Which Pepperdine University major has the lowest debt?

Communications graduates leave with a median of $19,667 in federal loans, the lowest among 11 Pepperdine University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Pepperdine University cost?

Tuition and fees are $69,918 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $58,098 a year.

How many Pepperdine University programs report graduate pay?

12 bachelor's programs at Pepperdine University report first-year pay, and 11 of them also report federal debt.

Pepperdine University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Private nonprofit university
Malibu, CA
3,553 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

12 Pepperdine University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Business Administration pays the most in the first year ($69,751), and Biology the least ($20,031). The median program pays $39,613.

Tuition and fees$69,918Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$58,098Per year

Graduation rate83%Within 6 years

Admission rate63%Of applicants

All 12 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across California. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
1	Business AdministrationAbout 186 graduates a year	$69,751	$91,408	$28,000	5th of 57
2	EconomicsAbout 31 graduates a year	$54,267	$83,724	$24,250	14th of 35
3	CommunicationsAbout 17 graduates a year	$48,398	$66,858	$19,667	3rd of 39
4	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 85 graduates a year	$45,988	$75,482	$26,000	3rd of 10
5	JournalismAbout 13 graduates a year	$42,536	Not reported	Not reported	3rd of 14
6	Political ScienceAbout 38 graduates a year	$42,306	$81,421	$23,625	8th of 44
7	International StudiesAbout 18 graduates a year	$36,920	$58,137	$26,000	4th of 9
8	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 51 graduates a year	$34,388	$78,198	$23,336	3rd of 31
9	Writing and RhetoricAbout 13 graduates a year	$33,228	Not reported	$24,027	3rd of 10
10	PsychologyAbout 89 graduates a year	$23,438	$63,882	$22,580	52nd of 54
11	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 3 graduates a year	$23,182	$59,382	$21,375	10th of 12
12	BiologyAbout 49 graduates a year	$20,031	Not reported	$25,379	46th of 47

Program names link to the program's own page, and California ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five California programs in the field do too.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 186 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 89 graduates a year
Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 85 graduates a year
Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 51 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 49 graduates a year

Common questions

Business Administration graduates earn a median of $69,751 in their first year, the most of 12 Pepperdine University bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels