Pepperdine University Top Questions

So far, I'm extremely impressed with academics at Pepperdine. The majority of classes have fewer than 20 students, some less than 10. As a freshman, you'll probably take at least one large lecture class, but even those are usually capped around 150 students. Professors here are passionate about what they teach, and they truly want their students to succeed. Sometimes, when a student isn't doing well, the professor will actually email the student to set up an appointment. Many professors live on campus, and they love to invite students over for dinner. The personal connections you make with your professors is invaluable for making professional connections, getting letters of recommendation, and other skills that ultimately help you find a job. Students here are very intelligent, but they don't tend to be particularly intellectual. That being said, Pepperdine's Great Books program, Philosophy Club, and House Groups all provide great sources of deep discussion. Students are generally very humble about their accomplishments, so I've never felt a huge sense of competition among my peers. Pepperdine won't force you to get stellar grades or push yourself, but the opportunities for those who succeed are plentiful and well worth the effort.

As a Journalism major who is pacing herself, I've been challenged without feeling completely overwhelmed. I’ve felt that my workload has enabled me to delve deeply into the coursework without needing to “rush through everything to get it done.” I'd HIGHLY recommend taking the Great Books Colloquium if you're looking for an intellectual experience. In this program, students read classic texts, such as Plato’s Republic, and discuss them in a Socratic format. Although it absolutely tests your discipline and assumptions about the world, it is an extremely worthwhile experience. Most class sizes are small and teachers are tremendously accessible. It is not uncommon for teachers to invite students to their homes for dinner. Although this personal element might feel frustrating for some, I’ve noticed that this nurturing environment has held me accountable in my coursework and attendance. Class participation is highly encouraged and extremely interesting. Many teachers incorporate media clips into their power-point presentations in order to stimulate discussion. In reference to the intellectual style of the student body, Pepperdine may not be the place to discover an overall population of highbrow scholars who sequester themselves in the library and ponder scientific enigmas (although I do know one or two individuals like that). I'll generalize by observing that students express their intellects through entrepreneurship and social prowess. The extensive accomplishments of my classmates astound me on a daily basis, and there absolutely is a level of competition.

As a Journalism major who is pacing herself, I've been challenged without feeling completely overwhelmed. I’ve felt that my workload has enabled me to delve deeply into the coursework without needing to “rush through everything to get it done.” I'd HIGHLY recommend taking the Great Books Colloquium if you're looking for an intellectual experience. In this program, students read classic texts, such as Plato’s Republic, and discuss them in a Socratic format. Although it absolutely tests your discipline and assumptions about the world, it is an extremely worthwhile experience. Most class sizes are small and teachers are tremendously accessible. It is not uncommon for teachers to invite students to their homes for dinner. Although this personal element might feel frustrating for some, I’ve noticed that this nurturing environment has held me accountable in my coursework and attendance. Class participation is highly encouraged and extremely interesting. Many teachers incorporate media clips into their power-point presentations in order to stimulate discussion. In reference to the intellectual style of the student body, Pepperdine may not be the place to discover an overall population of highbrow scholars who sequester themselves in the library and ponder scientific enigmas (although I do know one or two individuals like that). I'll generalize by observing that students express their intellects through entrepreneurship and social prowess. The extensive accomplishments of my classmates astound me on a daily basis, and there absolutely is a level of competition.

Academics at Pepperdine are pretty demanding. Most general education (GE) classes have weekly quizzes, while classes which count towards one's major incorporate papers and/or projects, as with most university's classes. While GE classes are not terribly difficult, if a student truly wants to learn from them, they are time consuming. The majority of students taking the three humanities and three religion classes required to graduate rely on past students' notes to get by--thus, the classes have gained a reputation as being "boring" and "too easy". While the private liberal arts university requires more GE classes than California's state schools, some students graduate proud of their well-rounded education, while others complain that the extra classes were a "waste of time". My experience with coursework at Pepperdine has been that classes are mainly geared towards learning for the sake of knowledge. Most of my professors do not make it a point to note the practical application of any skills we are sharpening; the focus of most Pepperdine classes are not trade-oriented. I imagine major coursework for music, theater, and telecommunications students has an emphasis on the business side of their art, covering what sorts of jobs exist within their interests. I have been both a nutritional science and creative writing major (the latter being my current one) and most of my experience has been that it is up to the student to figure out how they will apply their knowledge in the future. Fortunately, there are quite a few on-campus opportunities to test out different fields, such as journalism, theater set design, and magazine publication. While I have heard of unique classes like Randall Wallace's (Braveheart) candlelit screen writing hour, in which he creates a cozy environment by candlelight whereby students exchanges tales of their writing struggles and he shares stories of personal experience in return, I have yet to experience such an unconventional class myself. The structure of my intro to creative writing class was purely workshopping, where groups of three students would submit individual work twice a week, and students not assigned to submit that day were expected to read and critique their colleagues' work and be prepared to discuss their thoughts in class. Students who had submitted pieces of writing were required to sit silently and take notes while the other students offered their critiques. This set up led to the empowering of students who were encouraged to lead the class, and my writing improved dramatically from the teaching style. Another emboldening class was a community nutrition course in which the students were assigned to research and produce a six week program to be implemented in the community and to be taught to the target group the following semester. Despite these strengthening, major-related classes, my favorite class at Pepperdine was the first-level humanities class (one which many students yawn through and rely on T.A notes to get by). The blend of art with history and sociology personally made for a fascinating insight into our past which allowed my imagination to flourish. In small departments of study like nutritional science and creative writing, the head of the department will know most of their students by name. The clear benefit of such is the individualized attention that these students receive, and students who seek extra attention are offered opportunities to further strengthen the skills they pursue through extracurricular work. These valuable opportunities are found with greater ease than if these students had been at a larger university. A decent number of professors live on campus and some invite students over for study groups (this is especially common within the history major). On the whole, professors make themselves readily available outside of class. This is a major bonus since the shorter semesters and longer break periods at Pepperdine make for semesters which feel like they're racing at the pace of a sprint rather than that of a jog. With such speedy semesters, finals sneak up on relieved students before they know it. The downside to the jam-packed three and a half months is that there's little time to breathe; only the most efficient of students can pencil in a social life once they've passed their sophomore year. The rigorous schedule of the university's courses are balanced out by professors who take the time to get to know their students and who genuinely invest their efforts into ensuring the best academic experience they can offer. The majority of classes are no bigger than twenty five students (with classes for one's major being around fifteen students large) so student participation is quite high, as the spotlight would fall on a silent student. As this school gets an F for party life, it seems academics take the wheel to driving students toward their graduation. Pepperdine students are definitely competitive, yet outside of the classroom, conversations are less intellectual and moreso centered around the entertainment business or theology, if generalizations are to be made. Not a highly intellectual community overall, Pepperdine students are primarily in awe of the sand and surf surrounding them and are eager to indulge in LA, while thanking G-d for the view and putting any personal struggles down to a test from the Lord. While this obviously does not represent each student, those who are the loudest are the ones which are heard.

One of the highlights of Pepperdine academics is the professor-student ratio, which allows professors to know us by name. For example, one of my professors had us over for lunch last weekend to kick off the Christmas season, another is bringing her homemade lasagna to our final exam, and a third, who is also the chair of an entire division, met with me this morning to guide me through research analysis. It's a neat aspect of Pepperdine, and this sort of interaction is common through many majors and departments. Student participation in class and intellectual discussion outside of class varies by major and department. Participation is usually decent in my classes, though some have been much more responsive than others. As a psychology major, I do have friends in the major who actively discuss intellectual concepts taken from class, but I think this can be encouraged more. We discuss our research with each other and our professors, who are often very available to students through their office hours. While I think we could sometimes use more intellectual stimulation at Pepperdine, I know it depends on the class. It also depends on the student -- the experience can be as intellectually stimulating as you make it through your course selections, time spent talking to professors, etc. My favorite classes I've taken in my major have included Psychopharmacology and Personality Psych. The former was the most difficult class I have taken, but if I put in the work and did a few hours of reading each week, it was manageable. The professors in our international programs, and sometimes in Malibu, seem overqualified for their jobs, making our experience that much more interesting with them because they know so much which they want to impart to us. My least favorite classes have been some General Education requirements, of which I think we have a few too many. The most unique classes are some I'll be taking next semester, including one on eating disorders and another on Holocaust history. A popular unique course offered to freshmen revolves around the Harry Potter book series. With the revision of some majors, more and more interesting classes are being offered. And the quirk of the course depends on the professor, too -- "Braveheart" screenwriter Randall Wallace's class sits on the floor by candlelight for a little while each class to encourage others to share their story ideas without judgment, for example. One of the best things about Pepperdine academics is that they're easily coupled with outside opportunities. Internships are an integral part of college, and Pepperdine has connections to a great many prominent companies in Los Angeles and abroad. Students receive credit in their major for doing an internship. In other outside experiences, many classes, especially in the psychology major, require service learning outside the classroom, which can be very eye-opening. Sometimes, these outside experiences will lead to job offers after graduation.

On the Malibu campus, the academics are demanding without being overly so. I definitely feel like I am being challenged, but I don't feel overwhelmed by the amount of work I have. If you choose to study abroad, the academics vary. There are some programs with extremely difficult academic programs, and others which are much easier. A great thing about Pepperdine is that most (though not all) of your classes are small, which makes it easy to get to know your professors on a more personal level. The main issue that I have with Pepperdine's academics is that I feel like there are too many GE requirements, and many of them are non-transferable. For example, there is a US History GE that is required, but the AP US History test cannot be applied because its technically an upper division history class.

On the Malibu campus, the academics are demanding without being overly so. I definitely feel like I am being challenged, but I don't feel overwhelmed by the amount of work I have. If you choose to study abroad, the academics vary. There are some programs with extremely difficult academic programs, and others which are much easier.

Aside from the required general education classes that can potentially have over 50 students, most classes are quite small. This allows professors to get to know you personally and even recognize you around campus. A large amount of students take their studies seriously, especially around midterms and finals when the library becomes 'the place to be.' Classes are rigorous, but not impossible. Professors are always willing to meet and help you outside of class time. Incoming freshman are required to enroll in a Freshman Seminar course, and can choose from a wide variety of courses. My Freshman Seminar was one of my favorite classes, as it was a course completely devoted to the rereading/study of the Harry Potter books.

My favorite thing about Pepperdine's academics is the small class sizes, there are only a few classes that will be held in the auditorium and those are GEs. All of my professors except the two who taught in the auditorium have known my name and been available, and more than willing, to talk to me outside of class. Some of the professors have their students over to their house for dinner as well, and they've all been very interested in their students' wellfair as well as their academics. I've had a lot of great classes at Pepperdine, but my favorite by far is Great Books which is a 4 semester seminar in which you read great literature from all throughout history and discuss them. I had an excellent professor who was genuinly interested in all of his student's opinions and I learned as much from my fellow classmates as I did from him. A few of my friends were in different classes of Great Books and we would always bring it up outside of class and continue the discussions we'd had. At least in my group of friends, we love to discuss issues brought up in our classes, current events, or even spiritual issues with each other and I've learned a lot from them over the past two years.

I would hate the feeling of simply being a number in a large lecture hall. So it's comforting to have close relationships with my professors, and Pepperdine provides that. In fact, I ran into one of my first professors that I had ever taken a class from, and she still knew my name and asked how I was doing. To me, that's pretty incredible, and it's a great feeling. Everybody is concerned with academics here, but we don't take things too seriously. During finals week, everybody flocks to the library and it actually ends up being really fun spending so much time with your friends.