Colleges
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University |
![]() |
location | students | adm. | int’l. | fresh | grad | GPA | ACT | SAT | TOEFL |
Malibu, CA | 3,662 | 49% | 9% | 89% | 76% | 3.8 | 31 | 1380 | 90 |
Pepperdine University is a private institution that was founded in 1937. The University is located on 830 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California. Beverly Hills is 24 miles away and Disneyland is 54 miles away from Pepperdine’s Malibu campus. Los Angeles is about an hour away. Pepperdine is a Christian university recognized nationally for its excellent academic programs across its five colleges and schools. Students must attend 14 spiritual events a semester and take at least three religion courses during their time at Pepperdine. Students can participate in club sports, such as lacrosse, tennis, and surfing, and a variety of intramural sports. Freshmen and sophomores must live in university housing on the dry campus, and student spiritual life leaders live in each residence hall. In addition to its main campus in Malibu, Pepperdine offers graduate courses in West Los Angeles, Irvine, Encino, and San Jose. Pepperdine also has international campuses in Germany, England, Argentina, Switzerland, and Italy.
Academics
Pepperdine University is composed of an undergraduate liberal arts school, Seaver College, and four graduate schools: the Caruso School of Law, the Graziadio Business School, the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and the School of Public Policy. Pepperdine operates permanent satellite campuses in five countries, with each campus offering semester- and year-long programs for students of Seaver College. With a full-time faculty of 400 professors and scholars, Pepperdine offers bachelor, master, and doctoral studies in a wide range of disciplines. The student-faculty ratio at Pepperdine University is 13:1, and the school has 74% of classes with fewer than 20 students. Popular majors include Business, Psychology, and Public Relations.
Special Highlights
Sustainability Minor. The interdisciplinary sustainability minor exposes students to environmental issues, allowing them a critical understanding of theological, philosophical, scientific, political, communicative, literary, business, and economic dimensions of contemporary global sustainability challenges. The sustainability minor is ideal for students who may pursue careers in law, ministry, government, journalism, or business, and for those interested in graduate school.
International Programs. Each of Pepperdine’s five schools offers unique programs to facilitate global learning opportunities that influence and improve student lives. Students are encouraged to participate in multicultural and/or international study experiences and are instilled with the conviction that they must become responsible members of international communities. More than 60% of undergraduates spend a semester or more abroad in at least one international program.
School Mission & Unique Qualities
Pepperdine University is widely considered one of the most beautiful college campuses in the world in terms of scenery and architecture, and has been described as “a place that looks more like a beach resort than a private university.” The campus offers views of the Santa Monica Bay, Catalina Island, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and much of the Westside of Los Angeles. Most buildings are designed in the Mediterranean Revival Style with white stucco walls, red tile roofs, and large tinted windows. The most distinctive feature of the Malibu campus, apart from its location, is the Phillips Theme Tower, a 125-foot obelisk with an embedded cross that stands on the front lawn. Alumni Park is located on the lowest part of the Malibu campus, adjacent to the Pacific Coast Highway. It is a 30-acre expanse of lawns, trails, hills, ponds and coral trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Student Reviews…
“It has been a wonderful experience. The classes are engaging and once you attend a few classes you become such a close knit community with your peers. Everyone is helping each other succeed. The campuses all around Malibu, Encino and West LA are all beautiful.”