California Southern University

The city of Costa Mesa, California is home to the private, for-profit institution known as California Southern University. The American InterContinental University System now includes California Southern University as a participating institution. It is possible to get an associate's, bachelor's, master's, or doctorate in psychology, business and management, risk management and regulatory compliance, criminal justice, nursing, or education via its online degree programs.

The typical correspondence school that would later become the university was founded in California on December 27, 1978, by Dr. Donald Hecht. Shortly after its founding, the institution acquired its first license from the California Department of Education to begin offering degree programs. In the beginning, it only provided programs leading to an associate degree; later on, however, it extended to include bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. The institution expanded its offerings in the areas of business, psychology, and law via the use of distance learning technology during the 1990s. The university is now officially recognized as an institution that offers degrees entirely online.

Before June 2007, the institution was known as the Southern California University for Professional Studies (SCUPS), and it had its headquarters in the city of Anaheim in the state of California.

In 2022, the American InterContinental Institution System purchased the university, and shortly afterward, it became a part of the larger AIUS community.

It is possible to get a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, or a professional doctorate from California Southern University online, without ever having to set foot on campus. Before it was purchased by the American InterContinental University System, the university had already earned institutional accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The WASC Senior College and University Commission, also known as "the Commission," is in charge of granting regional accreditation to a wide variety of public and private higher education institutions across the states of California, Hawaii, and the Pacific, in addition to a small number of institutions located in other countries besides the United States. The Commission encourages continuous institutional improvement and assures its membership and its constituencies, including the public, that accredited institutions are fulfilling their missions in service to their students and the public good through the work that it does in the area of peer review, which is based on standards that have been agreed to by the membership.

To certify an institution's eligibility for federal funding in a variety of educational and vocational programs, including granting students access to student financial aid, the WASC Senior College and University Commission is recognized by both the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). This allows the WASC to carry out its duties.

The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs has granted programmatic accreditation to the California Southern School of Business (ACBSP).

The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education has granted programmatic accreditation to the bachelor's degree and master's degree nursing education programs offered by the California Southern School of Nursing (CCNE).