VU Viewbook

YOUR STORY MATTERS

ORANGE COUNTY’S FIRST FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE

Orange County’s first four-year college, Vanguard has been equipping students since 1920, when we welcomed the first graduating class of world-changers.

Today we continue to offer a top-rated Christian education, combined with practical skills and training in liberal arts and sciences, to prepare you for the next chapter in your life.

With a tight-knit community of 2,200 students, Vanguard is a campus where you are known, where your story matters.

GOING THE DISTANCE

THE PERFECT MIX

At Vanguard, we’ve come up with the perfect mix: unbeatable academic training, a caring community where lifelong friendships are born, a beautiful campus near Southern California’s beaches and cultural attractions, and a strong spiritual foundation that puts Christ at the center of it all.

We go beyond scholarship, beyond the classroom and beyond the expected— equipping you to lead the story God has for you.

TRUTH

WE PURSUE TRUTH BY KNOWING CHRIST WHO IS TRUTH

“COMMUNITY IS BIG HERE. WHEN YOU HAVE THE RIGHT GROUP OF PEOPLE AROUND YOU, YOU CAN’T GO WRONG.”

SANDRA MORGAN, P h D, RN DIRECTOR, GLOBAL CENTER FOR WOMEN AND JUSTICE PROFESSOR OF WOMEN AND JUSTICE STUDIES

MAKE AN IMPACT

Vanguard University offers a wide variety of academic programs to choose from, so you can make an impact in any field when you start your career. With outstanding faculty and small class sizes—20 students on average—every diploma is backed by personalized instruction.

For over 100 years, this approach has yielded a distinguished list of alumni— leading scientists, best-selling authors, award winning television and film producers, top political analysts, city leaders, nationally recognized educators, CEOs and non-profit executives, doctors and healthcare providers and world-changing ministers.

STUDENT-TO-FACULTY RATIO 17:1

SPECIALIZED ACCREDITATION

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS OF MUSIC (NASM)

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS OF THEATRE (NAST)

COMMISSION ON COLLEGIATE NURSING EDUCATION (CCNE)

INTRODUCING THE PATTY ARVIELO SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

THE FIRST U.S. SCHOOL OF BUSINESS NAMED AFTER A LATINA

DIANA AVANS, P h D CHAIR OF DEPARTMENT OF KINESIOLOGY

ASSOCIATE DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

PROFESSOR

OF KINESIOLOGY

EXPERT FACULTY MEANS POWERFUL RESULTS

We’ve brought together a team of highly qualified professors who love God and are passionate about teaching. Vanguard professors hold doctorate degrees from prestigious institutions such as Oxford, Cornell, Columbia, USC, NYU and Vanderbilt. And have advised the President

of the United States, testified before state committees, received a guest maestro position at Carnegie Hall and been quoted as experts in the Los Angeles Times.

As a student, these same professors are there to encourage and guide you

as you live out the story God has prepared for you.

TOMMY CÁSAREZ, P h D ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

“OUR INDUSTRY EXPERT FACULTY PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH REAL WORLD EXPERIENCES THAT SET THEM APART IN THE MARKETPLACE.”

BJORN JONSSON

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

VIRTUE

WE HONOR GOD BY COMMITTING OURSELVES TO THE PERSON AND MODEL OF JESUS CHRIST

COMMUNICATION AND SPEECH.”

“I LOVE HOW WELL ROUNDED OUR COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT IS. AS A FILM STUDENT, I’M TAKING FILM COURSES PLUS PRACTICAL COURSES LIKE INTERPERSONAL

COMING 2024

FREED CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE

A dynamic athletic and learning facililty

The Freed Center will be a place where students, faculty and staff, alumni and the local community will gather in camaraderie during sports games, chapels,

worship gatherings and campus events. A hybrid of arena and learning laboratory, the three-story Freed Center will also house the University’s

Kinesiology academic program, 5 new classrooms, interactive labs and study spaces—adding dynamic and flexible spaces for learning across disciplines.

“VANGUARD GAVE ME MORE THAN A NURSING DEGREE—IT GAVE ME LIFELONG FRIENDS AND AN EVERLASTING SUPPORT SYSTEM. AS ONE PROFESSOR SAID, ‘LET ALL THOSE AROUND YOU FEEL PRECIOUS, SAFE AND HEARD.’ I FELT ALL THAT AND MORE!”

JASMINE SNOWDEN

A CONNECTED CAMPUS

STUDENT CENTER

The 35,000 square foot Waugh Student Center opened in 2020 and was designed to be a space for students, staff, faculty and alumni to build and engage in community. The first floor houses a café, coffee bar, commuterfriendly kitchen and lockers, and convertible forum for banquets, events or athletics. The second floor houses a 3,000 square foot student fitness center. And, an outdoor terrace is a favorite spot for class and for students to study and relax next to the firplace and enjoy a panoramic view of campus.

HEATH FORUM

Join your fellow Lions for chapel or drop in for a pick-up basketball game at the Paul and Barbara Heath Forum

FITNESS CENTER

Focus on your health and wellness at the Jeff and Kendra Motske Fitness Center

DR. BEN'S COFFEE BAR

Grab a latté and snack to-go

BRUCE LINDSAY CAF É

The Bruce Lindsay Café serves more than 200 types of food from our salad bar, to pizza fresh from the oven and daily international favorites

SERVICE

GO DEEPER IN FAITH

Spiritual growth is at the heart of the Vanguard journey. Founded by the Assemblies of God denomination, the University embraces its Pentecostal heritage of Spiritempowered life and thought. We want students to discover their God-given calling, and then engage the culture around them from a Christian point of view.

Worship is an integral part of the student experience and foundational to holistic development during college. Vanguard provides students with over 100 chapel opportunties a semester, students can stengthen their faith and pursue God in community.

WE DEVELOP OUR TALENTS TO THEIR POTENTIAL AND DISCERN GOD’S PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES

MORE THAN 24 DENOMINATIONS

ARE REPRESENTED AT VANGUARD

THERE ARE MORE THAN

20 STUDENT-LED WORSHIP TEAMS AND MINISTRIES ON

CAMPUS

EACH YEAR VANGUARD STUDENTS VISIT OVER A DOZEN LOCATIONS ON LOCAL AND GLOBAL MISSIONS TRIPS, INTEGRATING FAITH AND LEARNING

YOUR STORY

YOURSELF IN SUNNY CALIFORNIA

Your life will be fostered in a diverse campus community in one of the most vibrant coastal cities famed for its sunny weather.

Vanguard is located in Costa Mesa, a place that’s dubbed

Orange County’s “capital of cool” by the OC Register and ranked #4 in the Niche 2024 Best College Locations in California. Surrounded by the career opportunities that come

with living in Orange County, home to several Fortune 500 companies and the action sports capital of the world, you gain access to unique internships and influential business leaders.

329 DAYS OF SUNSHINE PER YEAR IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

60% OF STUDENTS LIVE ON CAMPUS

4.6 MILES TO THE BEACH

115 INTRAMURAL SPORTS TEAMS AND CAMPUS CLUBS, FROM E-SPORTS TO LIVE2FREE

233 PALM TREES ON CAMPUS

ADVENTURE AWAITS

EXPLORE YOUR NEW HOME

Whether a freshman or transfer student, residential or commuter, college life is an exciting time for building a new community and making a new home. At Vanguard, we encourage you to push yourself to try something new—whether it’s surfing or paddle boarding, sampling international cuisines or attending your first opera on the 14-acre Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus just down the street. Share these new adventures with your soon to be lifelong friends.

“VANGUARD HAS GIVEN ME SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW AND LEARN. I FEEL LIKE I TRULY BELONG HERE, AND HAVE MET SO MANY GREAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE IMPACTED MY LIFE.”

STUDIES

VITWAR

LION ATHLETICS

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

We are one of the top NAIA (Division I) athletic programs, with three national championships in 2023. Also in 2023, Vanguard was accepted

into the three-year process toward full membership in the NCAA Division II. At Vanguard, success is measured not only on the scoreboard but by how

our student athletes exemplify the Champions of Character values—respect, integrity, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

VANGUARD LIONS INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC

TEAMS

Men’s BASEBALL

BASKETBALL

CROSS COUNTRY

GOLF

SOCCER

TRACK AND FIELD

VOLLEYBALL

WRESTLING

Women’s

BASKETBALL

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

CROSS COUNTRY

GOLF

SIDELINE DANCE

SOCCER

SOFTBALL STUNT

TRACK AND FIELD

VOLLEYBALL

WRESTLING

MAKING THE NEXT CHAPTER POSSIBLE

At Vanguard, we make a quality education affordable. We are ranked #1 in the U.S. News and World Report “ Most Students Receiving Merit Aid ” category. Last year, Vanguard students received over $45 million in gift aid. To ensure you receive the grants, scholarships or loans you qualify for, our admissions counselors will walk you through the financial aid application process.

You might get an academic merit scholarship, a need-based grant, or a talent scholarship for involvement in music, theatre or athletics. You might be offered an on-campus job. Whatever the case, we put the Vanguard experience within reach of every student who wants their journey to pass through here.

98% OF STUDENTS receive financial aid

VANGUARD’S UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE OFFERS DEGREES

in the following majors and minors:

BACHELOR OF ARTS

ACCOUNTING*

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION*

COMMUNICATION

Communication Studies

Film/Visual Storytelling

Health Communication

Public Relations

Technology & Emerging Media

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

ENGLISH HISTORY/POLITICAL SCIENCE

LIBERAL STUDIES (EDUCATION)

MARKETING*

BACHELOR OF MUSIC

MUSIC

Music

Worship Leadership

PSYCHOLOGY

SOCIOLOGY

THEATRE ARTS

Musical Theatre

Stage & Screen

Acting/Directing

Technical/Design

THEOLOGY

Biblical Studies

Christian Formation and Discipleship Studies

General Christian Studies

Intercultural Studies

Pastoral Leadership Studies

Youth Leadership Studies

*CONCENTRATION AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING: International Business, Management, Organizational Psychology

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

BIOCHEMISTRY

BIOLOGY

Biology

Biomedical Science

Ecology

Neuroscience

BIOTECHNOLOGY

CHEMISTRY

COMPUTER SCIENCE

ENGINEERING PHYSICS

KINESIOLOGY

Health and Human Performance

Pre-Health Professions

MATHEMATICS

NURSING

PRE-TEACHER CERTIFICATION

4-YEAR INTEGRATED BACHELOR’S & TEACHING CREDENTIAL

Biology

Chemistry

Early Childhood

English

Liberal Studies

Mathematics

History/Political Science

Special Education

MINORS

CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE (SOCIOLOGY)

JOURNALISM & DIGITAL MEDIA (ENGLISH)

PRE-LAW STUDIES (HISTORY/POLITICAL SCIENCE)

PUBLIC HEALTH (SOCIOLOGY)

PUBLIC POLICY (HISTORY/POLITICAL SCIENCE)

SOCIAL WORK (SOCIOLOGY)

SPORTS MEDIA (COMMUNICATION)

WOMEN AND JUSTICE (THEOLOGY)

5 TOP MAJORS

Business, Psychology, Kinesiology, Biology, Liberal Studies

FRESHMEN

Average GPA of incoming freshmen students: 3.3

500 incoming freshmen

TRANSFERS

Average GPA of incoming transfer students: 3.2

100 incoming transfer students

MAP PAGE

A LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LAX)

B JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT (SNA)

C DISNEYLAND RESORT

D KNOTT’S BERRY FARM

E UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

F ANGEL STADIUM

G DODGER STADIUM

H CRYPTO.COM ARENA/PEACOCK THEATER

I HONDA CENTER

J SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS

K HOLLYWOOD BOWL

L SOFI STADIUM

PACIFIC OCEAN

THE MISSION OF VANGUARD UNIVERSITY IS TO PURSUE KNOWLEDGE, CULTIVATE CHARACTER, DEEPEN FAITH, AND EQUIP EACH STUDENT FOR A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED LIFE OF CHRISTCENTERED LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE.

VANGUARD UNIVERSITY, A FIRST TIER UNIVERSITY IN THE WEST