Woodbury University

Welcome to Woodbury University, where engagement, innovation and transformation empower people to accomplish extraordinary things! Established in 1884 as a small, private, nonprofit institution, Woodbury University today is located at the heart of the Southern California creative economy, where it is a major draw for students locally and globally, who wish to gain access to a rich ecosystem of expertise and resources. Within a few miles of its two campuses are some of the most innovative companies in the world, including the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.Since internships are a graduation requirement for all majors, these creative enterprises serve as the core of our academic programs.

With more than 20 undergraduate and graduate majors in the Schools of Architecture, Business, and Media, Culture & Design and the College of Liberal Arts, each program is built on a strong, practice-based professional and liberal arts foundation. In fact, I am proud to share that five of our programs have achieved accreditation from national rating organizations and that the Woodbury name increasingly is recognized by the likes of The Economist, U.S. News & World Report, Colleges of Distinction, Graphic Design USA, DesignIntelligence and Animation Career Review as a leading university that offers top-notch academic programs and prepares students for excellence in their chosen field and in life.

Our students come from over 40 countries and reflect the cultural diversity of Southern California and beyond. More than half are the first in their families to earn a college degree. Many choose to take advantage of travel to far-off lands as part of their Woodbury experience. Our alumni can be found in all 50 states and in 49 countries, and our faculty comprises the best minds in the academic world as well as the top professionals in their respective fields. Over the years, Woodbury University graduates have founded and built businesses, headed national publications, become noted fashion designers for movies and television, won design competitions, held public office, led nonprofit organizations and more. Almost all of our students report that their Woodbury education taught them to look beyond their individual career interests and to collaborate with others to find innovative solutions to a wide range of community challenges.

With 26 practice-based, fully-accredited professional and liberal arts undergraduate and graduate majors, Woodbury is a non-profit institution dedicated to the student experience.

We transform students into innovative professionals who will contribute responsibly to the global community. We achieve academic excellence by focusing on purposeful student engagement, establishing external partnerships and ensuring that all our processes, services and environment enrich the student experience.

Woodbury University cultivates a personal, interactive learning environment that focuses on innovative, practice-based professional and liberal arts education. We add distinct value with our focus on faculty–student interaction and support for student development and achievement.

We create an inclusive climate because we know that richness in different experiences and perspectives is intrinsically valuable and vital to advancing innovation, critical thinking, solving complex problems, and creating a vibrant academic community. We commit to building a university that values student, staff and faculty engagement in addressing issues of diversity and inclusiveness because this is an essential part of an experience-centered education. We act on these values by pursuing individuals who themselves embody the experiences and perspectives of our different communities and have an understanding and expertise working with diverse students, colleagues and constituencies. We seek to create a campus culture with this wide range of perspectives and experiences by recruiting and encouraging diverse candidates to apply as students, staff and faculty, including people of any race, color, creed, national origin, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, disability, religion or military status.

The mission of Sustainable Woodbury is to equip students, faculty and staff with theoretical and practical knowledge that addresses sustainability issues in their disciplines, careers, community relationships and daily lives.Many changes within the environment have critically affected our way of life. From water shortages to pollution and climate change, our planet has become stressed, yet our relationship to our surroundings is detached. Acknowledging these environmental, social and economic issues, Woodbury University’s goal is to create and nurture sustainable campus life. At Woodbury, sustainability is regarded as a subject of study and is implemented in every sector of the institution.

Woodbury encourages continued learning about sustainability through coursework, research and the experiences of life on campus. Sustainable Woodbury prompts our community to explore our future, our current status and our past and challenges us to examine our natural and built environments, campus life, curriculum, co-curricular learning opportunities and stewardship of resources in the spirit of shared and just decision making.

The US Department of Education designates this status to colleges and universities that enroll a significant percentage of undergraduate Hispanic students. It allows these institutions to apply for Title V grants under the Higher Education Act of 1965. These grants can be used for many academic purposes serving all ethnicities at the institution including faculty development, development and improvement of academic programs, scientific or laboratory equipment for teaching, student support services , etc. There are about 400 colleges and universities that have been designated as an HSI in the U.S. and territories.

Woodbury is also a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). Although HACU member institutions in the U. S. represent less than 10% of all higher education institutions nationwide, together they enroll more than two-thirds of all Hispanic college students.