Our Member Institutions

Minerva University became a freestanding, WSCUC accredited institution in June 2021. Previously, Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship under Keck Graduate Institute (KGI), Minerva is deeply principled in its mission: Nurturing Critical Wisdom for the Sake of the World. Minerva University is focused on improving the future by enhancing student potential to lead the development of innovative solutions to the most complex challenges of our time.

Established in 1925, Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU) is nationally recognized for its academic programs and its focus on preparing the next generation of citizen leaders. As a Catholic university primarily for women, MSMU is dedicated to providing a superior education enhanced by an emphasis on building leadership skills and fostering a spirit to serve others. The traditional baccalaureate program is offered at the Chalon Campus in West Los Angeles. Baccalaureate, associate degree, weekend/evening, and graduate programs are offered at the Doheny Campus near downtown Los Angeles. Adult nursing programs also are housed on the Doheny campus.

National University was founded in 1971 by U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. David Chigos. As the largest private, nonprofit university in San Diego, National’s mission is to provide accessible, achievable higher education to adult learners. National educations students across all 50 states, and offer over 100 on-campus and online programs through their unique four-week class format.

At Northeastern University Oakland students will find the freedom and support needed to pursue their passions. Students will discover the power of their voice to speak up and make a difference for the ideals and people that matter to them. When students graduate, they join a global network of alumnae who establish nonprofits and business, shape policies and politics, and push the boundaries in the arts and sciences.

Founded in 1851, NDNU is a WSCUC accredited, private, Catholic, coeducational master’s and undergraduate degree completion university, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Silicon Valley. NDNU broadens the perspective and outlook of its students by exposing them to peers with diverse backgrounds, cultures and world views.

Founded in 1887, Occidental College (OXY), a nationally-recognized private college, fully integrates the liberal arts and sciences with the cultural and intellectual resources of the dynamic city of Los Angeles. OXY curriculum is centered on an interdisciplinary, intercultural education and is enhanced by a highly engaged community of students. Students benefit from small-classroom environment with stimulating faculty, who take their teaching as seriously as their research. Students graduate as strategic thinkers and effective communicators. It is an education that is Distinctly OXY.

Established in 1918, Otis College of Art and Design is a national leader in art and design education. The College mission is to prepare diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, skill, and vision. Alumni and faculty are Fulbright, MacArthur, and Guggenheim grant recipients, Oscar awardees, legendary costume designers, leaders of contemporary art movements, entrepreneurs, and design stars at Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch, Pixar, DreamWorks, Mattel, Nike, and Disney.

Rooted in the extraordinary potential that lives in every human being, Pacific Oaks offers an environment where perspective and experience can play an integral part in an educational journey. Through a uniquely progressive approach to teaching and learning, everyone in the classroom is both student and teacher. Students relate subjects to their own personal experiences—sharing with the teacher and fellow students.

Founded in 1882, Pacific Union College is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian college with a strong liberal arts tradition. Located in the heart of California’s Napa Valley, the college offers a fully accredited four-year program and emphasizes academic excellence, authentic spiritual experience, and service to local and worldwide communities.

Palo Alto University (PAU) is a private, nonprofit educational institution, founded in 1975 as the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology (PGSP), an independent, professional school. PGSP re-incorporated as Palo Alto University in August 2009. PAU is dedicated to education with an emphasis in the behavioral and social sciences; to promoting future innovators and leaders for the benefit of society; to generating knowledge through research and scholarship of the highest level; and to providing services to the community informed by science and scholarship.

Pepperdine University is a Christian University, with the main campus located in picturesque Malibu, California. The university seeks to prepare its students to lead lives of purpose, service, and leadership. Undergraduate students attend Seaver College, where they receive a quality liberal arts education with 45 majors, 40 minors, a student to faculty ratio of 13:1, and average class size of 17 students. 96% of students participate in internships, student teaching, off-campus employment, or undergraduate research, and 89% of graduates are employed, accepted to graduate school, volunteering full time, or in the military six months after graduation.

Founded in 1963, Pitzer College is a top-ranked liberal arts and sciences college. The college emphasizes environmental and interdisciplinary studies, the arts, humanities and social, behavioral and natural sciences. With approximately 1,000 students, Pitzer College is part of The Claremont Colleges. At Pitzer, students have access to all the resources of a major university, while enjoying all the benefits of a liberal arts college experience and its personalized approach to education.

Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private, liberal arts, Christian college on the coast of San Diego, California. With a capped enrollment of 2,700 undergraduates, PLNU offers more than 60 degree programs in a personal, individualized environment. Growth is priority—graduates are prepared to balance academic growth, professional growth, personal growth and spiritual growth.

Established in 1887, Pomona College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Pomona offers a comprehensive curriculum, with 48 majors in the arts, humanities, social sciences, interdisciplinary studies, and natural sciences. Pomona is one of a handful of institutions that practice need-blind admissions and meet 100% of students’ financial need. One of the premier liberal arts colleges in the nation, Pomona is a close-knit and diverse community of accomplished scholars, scientists, entrepreneurs and artists who are passionate about making a difference in the world.

Reach began in 2006 with a simple but profound charge: reinvent teacher education. Within a year the Bay Area School of Enterprise (BASE) affiliated with Reach to launch its first teacher credential programs with 25 candidates. As a next step, BASE/Reach launched in 2009 its Instructional Leadership Academy for experienced teachers wishing to move into school administration. In 2011, Reach deepened its academic offerings with master’s degrees in teaching and leadership. In 2020, Reach incubated Oxford Teachers Academy, an innovative job-embedded bachelor’s degree program for full-time school staff and paraprofessionals seeking to become teachers. Reach in 2021 officially became Reach University, offering undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate degree programs for educators and leaders seeking a more equitable world.

Founded in 1863, Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC) is one of the oldest colleges in the West. Lasallian tradition encourages a commitment to social justice and to transformative teaching. SMC academic program includes advanced study in 30 major fields in arts and humanities, sciences and social sciences, education and business. Labs and classes are student-centered, enabling intense discussion, lively debates, and a strong sense that ideas matter. Located in the town of Moraga, a nearby suburb of San Francisco.

Samuel Merritt University offers a wide range of health sciences programs in nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant, occupational therapy, and podiatric medicine at the transfer, second bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. Programs are offered on campuses in Oakland, Sacramento, and San Mateo.

San Diego Christian College exists to educate and inspire students through the truth of Scripture and the development of competencies that prepare graduates whose purpose is to impact the world. San Diego Christian College, as an academic and learning community, aims to prepare academically equipped, culturally and globally involved graduates with a biblical worldview and godly character to serve God.

San Francisco Bay University (Formerly Northwestern Polytechnic University) (SFBU) is a non-profit, private institution of higher education located in Silicon Valley / San Francisco Bay Area, the global center of technological innovation. SFBU’s mission is to provide quality higher education to help individuals of diverse backgrounds, interests, and skills achieve their full academic and career potential. SFBU provides an opportunity to almost anyone, but then requires commitment and academic rigor from students. Thus, SFBU’s educational philosophy focuses on academic excellence, integrity, and determination through a positive learning environment. SFBU prepares individuals with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to become quality professionals in the high-technology industry.