National University (NU) is the second-largest, private, non-profit institution of higher learning in California. NU consists of five schools and one college, including the Schools of Business and Management; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and Media and Communication; and the College of Letters and Sciences.

National University is proud of its commitment to diversity. NU provides more master's degrees in education to minority students than any other college or university in California, as well as more master's degrees in all disciplines combined to the state's Hispanics and African Americans, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Annually, NU also ranks in the Top 10 nationally in granting master's degrees to women.

In each of the past eight years, NU has prepared more credentialed teachers than any other single institution of higher education in the state, according to the Commission on Teaching Credentialing.

National University offers 100 undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as 22 teacher credential and certificate programs. A leader in online education, NU offers more than 50 graduate and undergraduate degree programs and over 1,200 courses online.

National University is the flagship institution of the National University System, which was established in 2001 to meet the emerging demands for education in the 21st century. In addition to NU, the affiliates of the NU System are: National Polytechnic College of Science; National University International; the Division of Pre-College Programs, which includes National University Virtual High School and National University Academy; Spectrum Pacific Learning Company LLC; and WestMed College. Entities related to the System include the Center for Integrative Health and the National University System Institute for Policy Research.