Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $82,939 ten years after enrolling, more than at 93% of colleges; 84% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 3.3 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$23.5K
According to Pepperdine University's most recent Common Data Set, 43% of its Class of 2025 graduates (864 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $32,826 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
85 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 10 more are enrolled at another college. (1,119 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
76 of 100 finish within 4 years, 84 within 6, and 85 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 76% | 84% | 85% |
| Started in college here | 74% | 84% | 84% |
| Transferred in | 84% | 86% | 88% |
Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Of 100 Pell Grant recipients who entered in fall 2019, 64 finished within 4 years and 75 within 6. First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2019.
- Pell Grant recipients118 students
75% · 64% within 4 years · 2 points below students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant150 students
83% · 76% within 4 years · 5 points above students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan454 students
78% · 65% within 4 years · comparison group
Within 4 years
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White360 students
86% · 7 points above all students
- Asian95 students
82% · 4 points above all students
- Hispanic/Latino132 students
81% · 3 points above all students
- Black43 students
86% · 8 points above all students
- Two or more races68 students
82% · 4 points above all students
- International96 students
77% · 1 point below all students
- American Indian/Alaska Native2 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Pepperdine University. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;Pepperdine University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2019;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Pepperdine University Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)