Bureau of Disruption

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Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University's course descriptions average 62.4 on the 100-to-0 ruler: clearly left of center. Across all 100 schools, the average is 67.5, so Pepperdine University reads 5.1 points further right.

Liberal (100)center (50)Conservative (0)
Pepperdine University: 62.4 (likely range 57.3 to 67.5) All 100 schools: 67.5 each other school in the comparison

Where its courses fall

0%Far left92–100
0%Left75–91
60%Center-left59–74
40%Center42–58
0%Center-right26–41
0%Right9–25
0%Far right0–8
5 plotted courses (the ones with a political framing). 100 = far left, 50 = the average American, 0 = far right.

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Underlined: words the model quoted from the description when we asked it, after scoring, to explain its score.

Furthest left

HIST 450 · Modern History of Africa70

History

Explores the history of Africa from 1800 to contemporary times. Attending to both thematic diversity and regional particularism, it addresses such topics as the slave trade in Western and Central Africa, the Zulu and Asante empires,…

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SOC 452 · Gender in Society67

Sociology

This course focuses on the social construction of gender in society while exploring how society perpetuates gender and gender inequality. Utilizing salient gender theories, students will examine how gender acts as an institution in society,…

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SOC 431 · Wealth and Poverty in America60

Sociology

The sociological study of the unequal distribution of resources, including how these structural inequalities affect one's life chances. Special attention is given to the causes and effects of these inequalities in the United States. Prerequisite: SOC 200 (CC, DV, UX)

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Furthest right

None. Pepperdine University has 5 left-framed courses and not one right-framed course.

Why this number, in plain words

Political lean of course descriptions. Average Framing score (0 = far right, 50 = center, 100 = far left) of the scored courses in the group.

50 is the survey-anchored center of US adults on each issue (the "moderate" place of the ANES/GSS/PRRI seven-label ruler), not the cohort midpoint; scores above 50 read leftward, below 50 rightward.

Counted: courses with a Framing score (categories L/R/B/C). The likely range (95% interval) is 57.3 to 67.5; a comparison whose range overlaps this one is not a reliable difference.

  • Only 5 of Pepperdine University's descriptions carried a scorable lean, so this average and its rank are rough; the interval is the honest range.
  • Most course descriptions carry no political lean at all and are not in this average; the "share described from the left" view counts them.
  • Readings are of catalog description text, not of teaching, syllabi or individual professors.
Pepperdine University by department (share of courses described from the left)
DepartmentLeft-framed shareCourses
Sociology13.6%22view
Psychology3.2%31view
History2.1%48view
Art & Art History0%41view
Economics0%23view
English & Comparative Literature0%49view
Ethnic & African American Studies0%2view
Philosophy0%18view
Political Science0%37view
Religious Studies0%46view
Women's & Gender Studies0%3view

Lean (mean Framing score) is not published per department within a school; only the left-framed share is. Department rows carry no interval.

Details: exact rows, definitions and method
NameMetricValue95% intervalnscored
Pepperdine Universitymean_bias_score62.457.3 – 67.53205
All 100 schoolsmean_bias_score67.567.4 – 67.7124,29010,124
Formula
SUM(bias_score) / COUNT(bias_score)
Interval
normal approximation: mean +/- 1.96 * sd / sqrt(n), sample sd (n-1); undefined when n < 2
Model / prompt / snapshot
gpt-5.6-sol · r12 (2026-10-16-le49-r12) · 6df50b10
Metric caveats
Scored courses only (L/R/B/C); N and I carry no score and are excluded, so n here is smaller than the group's course count. Scores are model readings of catalog description text against a fixed anchored definition, not teaching or syllabi. The interval covers sampling noise in the mean only; it does not represent model reading error. Every value carries a `method` label: exact_rows or histogram_midpoint.

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