History

In 1884, Los Angeles was a rapidly growing city with a population of approximately 11,000. New business enterprises were being established and community leaders looked forward to expansion and growth. Woodbury was established to service this growing business population.

LOCATION
For the first 103 years, the University was located in central Los Angeles. In 1937, new facilities at 1027 Wilshire Boulevard were occupied, and for 50 years that location served as the University’s classroom and administrative building. In 1985, the University acquired a 22.4-acre campus in Burbank and moved to these new facilities in September 1987. In 1998 the institution opened a satellite campus in San Diego where it offers the B.Arch. and M.Arch degrees. Additional off-campus sites are located in Hollywood and at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Headquarters.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM GROWTH
Woodbury Business College (as it was initially named) was founded in 1884 by educator and entrepreneur F.C. Woodbury in response to the needs of the city’s growing business community. That historic link between Woodbury and the world of business has been maintained throughout the years.

In 1931, the division of professional arts was established to focus on those fields of design that are closely allied to business. Woodbury then became a college of business administration and design. In 1969, Woodbury introduced a graduate program

Leading to the Master of Business Administration (MBA). In 1974, Woodbury College became Woodbury University. In 1982, Computer Information Systems was added as a major, followed in 1984 by Architecture. In 1987, the Weekend College program for working adults was established with the aid of grants from The Fletcher Jones Foundation and The William Randolph Hearst Foundation. In 1994 the University formally organized its undergraduate and graduate programs into three schools: the School of Architecture and Design, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Business and Management.

That year three majors in Arts and Sciences came into being: Psychology, Politics & History and Liberal Arts & Business. Additional undergraduate degree programs have been added in the areas of Marketing, Animation Arts, Communication, and Organizational Leadership.

Today, Woodbury's undergraduate and graduate programs are formally organized in four schools: the School of Architecture, the School of Business, the School of Media, Culture and Design, and the Institute of Transdicisplinary Studies.

Woodbury is a specialized, nonprofit, coeducational and nonsectarian university. As we celebrate our 125th year, Woodbury University looks to the past for stability and guidance and welcomes the excitement and challenges of the future.