engagement, and accessibility practices to help you thrive.
Learn how race, gender, sexuality, culture, and power continue to shape our world and the lived experience of marginalized groups. We offer a variety of interdisciplinary programs including African American Studies, Asian Studies, Gender & Queer Studies, International Political Economy, Latin American Studies, and Latina/o Studies.
Connect with like-minded peers and work together to advance causes you care about. Student groups have successfully led campus-wide efforts to switch to fair-trade coffee in our dining facilities, launch a food justice initiative, and improve childhood literacy in the community. In addition, identity-based student organizations celebrate a shared heritage or common vision.
We are a part of a global community. In addition to bringing international students and scholars to Puget Sound to enrich our campus life, we also offer study abroad opportunities all around the world, providing you the impactful experience of immersing yourself in another culture.
As part of your Puget Sound education, you’ll develop critical thinking and become active participants in creating a more inclusive and equitable world. We require all students to fulfill the Knowledge, Identity, and Power (KNOW) requirement to graduate through courses that examine how the power dynamics and diverse identities and experiences shape our society in subtle and profound ways.
We honor the wide range of religious and spiritual expressions embodied in our campus community. The University Chaplaincy can help you create meaning during your time at Puget Sound in an explicitly affirming and inclusive space with specific commitments to LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities, immigrants, and refugees.
A disability, visible or invisible, shouldn’t stand in the way of your education. We’re committed to removing obstacles for students to be full participants in campus life and implementing universal design to make Puget Sound more accessible for everyone.
The Race and Pedagogy Institute educates teachers and students in thinking critically about race and work to eliminate systemic racism in education. In addition to regular campus-wide events, the Race and Pedagogy National Conference hosts a national conference every four years.
Celebrate Your Identity
No matter where you were born, who you love, what language you speak, or if you’re the first member of your family to go to college, we want you to thrive here and embrace your unique identity.
Intercultural Engagement
Your culture, race, ethnicity, spiritual or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, abilities and other identities contribute to your own unique sense of self and place. Our Office of Intercultural Engagement can help you advocate for self-discovery and awareness, provide space for reflection, foster an understanding of our differences, and become a part of collective action toward inclusion.
You are a vital part of our campus community. We believe that your race, ethnicity, cultural, spiritual or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and abilities contribute to your own sense of self. The Office of Intercultural Engagement helps students from underrepresented and marginalized identities and backgrounds cultivate and celebrate their identities, promote solidarity within shared experiences, build networks of allyship, and foster intercultural education.
Scholarships and Funding Opportunities
You may be eligible for a scholarship or funding based on your background or identity, including the Multicultural Programming Fund for programs and activities that promote cultural or identity understanding, the LGBT Scholarship for students who have demonstrated leadership in the LGBTQIA+ community, the LUCE Leadership Scholarship for students who are immigrants regardless of documentation status, and the Black Student Union “One More” Scholarship, among others.
Resources for LGBTQ+ Students
The Office for Intercultural Engagement is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all members of the LGBTQ+ community through the Gender and Queer Studies program, the Prism student organization, Wetlands Magazine, and the Lavender Graduates program.
Resources for Transgender Students
Puget Sound welcomes transgender students and offers resources to support their academic journey including the Prism student group; medical support through Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services; all-gender restrooms; and gender-inclusive housing options.
Celebrations and Commemorations
Each year, we seek to educate and engage the campus community through our Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration inspiring students to continue the fight for civil rights, the Japanese American Internment Commemoration honoring the Americans of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during World War II—including 36 Puget Sound students, and special Commencement Weekend celebrations for our first-generation graduates, graduates of color, and Lavender graduates.
Campus Events
As part of our work to encourage intercultural understanding, we also host events featuring speakers, performances, and conversations to elevate the discussion of diversity and inclusion n campus.
Student Diversity and Social Justice Centers
The Student Diversity and Social Justice Centers (SDC and SJC) support student success through programs and shared spaces that bring awareness to, honor, and uplift all students’ identities, but especially those who identify as historically underrepresented. In addition to communal space and collaboration opportunities, the SDC also houses a textbook lending library and food pantry.
Living Out Our Vision
We are committed to diversity and equity as the foundation of a broad and stimulating liberal arts and sciences education.