Quad
Pepperdine UniversityMalibu, CA · Private nonprofit

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Business Administration and Management, General (17% of graduates). 12 students for every faculty member, fewer than at 59% of colleges. 47% of faculty are full-time. Spends $10,390 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

1,022 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 47% of graduates; 51 programs in 17 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Business Administration and Management, General 52.020117% 169
    Graduates in this field earn $91,227 4 years out
  2. Psychology, General 42.010111% 111
    Graduates in this field earn $61,353 4 years out
  3. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, Other 09.09997.5% 77
    Graduates in this field earn $81,417 4 years out
  4. Biology/Biological Sciences, General 26.01016.4% 65
  5. Political Science and Government, General 45.10015.8% 59
    Graduates in this field earn $75,954 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Biology, 2.5% → 6.4% of graduates since 2014–15 (65 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Economics$104,943 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $54,267

    4 years after completion$104,943
    National median: $82,686Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: Too few graduates to report · Non-Pell: $73,509(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $24,250 · 82 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. International Business$100,595 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$100,595
    National median: $73,201Above typical

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 38 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Business Administration, Management and Operations$91,227 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $69,751

    4 years after completion$91,227
    National median: $68,257Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $73,507 · Non-Pell: $88,291(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $27,000 · 404 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication$81,417 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $45,988

    4 years after completion$81,417
    National median: $63,560Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $69,901 · Non-Pell: $64,600(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $24,112 · 212 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Political Science and Government$75,954 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $42,306

    4 years after completion$75,954
    National median: $63,293Above typical

    Median federal debt: $23,625 · 72 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college12 to 1
12 to 1
← Fewer students per facultyfewer students per faculty member than 59% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 12 to 1 in its Common Data Set (3,377 students, 281 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

70%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 2% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–920623%
10–1940746%
20–2918121%
30–39475%
40–49202%
50–9991%
100+101%

This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.

Programs & curriculum

  • Distance learning
  • Double major
  • Dual enrollment
  • Honors program
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Student-designed major
  • Teacher certification
  • Study abroad
  • Undergraduate research

Requires coursework in arts, English composition, a foreign language, history, humanities, math, philosophy, a natural science, and social science.

Full-time faculty47%
National median: 67%Below typical
Average faculty salary

$128,828

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other private nonprofit colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable.

Instruction spending per student$10,390
$10,390
← Lessmore than 49% of 1,199More →
Endowment per student$124,238
$124,238
← Lessmore than 81% of 1,065More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;Pepperdine University Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;Pepperdine University Common Data Set 2025–26, 2025–26;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)