Regular Application Deadline: 06/29
School Type: Private
Average Age: 30.00

Part Time Program: Yes
Evening Program: Yes
Executive MBA Program Offered: Yes
Total Faculty: 86

Best Business Schools

Students Say - Academics
Pepperdine's Graziadio School of Business and Management offers a range of program options for full-time students, working individuals, and accomplished execs. Full-time programs include a traditional MBA, an international program, and two joint-degree programs: an MBA/Master of Public Policy and an MBA/JD. About three in four students here attend part-time, and those looking to schedule their education around a fulltime job can do so with either morning or evening classes. The school encourages mid-level managers to take advantage of its executive MBA program and senior-level executives to take advantage of its presidential and key executive MBA program; both programs meet on weekends. The school's Master of Science in Organizat ion Development is also geared toward those with significant professional experience and is composed of eight 1-week sessions at various locations in California and abroad.

Across programs, the Graziadio curriculum focuses on "keeping up with the changing global economy while doing business in an ethical manner." Course work on organizational behavior is "very strong," though students tell us that "employers aren't so worried about that if you want to do something like high finance." "Small class sizes" are the norm here, and "Most grades are based on group presentations and papers rather than testing." While most students enjoy this setup, a few gripe that "people can get by without doing much work at all if others in the group do the work" and describe the atmosphere as "too nonchalant." By all accounts, Graziadio "professors genuinely care" about students and "have tons of real-world experience." Staff members are reportedly "helpful," though some here describe the overall administration of the school as "slightly disjointed." A few students would also like Graziadio to recruit students with "higher GMAT" scores in order to boost its standing in the b-school community.

Students Say - Admissions
The Admissions staff at Graziadio provides prospective applicants with one-on-one consultations regarding their suitability for its programs. This acts as a prescreening process; therefore, the school is more selective than its admit rate would suggest.

Students Say - Campus Life
Students at Graziadio report that "all classes have a group project element so we spend a lot of time outside of class with other students," adding that these interactions "usually go beyond academic levels; classmates usually hang out together outside of school." Of the "well-educated" and "energetic" students here, a sanguine student writes: "I know these are people I will keep in contact with for the rest of my life." A student in the financial industry adds: "We have so many international students; I'll have friends all over the world now." "It is challenging, rewarding, and fun," a student coming from the field of pharmaceutical marketing writes. "Days are long, and I work hard, but I enjoy being at school. I look forward to seeing my classmates. I usually have one or two meetings in a dayâ€"for team projects and/or extracurricular activities. I generally spend all day on campus."

Just which Pepperdine campus a Graziadio student calls home, however, varies. The university's primary campus is in Malibu, but it also maintains graduate campuses in West Los Angeles, Encino, Irvine, Long Beach, Pasadena, Santa Clara, and Westlake Village; each of Graziadio's different programs is offered on one or more of these campuses. Students on the primary campus in Malibu describe it as "beautiful and peaceful." "It's a great place to come study, but it's so secluded that you end up wanting to actually leave Malibu and head into areas where there's more life." To that end, some here claim that "hitting the bars and clubs in Santa Monica and Hollywood happens at least once a week, if not twice a weekend." "Talks by industry professionals" (including "some fairly big-time CEOs"), "information sessions by local companies for recruitment purposes, and, sometimes, club events" also mix things up. Students believe, however, that the school could provide "more social activities" for students in the different programs "to network better [and] to build a better sense of school unity for the business school."

Students Say - Careers
Graziadio boasts the largest b-school alumni network in Southern California; the school has over 30,000 alumni, and over 3,600 of them occupy prominent positions at major organizations. It is not surprising, then, that students cite the opportunities the school provides to "network" as one of its major strengths. However, many students also characterize the school's Career Services as a significant weakness. As one student explains, "The current staff is helpful in identifying alumni whom [students] can connect with, but is little help in . . . helping students target employers that fulfill their desired profession." A few Graziadio students tell us that "Recruiting/Career Services is improving." A multipurpose online tool provided by the school allows students to manage most of their job search in a single place.

Employers who frequently hire Graziadio graduates include: NASA, Mattel, Countrywide Financial, KPMG International, AT&T, Boston Consulting Group, Nestlé, Princess Cruises, The Walt Disney Company, Wellpoint, Wells Fargo, Farmer's Insurance, Cintas, and Wilmington Trust. Students here, however, maintain that few "great companies actively recruitâ€"I have to go to those companies myself and bang on [their] door."

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