Pepperdine University, founded in 1937, is a private university located in Malibu, California, known for its comprehensive education and Christian values. It is widely recognized as an excellent institution, ranked 55th in the 2023 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking. With a total enrollment of 10,446 students (3,708 undergraduates and 6,738 graduates) and a student-faculty ratio of 1:13, Pepperdine offers a small liberal arts college feel within a comprehensive university.

The university has four campuses and five schools: Seaver College (the only undergraduate school), the School of Law, the Graziadio Business School, the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and the School of Public Policy. Seaver College, located on the main Malibu campus, is highly ranked but does not offer popular majors like business or engineering. The law school, business school, public policy school, and education and psychology school offer nationally competitive programs, with the arbitration law program ranking in the top three in the U.S.

Pepperdine is one of the top 50 U.S. universities with the fewest undergraduate admissions. In the 2021-2022 academic year, the university received 11,855 undergraduate applications, admitted 6,249 students, and enrolled 1,024 students, including 320 international students, with an acceptance rate of 52.7% and an enrollment rate of 16.4%.

The beautiful campus of Pepperdine University is highly acclaimed, repeatedly ranked as the most beautiful campus in the U.S. by Princeton Review. It has been featured in many famous films, such as Tony Stark's home in "Iron Man." The university attracts many Chinese elite offspring, including former richest man's daughter Zong Fuli and Jet Li's daughter Li Si, as well as European nobility, Arab princes, and Hollywood stars. Pepperdine University has a significant influence in the U.S. entertainment industry, with notable alumni including Eric Christian Olsen, Kelly Hu, Chace Crawford (the male lead in "Gossip Girl"), and Brandy Norwood.