California Lutheran University

Based in Thousand Oaks, California, the California Lutheran University is a private liberal arts university with just over 4,000 students. The university is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America but is a secular institution. 36 majors and 34 minors are offered in total by the university.

80 percent of the student body are from California, while the average class size is just 16 students. The average accepted GPA score is 3.8. Nearly two-thirds of graduates go on to further study within one year of graduation. 

Interestingly, the university is located on land donated by the Norwegian Colony and there remain strong ties to Norway, with 20 percent of the international undergraduate students in 2017 hailing from that country. As of 2015, the university gave US$18,000 in scholarships to Norwegian students.

The university has a healthy academic program and is famous in the US for being the “Cradle of Coaches” in american football. Under coach Bob Shoup, the university won their only national championship to date and nearly a quarter of all players who played under Shoup have gone on to coach at some level including the NFL.