Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a
private, Free Methodist, evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles in suburbanAzusa, California, United States of america. Over 6,500 students, APU's
undergraduate student body is the largest in the Council for Christian Colleges and
Universities and
the second largest evangelical undergraduate student body in the United States. APU holds regional accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges .
The university was established in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California. It began offering degrees to students in 1939. While officially inter-denominational, APU has ties with several evangelical denominations.The university's seminary, the Graduate School of Theology, holds to a Wesleyan-Arminian doctrinal theology
Azusa Pacific University was established on March 3,
1899, in Whittier, California, by a small group of Quakers and
a Methodist evangelist. Under the name
Training School for Christian Workers, it was the first Bible college on the
West Coast. Led by president Mary A. Hill, the school initially had a total
enrollment of 12 students.
Though its Friends connections remain today, Quaker influence on the school diminished by the 1930s. As
faculty members began to embrace Evangelicalism and reject a growing liberal trend in the
California Yearly Meeting of Friends, a separate campus church was established
in 1933. This move changed the "school church" from the local
Huntington Park Friends Church to a campus meeting which gave rise to the
small Evangelistic
Tabernacles denomination. A
series of mergers and campus re-locations helped to solidify the school's
identity as an Evangelical institution.
Years following, the school merged with three Evangelical
colleges in Southern California, and ultimately relocated to Azusa in 1949
where it resides today.
In 1939 the Training School became Pacific Bible College, and four-year degrees were offered. In 1956, the name was changed to Azusa College. Azusa College merged first in 1965 with Los Angeles Pacific College and became Azusa Pacific College, and three years later, merged with Arlington College.
In 1939 the Training School became Pacific Bible College, and four-year degrees were offered. In 1956, the name was changed to Azusa College. Azusa College merged first in 1965 with Los Angeles Pacific College and became Azusa Pacific College, and three years later, merged with Arlington College.
Upon its achievement of university status in 1981, the
college changed its name to Azusa Pacific University. During that decade,
off-site educational regional centers throughout Southern California were
instated and master’s degree programs were first approved.
