Overview
For over 40 years, Pacific Lutheran University has helped students translate their love of books into a life of books through an exciting professional career in publishing. One of the only such undergraduate programs in North America, PLU’s Publishing & Printing Arts (PPA) program is highly respected by employers for its combination of preprofessional skills and solid liberal arts education. This five-course (20-credit) interdisciplinary minor gives students a head start into the world of publishing and related fields. While other undergraduate programs focus only on the history of the book, publishing studies, or traditional printing arts, PLU’s program combines all three areas of study with elective credits in the most comprehensive book studies program in the United States.
PPA readily complements majors like English, communication, foreign languages, public relations, journalism, marketing, and graphic design. But students in other disciplines also benefit from PPA’s links to publishing opportunities in those fields.
One special feature of the PPA program is the variety of internships it supports, both full-time and part-time. Internship sponsors in the United States have included Johns Hopkins University Press, Parenting Press, Copper Canyon Press, the Minnesota Historical Society Press, NavPress, and the ELCA, as well as several libraries and museums. Students have also enjoyed internships abroad, including with Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers in Namibia. New opportunities are always emerging with publishers, booksellers, and printers, in the growing field of technical communications, and in the publication departments of a diverse range of companies.
PPA minors are also leaders in PLU’s student publications, including the Mast and Saxifrage.