University Mission

Mission Statement

To Teach ~ To Shape ~ To Send

Point Loma Nazarene University exists to provide higher education in a vital Christian community where minds are engaged and challenged, character is modeled and formed, and service becomes an expression of faith. Being of Wesleyan heritage, we aspire to be a learning community where grace is foundational, truth is pursued, and holiness is a way of life.

Mission Context

The university, established in 1902 by the Church of the Nazarene, offers quality liberal arts and professional programs on its campus in San Diego and select graduate and professional programs throughout the denomination’s Southwest Educational Region.  

Core Values

• Excellence in teaching and learning - Teaching and learning constitute the central and defining activities of Point Loma Nazarene University. Faculty believe that effective teaching includes maintaining a vital relationship with one's discipline, establishing a positive connection to students, and building bridges among the students as a community of learning with the academic material.
• An intentionally Christian community - PLNU wants students to be participants in a community of learning who intentionally think and behave as Christians in all of their endeavors. Through many curricular and co-curricular activities, PLNU builds a community where women and men are challenged to explore ways to align their hearts and minds to that of Christ.
• Faithfulness to our Nazarene heritage and a Wesleyan theological tradition - While working cooperatively with the whole church of Jesus Christ, the university is committed to maintaining and celebrating our denominational ties with the Church of the Nazarene and embracing the distinctives of that tradition.
• The development of students as whole persons - A complete education prepares women and men to live full lives that integrate the pursuit of knowledge with beliefs, values, and actions. Holistic learning prepares students to make a positive difference in the world.
• A global perspective and experience - PLNU students should be equipped to become "world citizens." The university provides academic coursework, international study, field research, and ministry experiences that aid students in becoming conversant with the complexities of life in the global community.
• Ethnic and cultural diversity - PLNU recruits women and men from a variety of cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds as students, faculty, and staff. A willingness to hear and learn from many diverse voices is foundational to a Christian liberal arts education and prepares students to become truly educated people, equipped to live in a diverse society and world. The university therefore actively pursues ideas, practices, and relationships that honor diversity and encourages engagement with others different from oneself in order to grow in community with and be reconciled to one another.
• The stewardship of  resources -  PLNU considers itself to be caretaker of all that has been entrusted to the university (people, facilities, money, and knowledge), using resources in a way that reflects the purposes of God and protects the goodness of God's creation.
• Service as an expression of faith - The university community understands itself to be stewards, not owners, of time, talent, and selves. Part of the call to Christians is to serve the world, working to better the condition of humankind both locally and globally.

The University Seal 

The university seal is used on all official documents. It consists of a shield picturing the symbols of VENIA (Grace), VERITAS (Truth) and SANCTITAS (Holiness), themes that–in keeping with the heritage of Point Loma Nazarene University–have been identified with the Wesleyan-holiness tradition.