Pacific Oaks College

A nonprofit, regionally accredited higher education institution, Pacific Oaks offers bachelor’s and master’s programs in a variety of fields, including Human Development, Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), Education, Early Childhood Education (ECE), Teacher Credentialing, and Organizational Leadership.

Having built our programs to meet the needs of the California community, our campus locations include Pasadena and San Jose, as well as remote cohort locations and instructional sites throughout Northern and Southern California. Our programs are also available online—giving you the chance to pursue a degree while maintaining other commitments.

Rooted in the extraordinary potentical that lives in every human being, Pacific Oaks offers an environment where your perspective and experience can play an integral part in your educational journey. Through our unique progressive approach to teaching and learning, everyone in our classrooms is both student and teacher.

Students relate subjects to their own personal experiences—sharing with the teacher and fellow students. From this unique pedagogy, you will learn from sharing your experiences as well as hearing those of your fellow classmates.

Pacific Oaks has already made a significant impact in Early Childhood Education in the United States. And our students continue to make a positive impact in California as well as the communities around them.

Ensuring that Pacific Oaks programs remain rooted in quality and excellence, we maintain accreditation, licensure, and affiliation with various regional, national, and international organizations.

Quakers believe there is a light in each person, and that is to be honored in everyone.

Grounded in its social justice heritage, Pacific Oaks College prepares students to be culturally intelligent agents of change serving diverse communities in the fields of human development, education, and related family studies.

Informed by Quaker principles, Pacific Oaks Children’s School was built to bring an inclusive approach to early childhood education—teaching children to respect and embrace the differences that make others unique.

Pacific Oaks College has expanded on this progressive approach to inform their approach to the fields of Early Childhood Education, Human Development, Cultural and Family Psychology, and Organizational Leadership.

Guided by four core values—respect, diversity, social justice, and inclusion—Pacific Oaks College has helped graduates change the world.

At Pacific Oaks, personal experience factors greatly into each student’s success. With this in mind, we take a holistic approach to admitting students—weighing not only academic background, but also the life and work experience they bring to the Pacific Oaks community.

Students are accepted year-round. We offer three convenient starting dates for campus-based students and six starting dates for online students in spring, summer, and fall.

Students at Pacific Oaks have the opportunity to turn real-world experience into college credit, saving them both time and money.

Education is an investment in yourself and your future. While securing financing can be a challenge, Pacific Oaks College is committed to helping identify the best way to fund your educational journey. We have a long history of making bachelor’s and master’s programs accessible to students from varying economic backgrounds.

In keeping with our values of equality and inclusion, Pacific Oaks seeks to attract a diverse group of students who will thrive in this learning environment. Through the generosity of numerous donors who believe in the mission of Pacific Oaks College, we are pleased to offer scholarship assistance to support your academic journey and to reward your academic excellence. In addition, the federal and state government provides funds to eligible students. The award amounts of these grants varies based on need and the funds do not need to be paid back.

Advancing your education takes a significant financial commitment. In addition to the scholarships, grants, and reduced rates that are available to help manage this commitment, federal loans are available.

The primary goals of The Center for Academic Advising are to assist students with identifying and clarifying their educational goals, help in developing compatible educational plans, and create proven success strategies toward student long term academic progress. The Academic Advisors provide assistance with advising, course registration, program guidance, general questions, and additional academic support where needed.

Pacific Oaks College’s Academic Advisors are committed to supporting students from the first day of their degree program until matriculation. The potential for collegiate success is at the heart of every student enrolling at Pacific Oaks College. Our highly seasoned and professionally trained academic advising team is here to help turn the unimaginable into action and achievement by building a relationship with each student and taking an active role in supporting their scholastic endeavors. Every student at the College is provided both an Academic Advisor and a Faculty Advisor. This dual advising model ensures that each student is fully supported both academically and professionally.

1945. Coming on the heels of a World War that lasted six years and one day, six local families in Pasadena, California came together and opened Pacific Oaks Children’s School with the belief that everyone has an inner light that is worth nurturing. Through the Quaker values of community, equality, and peace, they believed they could offer a progressive education that would help the world heal.