Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsPrivate nonprofitHSI

Vanguard University of Southern California

Costa Mesa, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·vanguard.edu
6-yr Graduation
57%
-9.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Total enrollment
2,246
peer median 3,266
Avg net price
$19,761
-$7.4k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersDocuments

About

Vanguard University is a private Protestant university in Costa Mesa, California. Vanguard's required core curriculum includes courses on American politics and history, theology, fine arts, and public speaking.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
3,948
3,948 candidates competed
Admitted
2,465
62.4% acceptance rate
Enrolled
485
19.7% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
57%-9.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
4-year graduation
52%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
57%
Full-time retention
70%

Pell equity

0.0pp gap
Pell recipients
55%
Non-Pell
55%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 45 Title IV programs, 4 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 41 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
45
Passing
4
8.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

45programs
  • Passing4 · 8.9%
  • No Data41 · 91.1%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
4
No data
41

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.

4
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+31.9%
$47,582 vs $36,082
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
+55.6%
$75,686 vs $48,653
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+74.5%
$62,957 vs $36,082
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+183.4%
$102,239 vs $36,082

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

4
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
54%
$41,000 debt · $75,686 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
42%
$20,166 debt · $47,582 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
40%
$24,992 debt · $62,957 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
21%
$21,750 debt · $102,239 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1964Next review Jun 2033

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 5

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Apr 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  3. May 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
  4. Jun 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  5. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Theatre, Commission on Accreditation · Theatre (THEA) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$14,906
$30–48k$14,528
$48–75k$17,411
$75–110k$19,543
$110k+$27,190

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$19,761
-$7,423vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs median $27,184
Federal loans
84.1%
In-state tuition
$39,950
Out-of-state
$39,950

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 988 students received $5.9M in Pell grants, alongside $14.8M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
988
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.9M
$5,878,113 total
Direct Loans
$14.8M
2,180 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
’20
1k
’21
1k
’22
1k
’23
1k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$3.6M
858 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$3.3M
920 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$2.8M
170 loan awards
Parent PLUS$4.7M
218 loan awards
Grad PLUS$419K
14 loan awards

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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 620 borrowers who entered repayment, 7 (1.1%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.1%
-1.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
620
Defaulted
7
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.4%
2017
4.0%
2018
5.0%
2019
1.1%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* 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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Vanguard

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs47
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

532 total completions
01Psychology
11221.1%
02Business
8816.5%
03Education
7213.5%
04Health Professions
6211.7%
05Parks/Recreation
5911.1%
06Theology
346.4%
07Communication
326.0%
08Biological Sciences
315.8%
09Visual/Performing Arts
244.5%
10Philosophy/Religion
183.4%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
2,246
12-mo unduplicated
2,545
Undergraduate
2,224
Graduate
321

Gender split

Men
35%884
Women
65%1,661

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
47.6%
White
30.6%
Unknown
8.7%
Black
5.3%
Asian
4.5%
Two or more
2.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%
Non-resident
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
426
188 M · 238 W
Women athletes
55.9%
Athletic aid
$2.8M
Total student aid
Budget
$7.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.2M
$1.6M
Recruiting expense
$9K
$10K
Head-coach salaries
$57K
$56K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 10

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
46 M · 62 W
$648K
Wrestling
32 M · 33 W
$822K
Other Sports
— · 60 W
$482K
Soccer
33 M · 26 W
$803K
Basketball
31 M · 17 W
$1.2M
Baseball
47 M · —
$465K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
4.88
11 offenses · 2,256 students

3-year trend

3.062 yrs ago1.321 yr ago4.88Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
21
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
3
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
5
Burglary
4
Robbery
1
Aggravated assault
1

By location

11total
  • On campus8
  • Public property3

Includes 4 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Race1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons10
Drugs026
Liquor015

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
73

Vanguard vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Vanguard selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

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
SubjectVanguard University of Southern California
57%—2,246$19,761Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Azusa Pacific University
62%88.4%6,272$19,798R2 Research
Biola University
68%74.3%5,434$28,101Doctoral/Professional
California Baptist University
62%84.9%11,902$27,384Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Calvin University
74%70.9%3,681$24,783Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Concordia University-Irvine
58%66.0%3,658$28,046Doctoral/Professional
Evangel University
65%71.6%2,289$18,705Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
George Fox University
72%93.5%4,916$29,981Doctoral/Professional
Gordon College
69%69.2%1,595$24,817Baccalaureate
Northwest University
68%83.2%1,053$25,161Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Point Loma Nazarene University
77%83.7%4,757$50,168Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Seattle Pacific University
62%83.4%2,261$24,820Doctoral/Professional
Southeastern University
44%53.0%11,510$30,209Doctoral/Professional
University of Valley Forge
49%61.2%589$27,499Baccalaureate
Westmont College
70%77.0%1,310$32,926Baccalaureate
Wheaton College
85%87.4%2,874$26,984Baccalaureate
Peer group median67%77.0%3,266$27,184

Institutions like Vanguard

Explore the federal data for institutions in Vanguard's comparison group.

IPEDS

Reports & documents (1)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Frequently asked questions about Vanguard University of Southern California

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Vanguard.

What is the graduation rate at Vanguard University of Southern California?

Vanguard University of Southern California reports a 6-year graduation rate of 57% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Vanguard University of Southern California?

Vanguard University of Southern California reports a total enrollment of 2,246 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Vanguard University of Southern California?

The average net price at Vanguard University of Southern California is $19,761 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Vanguard University of Southern California?

Vanguard University of Southern California's yield rate is 19.7%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Vanguard University of Southern California located?

Vanguard University of Southern California is located in Costa Mesa, California 92626.

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