Palo Alto University
About
Palo Alto University (PAU) is a private university in Palo Alto, California, that focuses on behavioral health disciplines like counseling, psychology, and social work. It was founded in 1975 as the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology and became Palo Alto University in 2009.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 9 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 7 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing2 · 22.2%
- No Data7 · 77.8%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
WASC Senior College and University Commission
WASC Senior College and University Commission
Programmatic accreditations · 2
Action history · 5
- Oct 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Clinical Psychology (CLPSY) - PhD Doctoral programs
- May 2023Grant Substantive Change: ProgramWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Oct 2019Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Clinical Psychology (CLPSYD) - PsyD Doctoral programs
- Jun 2018Renewal of AccreditationWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Jun 2018Renewal of AccreditationWASC Senior College and University Commission
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 12 students received $59K in Pell grants, alongside $35.5M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 223 borrowers who entered repayment, 2 (0.8%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Palo Alto
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Palo Alto vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Palo Alto selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectPalo Alto University | — | — | 1,065 | — | — |
| — | — | 1,631 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,874 | — | Doctoral/Professional | |
| — | — | 1,057 | — | Doctoral/Professional | |
| — | 34.5% | 1,100 | — | — | |
| 0% | 46.3% | 3,344 | — | — | |
| — | — | 564 | — | — | |
| — | — | 518 | — | — | |
| — | — | 967 | — | — | |
| Peer group median | 0% | 40.4% | 1,065 | — |
Institutions like Palo Alto
Explore the federal data for institutions in Palo Alto's comparison group.
- Illinois
Adler University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,631Net price—View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalCalifornia
California Institute of Integral Studies
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,874Net price—View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalCalifornia
Saybrook University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,057Net price—View data - Illinois
The Chicago School at Chicago
Grad rate—Admit rate34.5%Enrollment1,100Net price—View data - California
The Chicago School at Los Angeles
Grad rate0%Admit rate46.3%Enrollment3,344Net price—View data - District of Columbia
The Chicago School at Washington DC
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment564Net price—View data - California
The Wright Institute
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment518Net price—View data - Massachusetts
William James College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment967Net price—View data
Palo Alto Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
We maintain the data infrastructure that supports institutional effectiveness, strategic planning, and evidence-based decision making at PAU. The Office of Institutional Research and Digital Transformation provides accurate, accessible data to internal and external stakeholders, supports compliance with accreditation and federal reporting requirements, and coordinates the university's technology strategy.
Visit IR office page- Jeff HarrSenior Director of Institutional Research and Digital Transformation
- Rowena G. GomezAssistant Provost of Research, Assessment & Institutional Effectiveness
- Christopher OlbrychInstitutional Research Administrator
Reports & documents (1)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Grants & funding (4)
Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.
- awardLGBTQ+ Clinical AcademyCounty of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Departmentinstitution_site
- awardLongevity, Equity, and Aging Research Network (LEARN)National Institutes of Health (NIH)institution_site
- awardPilot Effectiveness Trial of Cognitive Processing Therapy Augmented with a Suicide Risk Management Protocol (CPT+SRM)National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)institution_site
- awardTesting the Role of Attentional and Audio Vocal Mechanisms in a New Internet-Based Intervention for Social Anxiety: iExposureNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)institution_site
Notable alumni of Palo Alto (3)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Joseph Bankman
- Lisa M. Brown
- Sara Nasserzadeh
Frequently asked questions about Palo Alto University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Palo Alto.
How many students attend Palo Alto University?
Where is Palo Alto University located?
Who runs Institutional Research at Palo Alto University?
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