Pepperdine vs USC for business: which is better for internships and recruiting?

USC is the stronger option for business internships, recruiting, and networking. For business specifically, USC’s Marshall School has a much larger employer footprint, more on-campus recruiting activity, and a broader alumni network in finance, consulting, tech, real estate, and entertainment business. In Los Angeles, the Trojan network is a real advantage, and employers are very used to hiring Marshall students for internships during the school year and summer.

One major differentiator is employer access at scale. USC draws more large-company recruiting, more formal campus hiring pipelines, and more business clubs that feed directly into internships. That matters because a lot of internships are not won just through submitting applications, but through info sessions, alumni connections, student organizations, and repeated employer presence on campus. Marshall students tend to have more of those built-in touchpoints.

Another difference is the alumni network and how visible it is in business fields. USC has one of the most active alumni bases in Southern California, and that shows up in internship referrals, coffee chats, and entry-level hiring. Pepperdine has a loyal and supportive network too, especially in certain local business circles, but it is smaller and less concentrated in the biggest recruiting-heavy pipelines.

Pepperdine can still work well, especially for students who are proactive and interested in a more personal environment with strong faculty attention. It has solid connections in the LA area and can be a good place to build relationships. But if your question is specifically about which school tends to open more doors for business recruiting with less friction, USC has the clearer edge.