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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.

ShowCompared withDepartments

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

26%Left75–91

35%Center-left59–74

22%Center42–58

9%Center-right26–41

0%Right9–25

9%Far right0–8

23 plotted courses (the ones with a political subject). 100 = far left, 50 = the average American, 0 = far right. Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes.

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Framing Subject

Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes. A course on slavery or the Holocaust lands far right and a course on Marx or the Soviet Union lands far left, whether the course praises, criticizes or simply describes it.

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

Furthest-left subjects

ENG 432 · Nineteenth-Century American Literature83

English & Comparative Literature

This course explores the diverse and powerful literary expressions of a young nation during a turbulent century. Its focus may be one or more of the following: the American Renaissance, slavery/abolitionism, women's sphere, humor, realism,…

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HIST 450 · Modern History of Africa83

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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POSC 409 · Women and Politics78

Political Science

A study of the role of women in politics, both in the United States and abroad, and of the impact of feminism on political theory, political institutions, and international relations. (DV)

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Furthest-right subjects

HIST 419 · Hitler and the Third Reich0

History

Includes an analysis of the personality of Hitler and the Third Reich. An examination of the writings of Hitler, his contemporaries, and historians such as Allan Bullock and Hugh Trevor-Roper. Offered only in international programs.

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HIST 422 · Jacksonian America and the Civil War, 1815-18770

History

Examines the origins, events, and outcomes of the American Civil War. The first section explores slavery and the economic, ideological, and political dilemmas it created as the nation spread westward. The next section details the war…

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HIST 330 · History of Traditional Chinese Civilization28

History

A survey of Chinese civilization from the ancient kingdoms of the Shang and Zhou dynasties through the time of the last Chinese imperial dynasty, the Ming Dynasty (1644 A.D.). Major personalities, significant events, and critical…

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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)

Department	Left-framed share	Courses
Sociology	13.6%	22	view
Psychology	3.2%	31	view
History	2.1%	48	view
Art & Art History	0%	41	view
Economics	0%	23	view
English & Comparative Literature	0%	49	view
Ethnic & African American Studies	0%	2	view
Philosophy	0%	18	view
Political Science	0%	37	view
Religious Studies	0%	46	view
Women's & Gender Studies	0%	3	view

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

Name	Metric	Value	95% interval	n	scored
Pepperdine University	mean_bias_score	62.4	57.3 – 67.5	320	5
All 100 schools	mean_bias_score	67.5	67.4 – 67.7	124,290	10,124

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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