Our Mission

Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.

Pepperdine is an independent, private university located on 830 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California. The University is recognized nationally for its excellent academic programs and enrolls approximately 8,000 full-time and part-time students in its five colleges and schools. With a full-time faculty of more than 300 professors and scholars, Pepperdine offers bachelor, master and doctoral studies in a wide range of disciplines.

Seaver College, the School of Law, and the School of Public Policy are located on the Malibu campus along with the University's principal administrative offices, student and faculty housing, arts, and athletic facilities.

The Graziadio School of Business and Management and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, headquartered at Pepperdine's West Los Angeles facility, also offer residential programs on the Malibu campus. Both schools offer extensive programs for employed professionals at five education centers strategically located throughout Southern California.

Pepperdine's Drescher Graduate Campus has recently opened on fifty acres above the Malibu campus. The new graduate campus houses programs and offices of the Graziadio School of Business and Management and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and is the permanent home of the School of Public Policy. The Villa Graziadio Executive Center, Heroes Garden, new faculty and staff housing, and parking structure are also located on the Drescher campus.

Pepperdine has achieved a preeminent position with regard to its international campuses in Heidelberg, Germany; London, England; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Florence, Italy. Additionally, undergraduate and graduate programs are offered through educational alliances with world-class institutions of higher learning throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. More than fifty percent of undergraduate students spend a semester or more abroad in international programs.

Faculty and Staff

Faculty and staff support the University's mission of academic excellence and Christian values. They serve as role models and mentors, as well as teachers and scholars; the faculty are committed to the primacy of teaching and learning.

Virtually all faculty members (96 percent) have earned terminal degrees in their disciplines. Students and alumni consistently cite the quality, accessibility, and caring nature of faculty and staff as among Pepperdine's major strengths.

The Students

Pepperdine students come from all fifty states and more than seventy nations. The students represent a wide variety of religious, cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The University embraces this diversity, which enriches the educational process. Students of all ages are enrolled, reflecting the University's commitment to lifelong learning.