What Academic Programs Does Pacific University Offer?

Updated

Pacific University offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and over 20 graduate and professional programs, according to the university's own description of its academics. It is a private, nonprofit university with campuses in Forest Grove and Hillsboro, Oregon, and it has also introduced in-person three-year degree options — a first in Oregon, based on the university's news listing. The sections below break down what that means for different kinds of applicants.

Undergraduate Programs

Pacific's undergraduate side is built around breadth: 50-plus majors, which gives applicants room to combine interests rather than commit to a single narrow track. The university frames the degree as preparation for careers in education, healthcare, research, creative work, and community leadership — fields that show up repeatedly in how it describes its alumni.

One distinctive option is the accelerated route. Pacific states it is the first university in Oregon to offer in-person three-year degrees. If you want to finish a bachelor's degree faster than the standard four years while still attending classes on campus, this is the program to ask about directly, since not every major may be available in that format.

Graduate and Professional Programs

With more than 20 graduate and professional programs, Pacific's advanced offerings lean toward applied and licensed fields. The university's own materials point to healthcare providers and educators as two of the most common alumni outcomes, which aligns with a graduate portfolio weighted toward health professions and education rather than a broad research-university spread.

If you are comparing Pacific against a large public university, the trade-off is usually scale versus focus: fewer total programs, but a tighter connection between the degree and a specific professional path.

Health-Related and Clinical Training

Pacific is unusual among private universities in operating healthcare clinics across the greater Portland area. Those clinics are not just community service — they function as training sites where students in health programs gain supervised clinical experience. For prospective students in healthcare fields, this means clinical exposure is built into the institution rather than arranged through separate partnerships.

The university also runs an on-site elementary school, which supports its education programs in a similar way. If your goal is a health or teaching credential, these embedded settings are worth asking about during a visit or admissions conversation.

How to Decide Which Program Fits

If your goal is... Look at... Why
A bachelor's degree, standard pace 50+ undergraduate majors Broad choice across liberal arts and pre-professional fields
A bachelor's degree, faster finish In-person three-year degrees Oregon's first such option, per the university
A clinical or health career Graduate health programs + campus clinics Supervised training embedded in the university's own clinics
Teaching or school-based work Education programs + on-site elementary school Direct classroom setting for practicum work
Research or creative fields Undergraduate majors + alumni career paths University cites researchers and creators among outcomes

A Practical Next Step

Because program availability changes and the three-year degree option is new, the reliable move is to check the academics section of pacificu.edu for the current program list, then confirm specifics — format, length, clinical requirements — with admissions for the program you want. The university is also pursuing a merger with Willamette University, which it has publicly announced; if you are applying for a future term, ask how that affects your intended program before you commit.