“Private Lutheran university in Irvine serving the Pacific Southwest”
Concordia University Irvine (CUI) is a private Christian liberal-arts university affiliated with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and a member of the Concordia University System. Founded in 1976 as Christ College Irvine and renamed in 1993, the school sits on a 70-acre hillside campus overlooking the city of Irvine in Orange County. CUI offers roughly 30 undergraduate majors across five schools—Christ College (Theology), the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the School of Education, and the School of Professional Studies—together with a portfolio of graduate and adult-degree-completion programs. Academically, the university is best known for its Lutheran Great Books–style core curriculum, its Townsend Institute for leadership and counseling, and strong professional programs in nursing, kinesiology, business, and education. Student life at CUI is intimate and faith-informed. With fewer than 1,600 traditional undergraduates and a student-to-faculty ratio of about 15 to 1, classes are small and relationships with professors are direct and sustained. Residence life is central—freshmen are required to live on campus, and more than half of all undergraduates live in CUI's mix of suite-style halls, apartment-style units, and themed Living-Learning Communities. Traditions like Week of Welcome (WOW), Midnight Madness, CultureFest, Homecoming, Night of Hope, and Concordia Christmas anchor the academic year, while chapel, service, and ministry opportunities are woven into daily life without being required. Campus character reflects its Southern California setting. The Eagles compete in NCAA Division II within the PacWest Conference, with a nationally recognized track and cross-country program, and the arts—especially choral music and theatre—punch above the school's size. Irvine itself is one of the safest and most internationally connected cities in the United States, with direct access to beaches, the technology corridor of South Orange County, and easy travel through John Wayne Airport and LAX. For international students who want a smaller, personalized, Christian community within a sunny and globally familiar metro, Concordia Irvine offers a distinctive alternative to California's larger research universities.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceEarly Action
Non-binding; priority merit-scholarship consideration.
Regular Decision (Rolling)
CUI uses rolling admission; August 1 is the final fall-term deadline.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$43,480
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Home to CUI's liberal-arts core and majors in the humanities, natural and behavioral sciences, and the performing arts. Small seminars and a required Core curriculum rooted in the Great Books tradition define the academic experience.
Accredited professional programs in business administration, accounting, marketing, and sport business, with a strong undergraduate internship pipeline into Orange County's finance, hospitality, and technology employers.
One of the largest feeders of Lutheran and public-school educators in California. Offers bachelor's, teaching credentials, and master's/doctoral programs in teaching, leadership, and educational administration.
Houses CUI's accelerated professional and health-science programs, including its well-known BSN and MSN nursing programs and kinesiology/exercise-science tracks.
CUI's founding school, preparing students for pastoral ministry, Lutheran teaching, and church work, as well as undergraduate theology and ministry majors open to all students.
4 years
A cohort-based, clinically intensive BSN program with rotations across Orange County hospital systems. Widely regarded as CUI's flagship professional pathway and highly sought by international students planning U.S. healthcare careers.
4 years
A broad management foundation with concentrations in marketing, finance, accounting, and sport business, paired with required internships in the Orange County business community.
4 years
A pre-health and sports-science track that feeds graduates into physical therapy, athletic training, chiropractic, and medical school, leveraging CUI's active NCAA D-II athletics environment.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $43,480
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
