apu.edu
APU is located at the entrance to the San Gabriel Canyon in the Los Angeles–area city of Azusa. The university is interdenominational and evangelical, and emphasizes a “God first” commitment coupled with excellence in higher education. US News and World Report ranked APU as one of the Best Colleges of 2009. APU offers over 80 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, with a variety of classes on campus as well as online.
biola.edu
Biola is located in La Mirada in southern California, just north of Anaheim. The university’s goal is “biblically centered education, scholarship and service.” The school offers 33 undergraduate majors, and has a graduation requirement of 30 units of biblical studies.
simpsonu.edu
Simpson University is located in northern California—160 miles north of Sacramento in Redding. The university boasts the only private residential campus north of Sacramento. Simpson focuses on both liberal arts and Christian principles. There are substantial core education requirements in both liberal arts and theology courses, in both traditional and nontraditional undergraduate programs.
pointloma.edu
Picturesque San Diego is the setting for Point Loma Nazarene University. Perched on oceanfront seaside cliffs, the campus hosts a student population of 3,000 with small classes and a low student-to-teacher ratio. The university offers 50 undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs in nursing, education, business, theology and biology.
pepperdine.edu
Although the location of the university was not always as picturesque as its current location near Malibu in southern California, Pepperdine has since its inception been affiliated with the Church of Christ. Pepperdine has its main campus as well as six graduate campuses in Southern California and international campuses in China, Italy, England, Germany, Switzerland and Argentina. Pepperdine became a university in 1971 when the School of Law opened, only three years after the George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management opened.
cui.edu
Concordia University is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The university has a liberal arts emphasis and is affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. The institution offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as adult programs. The main campus is located just outside of Irvine, California in Orange County.
hiu.edu
Located south of the California State University, in Fullerton, HIU is a small private university with around 1,700 students. HIU is nondenominational but does advertise ties to both the Restoration Movement and the Churches of Christ. HIU has accreditation from both the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Association for Biblical Higher Education. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as online distance and adult education programs.
vanguard.edu
Although the university hasn’t moved from where it began in 1920 in Costa Mesa, California, there have been a number of name changes along the way. It was begun as Southern California Bible School, then changed its name to Southern California College and finally, in 2007, to Vanguard University of Southern California. In 2007 the school moved from college to university status, creating three distinct schools—undergraduate, graduate and professional studies. The university is owned and operated by the California District of the Assemblies of God.