The University of Puget Sound is a private, church-affiliated university. Founded in 1888, it became a four-year college in 1913 and gained university status in 1960. It is larger than most small colleges, with more than 50 academic majors, an academically competitive student body and opportunities for students to engage in independent research, internships and interdisciplinary programs, such as Asian studies and international political economy. The northwest offers recreational opportunities in the mountains, 30 miles from campus and on the Sound, three miles away. Its 97-acre campus, with Tudor Gothic red brick buildings constructed during the 1950s and 1960s, is located in Tacoma, 35 miles from Seattle.