California Lutheran University is a private, residential university Founded in 1959. It is home to thousands of undergraduate and graduate students who come from different countries and represent a wide variety of faiths. The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.

The university is a selective, comprehensive institution offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in the liberal arts and sciences and professional fields. It offers undergraduate degrees in 40 majors and 41 minors. The flexible Bachelor's Degree for Professionals program is designed to meet the needs of returning adult students. Graduate degrees, credentials, and certifications are offered through Graduate School of Education, School of Management, Graduate School of Psychology and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.

The university has a dedicated, accomplished faculty that works with small classes of students who are open-minded about ideas, about people, and about faith; and are seeking to grow as individuals. Both in the classroom and outside of it, everyone at Cal Lutheran is committed to helping each student pursue their passions to discover their purpose, and follow that purpose to transform their community and the world.

Cal Lutheran's main 225-acre Thousand Oaks campus (located between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara) is complemented by four satellite centers in Oxnard, Santa Maria, Westlake Village, and Woodland Hills. Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, located in Berkeley, California, is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a founding member of the Graduate Theological Union.