Poets&Quants | Pepperdine's Graziadio Business School

Annual Tuition: $49,500

Acceptance Rate: 74%

Full-Time Enrollment: 118

International: 47%

Minority: 51%

Female: 42%

Male: 58%

The Graziadio MBA: What You Need To Know

The Graziadio MBA program is for those looking to utilize their success and leave a positive impact on the world.

“We educate and develop Best for the World Leaders, giving them the proper tools and skillset to turn any business challenge into an opportunity and serve as a catalyst for innovation, creating a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable world,” says Bernice Ledbetter, dean of students and alumni affairs, director of the Center for Women in Leadership, and lecturer of organizational theory and management.

The program focuses on real-world application, not just theory. Every student gets the opportunity to work directly with a real business as part of the school’s E2B (education-to-business) Applied Learning Program. Here students connect with global powerhouses, startups and regional brands to address important challenges facing prominent organizations.

Students are able to choose from 12-, 15-, or 20-month program options. The experience-driven curriculum supports study abroad opportunities at one of Pepperdine’s partner schools across 25 countries. Eight concentrations are available in dispute resolution, business analytics, digital innovation and information systems, leadership and managing organizational change, entertainment, media, and sports management, entrepreneurship, finance or marketing.

Pepperdine is ranked among top MBA programs in social and environmental curriculum. The SEER Certificate Program allows students to adopt more environmentally conscious ways of conducting and organizing business. It is founded on four principles: Corporate Social Responsibility (“People”), Environmental Stewardship (“Planet”), Financial Strength (“Profits”), and Product/Service.

“Pepperdine’s MBA program teaches ethical leadership and entrepreneurial skill sets to build high value and sustainable businesses for the global economy,” said Abraham Park, associate dean of full-time programs and professor of finance.

The Graziadio MBA program bolsters its students with confidence and drives them toward success. Take it from Graziadio MBA ’88 alumnus Blake Irving, who is currently board director for Autodesk Inc., Docusign, and ZipRecruiter and adviser to McLaren Racing. “I credit the Graziadio School for radically altering the trajectory of my career,” Irving says. “I wouldn’t have held senior leadership roles at Microsoft, Yahoo, or GoDaddy without the skills and confidence I gained.”