Malibu, CA, 90263, United States

Squeezed in among the Santa Monica Mountain foothills, Pepperdine University is a Christian college known for its picturesque location in Malibu, Calif. The school upholds the New Testament-based traditions of the Churches of Christ. Students must attend 14 spiritual events a semester and take at least three religion courses during their time at Pepperdine. There is a Church of Christ on campus, as well as a handful of student-led ministries. Outside of church, the school’s sports teams, the Pepperdine Waves, compete in the Division I West Coast Conference. Students can also play club sports, such as lacrosse, tennis and surfing, and a variety of intramural sports, from flag football to volleyball. Freshmen and sophomores must live in university housing on the dry campus, and student spiritual life leaders live in each residence hall. About a third of students are active in more than a dozen sororities and fraternities, though there is no official Greek housing on campus.In addition to its main campus in Malibu, Pepperdine University offers graduate courses at campuses in West Los Angeles, Irvine, Encino and San Jose. The school also has facilities in Germany, England, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, China and Washington, D.C. Beverly Hills is 24 miles away and Disneyland is 54 miles away from Pepperdine’s Malibu campus. Los Angeles is about an hour’s drive away. The school has graduated dozens of top athletes, including baseball player Randy Wolf, golfer Jason Allred, basketball player Alex Acker and beach volleyball Olympic medalist Nicole Sanderson, among its many notable alumni.