College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Pepperdine University

CAMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #766 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Pepperdine University #766 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Pepperdine University is a private nonprofit university in Malibu, California, where the degree mix is led by Business and Communication & Journalism. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes roughly equal parts of that to the factors it measures and to what it cannot explain.

The earnings advantage is not simply a matter of who enrolls or what they study. Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, and the published cost is high.

Yet Pell students complete at a rate slightly above the cohort as a whole. The access picture is mixed: a high price alongside strong outcomes for the students who do enroll with need.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the four-year earnings figure counts only graduates who are not enrolled.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid one, Economics, awards far fewer degrees.

Pepperdine University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
62.9%
Six-year completion[2]
83.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$84,459

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$51,063
Median student debt[4]
$23,510
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$41,309

Pepperdine University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

A private nonprofit university in Malibu, California, Pepperdine University enrolls 3,553 undergraduates. Its composite position falls near the center among nonprofit four-year institutions (48th percentile).

It admits 62.9% of applicants, compared with the peer median — the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size — of 71.2%. First-year students return at a rate of 87.6%, against a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time, full-time cohort is 83.4%, against a peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 9.5% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so that graduation figure describes only the students who began here full time.

The four are spread across a wide range. Return is the strongest (91st percentile), while affordability is the weakest (2nd percentile).

Mobility and access sit between them (72nd and 42nd percentiles respectively), so the distance from top to bottom is large.

Azimuth evaluates Pepperdine University on four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. Return is the strongest, at the 91st percentile, and affordability is the weakest, at the 2nd percentile.

Mobility sits at the 72nd percentile and access at the 42nd percentile. The four pillars span a wide range, with return near the top of nonprofit four-year institutions and affordability near the bottom.

20.2% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks the university #856 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 84.8%, 1.4 percentage points above the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Azimuth ranks the university #406 for mobility. Graduates earn about $8,170 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Pepperdine University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#766
California#59
West#116

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 72
Access & reach
National percentile: 42
Affordability
National percentile: 2
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

01 / Pepperdine University briefing

Pepperdine University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Pepperdine University publishes a cost of attendance of $93,512, with tuition and fees at $69,918 and room and board at $21,750. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported sticker charges of $832 in required fees and $20,490 for on-campus food and housing.

After financial aid, the average net price — what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships — is $58,098, a savings of $35,414 against the sticker price. That sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $30,727.

Azimuth ranks Pepperdine University #1,391 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. A high sticker price and a net price well above the peer median point the same way: affordability is the university's weakest pillar.

The average aid package covers about 38% of the published cost, leaving a substantial out-of-pocket figure even after grants and scholarships.

Pepperdine University’s published cost of attendance is $93,512, with tuition and fees of $69,918 and room and board at $21,750. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—varies by family income.

For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $50,560; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000), it is $51,063; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $65,081. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,521, which reflects how aid scales across the income spectrum.

Azimuth ranks Pepperdine University #1,391 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 38% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $35,414 against the sticker price.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $58,098, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $30,727. While the sticker price is high, the aid structure brings costs down meaningfully for many families, though the net price remains above the peer median.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $23,510. About 91.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That median debt is below the peer median of $24,199 by $689. For a graduate at the median four-year earnings, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $267 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS hold a separate median of $41,309.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$51,063

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Pepperdine University

Borrowing is widespread at Pepperdine University, where 91.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, yet the median federal student debt at completion sits below the peer median. Graduates who borrow carry a median federal student debt of $23,510.

That median is $689 below the $24,199 median at comparable institutions (same type and size). For a separate population of parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS loan is $41,309.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 6% of its 864 bachelor's graduates held private loans, with an average cumulative principal of $67,992 per private borrower. The federal debt figures and the private-loan average describe different populations and are not directly comparable.

Graduates of Pepperdine University earn about $8,170 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 79th percentile nationally. Four years after completion, the median earnings reach $84,459.

That is above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $16,209. This places the university in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios derived from the program mix show a typical earnings level of $84,459, with a downside scenario of $55,137 and an upside scenario of $95,850. Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $23,510, which is below the peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $267 a month if repaid over ten years. Strong earnings that outpace both the model and peer medians, combined with a manageable median federal debt, point in the same direction for return on investment.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $41,309. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $267.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,510
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$41,309

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$267/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$525/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Pepperdine University briefing

Pepperdine University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $84,459, in the 92nd percentile. That figure is $16,209 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $8,170 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 79th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,109.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $4,061. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $226.

Azimuth places the return pillar at the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The strongest pillar for Pepperdine University is return on investment. Four years after completion, the median earnings of graduates reach $84,459, placing the university in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure runs above the median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $16,209. The earnings cohort includes 1,013 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

Graduates earn about $8,170 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 79th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome of $84,459, with a downside scenario of $55,137 and an upside scenario reaching $95,850.

An estimated 29.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The combination of a median earnings figure well above the peer benchmark and higher-than-expected earnings points to a strong return for graduates.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $84,459. That is $16,209 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), placing the university in the 92nd percentile for raw earnings.

Azimuth ranks Pepperdine University #133 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,170 more than the model expects for similar students.

That gap sits at the 79th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,109.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $4,061. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $226, which is consistent with a degree mix that leans toward business and communication rather than technical fields.

Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $55,137 and the upside is $95,850. An estimated 29.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios at Pepperdine University span from a downside of $55,137 to an upside of $95,850, with the typical scenario at $84,459. That range reflects the variation in program-level outcomes four years after completion across the university's 11 programs with published data.

The highest-earning programs illustrate this spread: Economics completers earn a median of $104,943, International Business graduates reach $100,595, and Business Administration and Management graduates earn $91,227. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awards 218 degrees and sits at the upper end of the range, while fields like Psychology land closer to the downside scenario.

At Pepperdine University, graduates earn about $8,170 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $23,510, which runs below the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $267 a month. The average price aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—the average net price—is $58,098, which is above the median for comparable institutions (the peer median) of $27,371.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $41,309. For aid recipients, the net price varies by family income: families earning under $30,000 face an average net price of $50,560, while those in the $30,001–$48,000 band see $42,674, the $48,001–$75,000 band $51,063, the $75,001–$110,000 band $61,851, and families earning over $110,000 face $65,081.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,521. Strong earnings alongside a net price that runs above the peer median reflect a mixed value picture: the return is high, but the upfront cost is substantial.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,109
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$4,061
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$8,170

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Pepperdine University briefing

Pepperdine University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Pepperdine University admits 62.9% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 13,445 applicants and 9,331 admitted students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
62.9%
25th percentile
1240
Median
1340
75th percentile
1410

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Pepperdine University briefing

What are the largest majors at Pepperdine University?[12]

Pepperdine University awards bachelor's degrees across 11 fields with published four-year earnings. The highest-earning program, Economics, shows a median of $104,943 four years after completion, alongside 51 degrees awarded.

International Business follows at $100,595 with 24 degrees awarded, and Business Administration and Management—the largest program by degrees awarded at 218—reaches $91,227. Kinesiology and Physical Education reports a median of $65,100 on 64 degrees awarded.

Psychology reaches $61,353 with 77 degrees awarded. These figures sit below the university's overall median four years after completion, reflecting the spread between higher-earning business and economics fields and the moderate-earning social and health sciences.

Pepperdine University's largest program families are Business, which accounts for 29.7% of bachelor's degrees awarded, Communication & Journalism at 17.4%, and Social Sciences at 10.9%. The university publishes earnings data for 11 bachelor's programs, and the figures four years after completion show a wide range.

The highest-earning program is Economics, with 51 degrees awarded and a median of $104,943. International Business follows at $100,595 with 24 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 218 degrees and shows a median of $91,227. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication and Economics round out the picture at $81,417 and $104,943, respectively, with 127 and 51 degrees awarded.

The bachelor's degrees at Pepperdine University concentrate in a few professional fields. Business accounts for 29.7% of degrees awarded, followed by Communication & Journalism at 17.4% and Social Sciences at 10.9%.

The university has 11 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, at 218 degrees awarded, with Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication second at 127 and Psychology third at 77.

The highest-earning program is Economics, where graduates earn a median of $104,943 four years after completion, from 51 degrees awarded. International Business is the second-highest-earning, with a median of $100,595, though it is a smaller program at 24 degrees awarded.

Business Administration and Management, the largest program, is also the third-highest-earning, with a median of $91,227. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in business and economics, fields that dominate both the degrees-awarded and earnings lists.

The largest programs are also among the best-paid, and the three programs cited here all post earnings above the national median for their fields. The university awards 8.7% of its degrees in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 218 degrees awarded
$91,227
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 127 degrees awarded
$81,417
Psychology, General 77 degrees awarded
$61,353
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 64 degrees awarded
$65,100
Biology, General 63 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Economics 51 degrees awarded
$104,943

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Pepperdine University briefing

How does Pepperdine University serve students from different backgrounds?

Pepperdine University combines a high graduation rate with earnings that exceed the model's expectations, placing its mobility pillar in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 83.4%, and Pell recipients complete at a rate of 84.8% — above the overall rate by 1.4 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $8,170 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 79th percentile nationally. A high completion rate alongside higher-than-expected earnings points to strong outcomes for students who reach graduation.

Pepperdine University admits 62.9% of applicants, a rate that sits below the peer median of 71.2% for comparable private nonprofit universities. The university enrolls 3,553 undergraduates, and 20.2% of them receive Pell Grants.

An estimated 9.5% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 42nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Pepperdine University briefing

What colleges are similar to Pepperdine University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Pepperdine University.

Admissions peerChapman University65.4% admitted
Comparison with Pepperdine University
MeasurePepperdine UniversityChapman University
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,459$73,336-$11,123 vs Pepperdine University
Average annual net price$58,098$46,555-$11,543 vs Pepperdine University · lower cost
Admission rate62.9%65.4%
Explore Chapman University →
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Redlands82.7% admitted
Comparison with Pepperdine University
MeasurePepperdine UniversityUniversity of Redlands
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,459$75,863-$8,596 vs Pepperdine University
Average annual net price$58,098$30,031-$28,067 vs Pepperdine University · lower cost
Admission rate62.9%82.7%
Explore University of Redlands →
Nearby alternativeLoyola Marymount UniversityNearby option · CA
Comparison with Pepperdine University
MeasurePepperdine UniversityLoyola Marymount University
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,459$78,039-$6,420 vs Pepperdine University
Average annual net price$58,098$48,381-$9,717 vs Pepperdine University · lower cost
Admission rate62.9%45.1%
Explore Loyola Marymount University →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Redlands$30,031 average net price
Comparison with Pepperdine University
MeasurePepperdine UniversityUniversity of Redlands
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,459$75,863-$8,596 vs Pepperdine University
Average annual net price$58,098$30,031-$28,067 vs Pepperdine University · lower cost
Admission rate62.9%82.7%
Explore University of Redlands →
Similar profileUniversity of the PacificMatched across several measures
Comparison with Pepperdine University
MeasurePepperdine UniversityUniversity of the Pacific
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,459$81,820-$2,639 vs Pepperdine University
Average annual net price$58,098$25,447-$32,651 vs Pepperdine University · lower cost
Admission rate62.9%71.3%
Explore University of the Pacific →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings