Pepperdine University Commencement Collection

Commencements at Pepperdine began at George Pepperdine College in 1938, which became Pepperdine University in 1971. In 1972, the Malibu campus of Pepperdine opened, and commencement ceremonies were then held at both the Malibu and Los Angeles campuses. The College of Arts and Sciences at the Los Angeles Campus was renamed the School of General (later Professional) Studies in 1975, but was disbanded in 1981 when Pepperdine sold their Los Angeles location. In 1975, the liberal arts college on the Malibu Campus was dedicated as the Frank R. Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Science, and is most commonly known as Seaver College today. Along with these two main campuses, Pepperdine also maintained extension programs at off-site locations which included sites like Hawaii along with international locations. These programs' flexible scheduling were designed to allow military personnel to complete academic degrees, but were discontinued in the 1970s due to their administrative costs.

The first professional schools at Pepperdine were established in 1969, with the purchase of the Orange University College of Law which became Pepperdine's School of Law in 1970, as well as the reorganization of the business department into its own School of Business and Management (renamed the Graziadio School of Business and Management in 1996). In 1971, the education department also became its own School of Education, and in 1982 incorporated the psychology division and was renamed the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). Pepperdine's newest school, the School of Public Policy, was established in 1997.