Entrance and Placement Examinations

All applicants for admission to the University are required to take either the ACT Assessment of the American College Testing Program (ACT) or the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) of the College Board. These tests are administered at high schools and university test centers throughout the United States. The scores earned are used for placement in certain courses.  The Point Loma Nazarene University SAT testing code is 4605; the ACT code is 0370.  Entering students who have not taken the entrance examination are required to meet this requirement after arrival.

First-Year Experience (FYE)

Educating the Student...Developing the Student... Serving the Student. This is the focus of Point Loma Nazarene University's First-Year Experience (FYE) program. FYE includes academic and personal development activities and services that strive to ba as seamless as possible. The goal of Point Loma's FYE is to support and facilitate the transition to university life as students learn how to take responsibility in seeking to develop skills to meet the challenges of higher education, self-awareness and understanding of others, the enjoyment of a wide variety of services, and setting the course to enter into the community of faithful learners.

New Student Orientation (NSO)

An important component of the First-Year Experience at Point Loma Nazarene University is a program known as New Student Orientation (NSO). An intensive orientation to all aspects of student life at the University, NSO welcomes students and families to the main campus for a three-day series of events that focus on issues such as academic life, residential life, adjustment to the challenges of a University education, financing one’s education, and enjoyable social events. The NSO experience is the culmination of mailings and website offerings prepared and administered by a cross-section of the University community, including staff, faculty, and student leaders. NSO is offered both in August and in January. 

Learning Experiences for Academic Progress (LEAP)  

Learning Experiences for Academic Progress (LEAP) provides freshmen with a year of selected activities, structured academic programming, and on-campus support services in order to increase academic success, retention, and degree attainment. The LEAP experience is designed to assist students with the transition from high school into a four-year, residential environment by providing a network of educational, personal, social, and spiritual support for one academic year. Faculty members, along with professionals from Academic Advising, Engagement and Retention, and Residential Life, serve as advocates and facilitators to encourage students to achieve their educational goals. The program places a significant emphasis on the University-level writing and reasoning skills necessary to promote student learning. In both fall and spring semesters, students take a maximum of 13 units and receive tutorial services. The Freshman Studies Seminar (FST 100-101) focuses on study skills, motivational issues, and the institutional and personal resources that can be used to contribute to academic success. In addition to curricular programming and academic enrichment, purposeful and holistic co-curricular opportunities are incorporated into LEAP.

Freshman Seminar (Psychology 101)

Typical of many institutions of quality, Point Loma Nazarene University offers a freshman seminar required of all first-time freshmen in their first year of study.  Presented in a unique combination of colloquium, lecture, and small-group laboratory experience, the seminar is designed to assist the student in understanding Point Loma Nazarene University as an academic, religious, and social culture. The semester-long experience features guest speaker, films, panels, and a variety of settings in which theories and issues in psychology are related to the student’s own level of need to develop mentally, spiritually, and socially.

Integrated Semester for Freshmen (ISF)

A learning community experience, PLNU’s Integrated Semester for Freshmen (ISF) is a one-semester fall program of five classes and sixteen units open to 48 first-year students. Professors from several departments plan together for thematic studies and discussions that provide a unique synergism for cross-disciplinary learning. Other emphases of the program include writing across the curriculum, the development of a dynamic, close-knit learning community, and achieving an academically successful first semester. All courses in this program fulfill undergraduate graduation requirements in general education. An activity fee covers costs of special activities including a mid-week retreat and a cultural event.

Course Challenge Programs

Students may use a variety of vehicles for meeting graduation requirements other than in the traditional classroom. These include the Advanced Placement (AP) program sponsored by the College Entrance Examination Board, approved on-line courses, the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. (See also Transfer Credit.)

Advanced Placement Program (AP)

Entering students who have satisfactory scores on AP examinations may receive credit in applicable areas of the curriculum. A score of four or five receives six units of credit where appropriate; a score of three receives three units. Credits awarded through the AP program are subject to the transcripting fee.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

Point Loma recognizes the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and awards advanced standing for Higher Level courses completed with a score of five or above. Official IB transcripts must be sent to the Office of Records for consideration. Credits awarded through the IB program are accepted as University credits and are not subject to the transcripting fee. For complete information, students should contact the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Administration.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Students may earn up to 32 semester units of credit by demonstrating proficiency in Subject Examinations related to graduation requirements. Credit is awarded as recommended by the College Board, with some restrictions to certain majors and general education. Credits are awarded only after the student has earned twelve units in residence with a minimum GPA of 2.000. The University charges a per-unit fee for transcripting course challenge credits in CLEP.

Study Abroad Opportunities

The Office of International Studies creates and provides programs that directly serve the University mission, primarily at international sites. Specifically, these study abroad programs provide students with the opportunity to expand their understanding of global and societal issues through direct study and work in a culture distinct from their own. Participation in these programs amplifies and extends the "teaching, shaping, and sending" emphasis of the University mission by helping students encounter and understand changes confronting our world in the context of global community and world citizenship.

Point Loma Nazarene University cooperates in selected programs for students who would benefit from such an academic experience. These programs directly support the University's core values of providing a global perspective and experience, and ethnic and cultural diversity. Students enrolling in these programs register for courses listed in the Off-Campus Programs (OCP) section of the Catalog and must determine with their advisors and counselors in the Office of International Studies, in advance, how credit for this work might be applied to graduation requirements. Furthermore, students must consider the implication of such study on University-funded scholarships. Additional information may be obtained online at www.pointloma.edu/studyabroad, by e-mail at studyabroad@pointloma.edu, or by contacting the Office of International Studies on the main campus. Students who are on academic probation, or those who are not cleared by the Office of the Dean of Students, are not eligible to participate in study abroad programs.

Applications for Off-Campus Cooperative Programs are available in the Office of International Studies, located in the Bond Academic Center.

Programs designated with "CCCU" are sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.