About
Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) is a private university in Whittier, California, and Phoenix, Arizona that offers programs in chiropractic, acupuncture and other pseudoscientific and non-mainstream approaches to healthcare. Academics are organized into three schools: the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, the College of Eastern Medicine, and the College of Science & Integrative Health. The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. SCU programs include acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and other controversial, alternative approaches to healthcare which are widely regarded by the mainstream science and medicine communities as pseudoscience.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Pell recipients here graduate at a 100.0-point higher rate than non-Pell students, unusual and worth a closer look.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 22 Title IV programs, 1 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 2 fail. 19 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing1 · 4.5%
- No Data19 · 86.4%
- Failing2 · 9.1%
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 · 6
Action history · 13
- Jul 2025Grant Substantive Change: ProgramWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Feb 2025Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine · Master's Degree- Oriental Medicine in English (MDOME)
- Jul 2024Renewal of AccreditationCouncil on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation · Chiropractic (CHIRO) - Programs leading to the D.C. degree
- Jun 2023Renewal of AccreditationWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Mar 2023Grant Substantive Change: ProgramWASC Senior College and University Commission
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 116 students received $670K in Pell grants, alongside $58.4M 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 189 borrowers who entered repayment, 3 (1.5%) 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 SCUHS
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.
SCUHS vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions SCUHS 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectSouthern California University of Health Sciences | 50% | Open admission | 2,008 | $45,848 | — |
| Grad-only | Grad-only | 3,466 | Grad-only | — | |
| 37% | 33.7% | 1,861 | $30,135 | — | |
| Grad-only | Grad-only | 2,567 | Grad-only | — | |
| Grad-only | Grad-only | 3,738 | Grad-only | — | |
| — | Open admission | 1,101 | $35,887 | — | |
| 50% | Open admission | 2,308 | $29,135 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs | |
| No freshman cohort | No freshman entry | 1,926 | No freshman cohort | — | |
| Grad-only | Grad-only | 3,665 | Grad-only | — | |
| Peer group median | 50% | 33.7% | 2,308 | $33,011 |
Institutions like SCUHS
Explore the federal data for institutions in SCUHS's comparison group.
- Missouri
A T Still University of Health Sciences
Grad rateGrad-onlyAdmit rateGrad-onlyEnrollment3,466Net priceGrad-onlyView data - Florida
AdventHealth University
Grad rate37%Admit rate33.7%Enrollment1,861Net price$30,135View data - Illinois
Midwestern University-Downers Grove
Grad rateGrad-onlyAdmit rateGrad-onlyEnrollment2,567Net priceGrad-onlyView data - Arizona
Midwestern University-Glendale
Grad rateGrad-onlyAdmit rateGrad-onlyEnrollment3,738Net priceGrad-onlyView data - Minnesota
Northwestern Health Sciences University
Grad rate—Admit rateOpen admissionEnrollment1,101Net price$35,887View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsTexas
Parker University
Grad rate50%Admit rateOpen admissionEnrollment2,308Net price$29,135View data - California
Samuel Merritt University
Grad rateNo freshman cohortAdmit rateNo freshman entryEnrollment1,926Net priceNo freshman cohortView data - California
Western University of Health Sciences
Grad rateGrad-onlyAdmit rateGrad-onlyEnrollment3,665Net priceGrad-onlyView data
SCUHS Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The page provides information about the Office of Institutional and Academic Insights (IAI) at Southern California University of Health Sciences, including contact phone number and physical address. The page does not mention specific individuals or provide in-depth details about the office's mission or links to specific datasets or dashboards.
Visit IR office pageReports & documents (1)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Frequently asked questions about Southern California University of Health Sciences
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about SCUHS.
What is the acceptance rate at Southern California University of Health Sciences?
What is the graduation rate at Southern California University of Health Sciences?
How many students attend Southern California University of Health Sciences?
What is the average net price at Southern California University of Health Sciences?
Where is Southern California University of Health Sciences located?
Who runs Institutional Research at Southern California University of Health Sciences?
About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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