Why Choose Concordia
Explore your future, your faith, and all of your life’s callings.
50 Years of Forming Wise, Honorable, and Cultivated Citizens
Every college promises to prepare you for the future. At Concordia University Irvine, we ask who you want to become along the way. You’ll join a close, caring community that knows you, challenges you, and supports your growth personally, professionally, and spiritually.
Founded in 1976 and proudly affiliated with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Concordia offers a rigorous liberal arts education grounded in the Christian faith. Here, thoughtful inquiry and faith work together as you prepare for lives of learning, service, and leadership.
A Culture of Christian Hospitality
At Concordia, you’ll find a welcoming community where people know your name and care about your growth. In and outside of the classroom, faculty and peers will challenge you, celebrate your accomplishments, and help you become the person you’re called to become.
From your first campus visit through commencement, that sense of welcome reflects the Christian care and service that shape life at Concordia.
Rooted in Lutheran Tradition
Our LCMS affiliation means we don’t hide from hard questions, we confront and explore them directly to grow our faith. Drawing from a Lutheran intellectual tradition, we encourage you to think carefully, engage different perspectives, and grow in your understanding of faith and the world.
Faith and learning are not in tension here. Instead, they are in conversation every day, in every classroom.
The Q&I Curriculum — Questions & Ideas
Your Major Prepares You for a Field, Q&I Prepares You to Stand Out in It
You don’t have to arrive with the answers;
you just have to be willing to ask.
Concordia’s nationally recognized core curriculum develops the habits of mind that employers, graduate schools, and communities need most.
Programs Built for Your Callings
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Master of Arts in Education: School Counseling
Transform students’ lives with a master’s in school counseling.
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Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN)
Pursue your callings to serve and heal through our accelerated…
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Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology
Gain a better understanding of the human body with kinesiology.
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Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
Thrive in the global marketplace with a business administration degree.
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Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletic Administration
Accelerate your journey to exceptional coaching and leadership.
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Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Study the mind and explore human behavior with a psychology…
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Master of Arts in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Help people move beyond coping to restoration with a master’s…
By the Numbers
25
International Telly Awards
For our music program, in just 6 years
5,000
Current students
Plus 25,000 alumni worldwide
10
Minutes From the beach
Hilltop campus in one of America’s safest cities
Life After Concordia
Where Our Students End Up
Nursing
Jessica Parris ’13
Jessica Parris decided to become a nurse after spending seven weeks in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit with her daughter, born at 28 weeks. She entered Concordia’s Accelerated BSN program with three kids and a full-time job, drawn by its holistic approach to patient care and its work-friendly schedule. After graduating she found her dream job in labor and delivery at the same hospital where her own journey into nursing began. Today she serves on the alumni board, organizes alumni panels for graduating students, and teaches as an adjunct OB clinical instructor.
Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN)
The Arts
Kaitlyn Bills ’25
Since graduating in commercial music, Kaitlyn Bills continues her career as an R&B singer-songwriter under the stage name Kaity B, performing around Orange County while recording her debut album. This year brought two major highlights: leading music at the LCMS Youth Gathering in New Orleans and performing as a soloist at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in Manhattan.
Commercial Music
Graduate
Joshua McArthur ’22
Joshua McArthur came to Concordia’s Townsend Institute to shift his career from accounting toward organizational leadership, choosing the program specifically because it made room for his faith. Initially skeptical of the online format, he found the cohort structure and the practice of role-playing difficult conversations to be the most valuable parts of the experience. Today he serves as director of culture at High Brew Coffee in Austin, Texas, where he coaches managers and executives through workplace challenges while still working on the company’s financial side. He also leads the young adult ministry at St. Paul Lutheran in Austin, applying much of what he learned to that work as well.
Townsend Institute
Explore What Shapes a Concordia Education
Faith & Mission
Proudly Lutheran
Grounded in the Great Commission and welcoming to students of every background.
Athletics
Golden Eagle Athletics
Compete at the NCAA Division II level while growing as a student, teammate, and leader.
Campus Life
Residential Life
Live, learn, and grow in a close community shaped by different experiences and perspectives.
Founded in 1976
So Why Choose Concordia?
Because We Prepare You for All of Your Life’s Callings
Join a 50-year tradition of forming wise, honorable, and cultivated citizens who are prepared to lead lives of service.