Pepperdine University vs. Azusa Pacific University?

Graduate School
1

<p>It looks like i was accepted into both Pepperdine and Azusa Pacific University for the same Masters in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy. Which should i attend?</p>

<p>APU is an actual campus, half the cost of Pepperdine, i am taking out loans. Pepperdine is the irvine off location not the malibu campus. PU is also three times the distance and i am commuting. Is pepperdine a better name to attend? Thank you all!</p>

2

<p>I have heard of both but know one girl who went to Azusa and nobody who actually went to Pepperdine. </p>

<p>Azusa. ;)</p>

3

<p>I’ve only heard of Pepperdine, but I don’t really know the reputation of it. It sounds to me that you are already leaning toward APU with the reasons you listed. What is your end goal? To continue on to become licensed, or just to get a job afterward? </p>

<p>Also consider whether you have undergrad loans (not sure if you do). Do you want to add to those? If so, how much?</p>

4

<p>Pepperdine will brand you as a conservative. AP will brand you as an (evangelical) Christian conservative. Depending on what you hope to do and whether or not you plan to seek a job or private practice, either of these brands could be a plus or a minus.</p>

<p>Pepperdine is probably better known outside of SoCal, if that matters to you.</p>

5

<p>Pepperdine is my first choice, because it is more recognized and known and i wanted to know if it is worth it. I only plan to finish my master’s and become a licensed marriage and family therapist or a form of counselor. I thankfully have no loans or debt from my undergraduate work. So the loans i take out will be my only debt. I would like to work in private practice at some point.</p>

6

<p>You’re doing a great job so far of weighing the pro’s and con’s… </p>

<p>Important Factors You’ve Already Identified

  • Cost
  • Campus environment/resources
  • Convenience</p>

<p>Other Factors to Explore

  • Career Preparation (# of hours spent in the field)
  • Doctoral Program Preparation (% of students publishing or presenting papers, curriculum)
  • Faculty Areas of Expertise/Research (probably one of the most important aspects of grad school selection)</p>

<p>I’ll assume because you’re looking at Pepperdine & Azusa, you also place value on receiving a Christian higher education. If that is the case, I know APU graduate programs go to far greater lengths than Pepperdine to implement faith-integration. This can be deduced very objectively be reading material published by both programs on their websites, but can definitely be investigated further by simply asking program representatives.</p>