Master's · Malibu, California
Is Psychology, General at Pepperdine University worth it?
High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Graduates typically don't earn back the cost within 20 years, compared with the no-degree baseline.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $59,564
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $56,419
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $98,073
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
- $104k (likely $104k – $104k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- −$13k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- Not within 20 years in most scenarios
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$455k (likely −$512k – −$393k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- −$623k (likely −$724k – −$512k)
- Today's dollars
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- ≤ 20% / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Psychology, General at other schools
Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.
Other majors at Pepperdine University
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$141,949
- Educational/Instructional Media Design (Doctoral)$133,031
- Law (Doctoral)$126,561
- Human Resources Management and Services (Master's)$123,307
- Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral)$120,410
- Dispute Resolution (Master's)$110,166
- Economics (Bachelor's)$104,943
- Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral)$103,432
- International Business (Bachelor's)$100,595
- Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's)$95,306
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's)$91,227
- Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's)$82,200
Psychology, General at other schools in California
- San Diego State University$111,549
- California State University-Fresno$90,681
- Claremont Graduate University$80,672
- California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt$79,429
- Antioch University-Los Angeles$79,347
- Antioch University-Santa Barbara$79,347
- California State University-Chico$75,000
- University of Massachusetts Global$73,213
- California State University-Sacramento$72,365
- National University$71,001