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I had a great learning experience attending Pacific Oaks College, graduate of 1996 in Human Development. The campus was located then, on Westmoreland Place, in an old Pasadena house which was completely charming. My teachers were amazing. We had low class enrollment (10 to 15 students in each class), which allowed us to get the attention we needed for discussions and critical thinking. I really liked the fact that you didn't have to take tests. I learned so much about social justice that I have been... Read More practicing throughout the rest of my life both in professional and personal settings. They instilled in me the courage to stand up for what is just and fair in all settings and I have made a small difference. I enjoyed the experiential learning but realized that one must be highly adaptable in each unique work setting in order to be a success. I will always treasure my time at Pacific Oaks and completely recommend this school for others. Thank you so much!!!

The Human Development program is a shame. Online was the worse nightmare ever. It was a made up degree with repetitive classes. Zero support with teaching instruction on thesis process. They lack professionalism, communication, and willingness to help they’re master program student achieve and complete the entire program. They delay delay delay play ping pong with the students to throw them in continuation extension courses. Do not recommend this program or experience for anyone. Think twice before... Read More you sign up to this program.

If you are looking for advisors who will help you through school and understand the requirements for your degree do not go here. I attended this school for three years. First the school offered me a payment plan that I did not know about till later- if I took only a certain amount of credits my payment for each month would have been manageable but my advisor assigned me more credits. Also I was in the credential program and not to my knowledge you are supposed to student teach ( I knew that) but... Read More it had to be at a public school. I was already working and had a full time job at a private school. They wanted me to basically quit for two months to student teach with no pay. When I found this out, I stopped going to the school and requested to be withdrawn. And they made me pay for the tuition when I could not finish the schooling and they did not tell me till later that I had to withdraw at a certain time. Keep in mind I did not know I would have to stop going to Pacific Oaks because of student teaching so of course I missed the deadline. Their advisory staff is terrible. Their financial aid and registrars office do not talk to you in a timely manner. I tried to talk to them about this issue and it took 4 months to handle this issue. It is still not handled. I received nothing but headaches from this school and their classes were just sub par.

My time at Pacific Oaks was great however it did have its ups and downs. I enjoyed how we didn't have to take test we just had to make a lot of powerpoints. I love the teachers that I had they had a lot of knowledge and were there to answer a lot of the questions that I had. I was able to meet a lot of new people, and my classmates were just as helpful as the teachers. One thing that I didn't like was how often people were leaving this school and my counselor. I had a hard time getting my questions... Read More answered by the counselor and I had to go above and beyond to make sure someone was going to answer me. The admin team here takes a lot of vacations and sometimes I had to wait weeks for things to get solved, and that was incredibly frustrating. I also had to advocate for myself while attending this school occasionally it took me to speak to the dean of the school for someone to respond to my email. It was a great experience, and the setting is lovely I mean I probably had ten others in my class. They focus on having smaller settings. I also didn't like how they would let you out of class so late sometimes I wouldn't get home until 10:30 pm and that's only because I live 10 minutes away. Other than that it's a family type of school and I liked it because I had no test to take.

Pacific Oaks College provides extensive curriculum in a unique way. Classes are small and focused on reading, analysis and writing. Classes are offered online, or on campus- weekends and weeknights. Registered students are primarily females. Cultural diversity and respect for each other's differences in our society was a large focus in the curriculum. I highly recommend this institution for higher learning especially individuals looking to work with children and earning their teaching credentials.... Read More

Pacific Oaks is a unique institution that offers a rich and holistic education that is geared toward adult professionals returning to school. The classes I took at PO were interesting and informative as well as interactive and designed to help students internalize concepts by using theories to apply to our own life experiences. I learned so much about the importance of context and perspective, and I always felt supported and challenged by the fantastic professors. I really enjoyed attending this... Read More school!

This school is a social justice school and they promote taking action. The pros about the program is that it has a specialization in trauma. The faculty is always available and willing to assist you in anyway they can. The faculty has your best interest in mind.The program is a cohort style program which makes it much easier to get through the program. The con is that the specialization in trauma is fairly new so they are still trying to figure a few things out. They are not COAAMFT accredited. COAAMFT... Read More is a national organization that has minimal impact in California but does affect VA internships in that you must come from an accredited COAAMFT school to get your hours at one. There are only two in California but Pacific Oaks isn’t one of them. This means that one would not be able to do their internship at a VA hospital or clinic.