A Faith and Learning Community

Selecting the right college represents a significant decision for all students. Making that choice encompasses many considerations, from degree offerings and faculty, to financial aid, research and service opportunities, and even location. Students determine which schools best meet their educational goals and align with personal beliefs.

Mission-Driven Community

At Azusa Pacific, those who live and learn together form the fabric of our Christ-centered university community. Shared values, mutual respect, and hospitality are cherished attributes that each member contributes to and works hard to safeguard. We do not take this responsibility lightly and remain grateful to be part of the educational plurality of the great state of California. Faith integration, student care, service, diversity, and religious expression combine to form the essence of our mission-driven community.

Faith Integration

Since the university’s founding in 1899, APU has incorporated our religious beliefs into every aspect of university life. We are transparent about our God First approach to higher education and Christ-centered academic excellence as it reflects our mission-driven identity, including our commitment to diversity. Rigorous curriculum across academic disciplines explores topics infused by faith. In the residence halls, during chapel, and in discipleship groups, students unpack God’s call upon their lives and witness His transformation. To uphold this distinction, APU employs faculty and staff who share the Christian faith across denominations.

Student Care

With Christ as our example, we seek to create space for dialogue and engagement that allows people to feel safe and respected. Should concerns arise, the university’s student affairs teams come alongside struggling students to offer resources to assist them. We also offer a Bias Reporting System that empowers students and community members to make reports and seek recourse if an intentional or unintentional act or behavior occurs. That sets in motion a process of accountability, resolution, and reconciliation. In addition, the university’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offers the campus ongoing education and resources that foster the kind of community we aspire to be. The university also provides grievance processes for students and employees to resolve disputes as they arise. Each day, the university community strives to create an environment where students and employees can flourish.

APU has a great program for veterans, and they make it easy for us to transition from military to civilian life. God has called me to work with kids and be a mentor. Through my professors, I learned what service can look like, and now it’s my turn to return the favor to another person.

Jerson Anzola ’18
A Colombia native, Army veteran, and Azusa resident, plans to give back to his community by becoming a physical education teacher.

Service

  • 52,256 service-learning hours
  • 220 chapel services each year
  • 65 mission teams sent to 28 countries

A month-long APU mission trip to Kenya in 2000 brought to light the needs of the country and filled me with a calling to serve the people of East Africa. My eyes were opened to poverty in a new way, and not just the hard things about Africa, but also really beautiful things. In our work today, we believe that we’re not just there to take care of diseases. It’s about holistic care. Everything that we do with love is holy to God.

Juli (McGowan ’01)
Boit Abuilt a ministry dedicated to hospice care in Kenya. Living Room Ministries offers dignity and quality of life to those battling life-threatening illnesses, particularly HIV/AIDS.

Diversity

  • 66% of APU’s more than 10,000 students are ethnically diverse
  • 1,336 of the more than 4,000 undergraduates receive Cal Grants
  • 75% of Cal Grant recipients come from underserved families
  • 63% six-year graduation rate
  • 1 of 152 Hispanic-serving institutions in California

It was awesome to go to Azusa Pacific and prove everybody wrong. I’m a special ed kid, but I went to college and I graduated, and that’s a good thing. Don’t let anyone define who you are. Right now, I’m blessed to be part of the NFL. One day, I’d like to join the police force. I want to protect people and help kids.

Terrell Watson ’15
Watson, a former NFL running back, rewrote virtually every school rushing record. But for Watson, a Cal Grant recipient, success is just the result of hard work and determination. apu.edu/stories/terrell-watson.

Religious Expression

The precious freedom to express our religious tenets is recognized by the United States and California Constitutions. Other federal and state laws likewise support the opportunity for Azusa Pacific and other religious higher education institutions to weave religious beliefs into all aspects of university life. For example, exemptions in Title IX1 and the California Equity in Higher Education Act2 support Azusa Pacific’s efforts to operate consistently with its religious tenets by maintaining faith-based standards of behaviors that all community members voluntarily agree to follow as a condition of living and learning in our community. These laws provide Azusa Pacific and other religious institutions with the discretion to thoughtfully make policies and build community expectations around our mission to advance the work of God in the world through academic excellence and to help students develop a Christian perspective on truth and life. A full statement of APU’s mission and community expectations for faculty, staff, and students can be found at:

Azusa Pacific is one of the most respected institutions in the West, especially among those who realize that no education is complete without attention to the spiritual values which are preserved here.

President Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, speaking at APU’s 1973 commencement.

I am the daughter of immigrants, a first-generation student who worked hard to get into college and earn scholarships. It was only the generosity of donors and the benefit of the Cal Grant that allowed me to attend college. Choosing a university was about more than a degree, it was about fit. I sought a place where a rigorous education was part of understanding and living out my sincerely held religious beliefs. I found this at Azusa Pacific University.

Margarita Ramirez ’12
Moved to the United States from Mexico at age 10. Ramirez earned a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and is pursuing a doctorate at Georgetown University with plans to become a professor.

As a community of disciples and scholars pursuing Christ-centered academic excellence, Azusa Pacific University has a clear commitment to equip our students to make a difference in their families, neighborhoods, places of work, and areas of influence throughout the world.

Paul W. Ferguson, PhD, DABT, president of Azusa Pacific University

For more information or a hardcopy of the Faith and Learning brochure, download the PDF below or contact the relevant office with your mailing address:

Undergraduate and International Admissions | (626) 812-3016
Graduate and Professional Admissions | (626) 815-4570
Human Resources | (626) 815-4526
Los Angeles Pacific University | (626) 624-4673

Download the Faith and Learning Brochure

Descarga la Versión en Español

Footnotes

  1. 20 U.S.C. section 1681(a)(3).
  2. Cal. Ed. Code section 66271.
Full Menu