- Claremont Graduate University
- Claremont McKenna College
- Harvey Mudd College
- Keck Graduate Institute
- Pitzer College
- Pomona College
- Scripps College
Claremont Graduate University
Founded in 1925, Claremont Graduate University is America ’s only graduate-only, research-extensive university. Our nine graduate schools provide Ph.D.s and masters degrees to about 2200 students in 23 subjects. The CGU community is characterized by unusual diversity, collegiality, and environmental beauty. CGU is one of the seven Claremont Colleges, a consortium built on the Oxford model that The Fiske Guide has called “the most extraordinary assemblage of educational excellence in the nation.” Over two hundred professors from the other Claremont Colleges and from the Claremont School of Theology collaborate in our teaching and research. Our location in Southern California, the most ethnically diverse region in the United States , and alongside one of the fastest-growing areas, the Inland Empire, is a living laboratory for the study of important social trends, problems, and possibilities.
Like other graduate institutions, Claremont Graduate University educates scholars, experts, and leaders and creates new knowledge through research. But CGU is nimble and free from many of the constraints faced by huge research universities. CGU can take distinctive approaches that produce an outsized impact on the world.
Our tradition says, “Follow the problem.” This means that our research and teaching transcend academic boundaries. Our University disregards artificial divides between theory and application. We believe that academic rigor and addressing big questions can go together.
Our graduate-only education takes place through small classes and seminars and close scholarly relationships between students and faculty. Our research aspires to advance knowledge and also to do something more: to convene leaders and scholars to tackle the most important problems facing our region and our world.
Our teaching and research reach across the disciplines and out into the world, enabling the very best professors and graduate students to take topics and fields in new and fruitful directions. We define our research agenda, carry out our research, and consider its implications with diverse partners from government, business, and civil society. In both teaching and research, our trademark is the interchange of ideas—inclusive of diverse points of view and attentive to evidence—to catalyze new ways to address tomorrow’s challenges.
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Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College (CMC) educates its students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in economics, government and public affairs. CMC's strong grounding in the liberal arts, together with its emphasis on economics, government, and international relations, attracts students who approach education pragmatically and who intend to make a difference in the world. With this broad-based foundation graduates leave CMC well prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. Many go on to pursue careers in law, business, government, foreign service, international relations, public policy, museum administration, science and education, or to pursue graduate study.
In recent years CMC has gained national recognition as one of the top liberal arts colleges in America. This recognition can be attributed, in part, to CMC's mission which acknowledges its obligation for service to the larger community through contact with business and government, a process that enriches both the outside world and the campus itself. Also contributing to CMC's national reputation are the accomplishments of its almost 8,000 alumni. Today, about seventy percent of CMC's graduates go on to advanced degrees at prestigious institutions, and one in eight graduates holds a position in top management.
At CMC, we offer a broad spectrum of diversity. Not just gender or racial diversity, but deeper than that. Ideological. Political. Religious. Socio-economic. Our student population of 1140 (53% White, 14% Asian-American Pacific Islander, 12% Latino, 6% African-American, 5% Other, 1%>Native American/Alaskan Native) represents an expansive breadth of perspectives, making for a vibrant mix of philosophies and ideas, both inside and outside of the classroom.
At Claremont McKenna College our mission is to educate students who want to make a difference in the world—future leaders in business, government and the professions. We do this by balancing the world of ideas with the world of events, the theoretical with the practical. We pride ourselves on a diverse student population, comprised of active, intelligent individuals who are doers in the world. People determined to make a difference.
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Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is one of the premier math, science and engineering colleges in the nation. HMC is also unique because we are a liberal arts college. Aren’t math, science and engineering mutually exclusive of the liberal arts? This might be true at some places, but not at HMC. We educate engineers, scientists and mathematicians who become leaders in their fields and have a clear understanding of the impact their work has on society. That’s the big picture.
Now here’s how we make it work. HMC offers nine math, science, and engineering-based majors, all grounded in a solid core curriculum that includes a healthy dose of humanities and social science courses. Why? We know that you don’t have to sacrifice your interest in music or art (or anything else) to be good scientists. Also, we believe the understanding of history and politics will make us more effective engineers, chemists, lawyers, doctors and human beings. Add to that all of the hands-on experience we get through our high-level research projects and through our world-renowned Clinic Program. The HMC graduates go into the world ready for anything.
Small by choice, with just over 700 students and 80 faculty, HMC enjoys an excellent reputation, which has made the college one of the most selective in the country. Our students' educational experience provides them with the capacity to master the tough interdisciplinary problems they will encounter in science and industry. HMC graduates are scientists, engineers, astronauts and ambassadors, as well as teachers, artists and entrepreneurs. The impact our graduates have on an increasingly technological world is what drives HMC to continue evolving and innovating.
In its 2009 edition of "America's Best Colleges," U.S. News & World Report ranked HMC 14th among the nation's liberal arts colleges, second among undergraduate engineering programs and third by high school counselors who assessed liberal arts colleges offering the best education. The Princeton Review ranked HMC one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education in “The Best 368 Colleges.” In two of the academic categories, “Professors Get High Marks” and “Most Accessible Professors,” HMC was ranked eighth and 15th, respectively. The college was also ranked fifth in the “Students Study the Most” category.
An August, 2008, study of salaries of college graduates published by Payscale, Inc. revealed that HMC graduates ranked third behind MIT and Caltech in starting median salaries ($71,800) and mid-career median salaries ($122,000). The study was covered by the Wall St. Journal and Business Week. HMC was named one of 25 elite "New Ivies," according to the 2007 Kaplan/Newsweek "How to Get into College Guide."
In 2008, HMC’s enrollment was approximately 738 students. The Registrar’s Office lists the enrollment of minorities and women for 2008 as follows: 13 African Americans, 152 Asian Americans, 57 Latinos, 7 Native Americans, and 263 Women. The student to faculty ratio is less than 9:1. Our geographic distribution is 46 states and 17 foreign countries represented. We have 61 National Merit Scholar Finalists with approximately 95% of the freshmen class being ranked in top 10% of their high school class; 25% are valedictorians or salutatorians (24% of the class is not ranked by their high schools).
To capture a sense of the college’s mission and purpose, founding President Platt drafted a challenging mission statement in 1956 that continues to guide the HMC faculty, administration and students: Harvey Mudd College seeks to educate engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities and the social sciences so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the impact of their work on society.
More about Harvey Mudd CollegeKeck Graduate Institute
Educating the future leaders of the bioscience industry, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers an interdisciplinary graduate education through its Master of Bioscience (MBS) degree program and its PhD program in Applied Life Sciences. Using team-based learning and real-world projects, KGI’s innovative curriculum seamlessly combines applied life sciences, bioengineering, bioethics and business management. KGI also has a robust research program concentrating on the translation of basic discoveries in the life sciences into applications that can benefit society. KGI is a member of The Claremont Colleges, located in Claremont, California.
More about Keck Graduate InstitutePitzer College
Pitzer College produces engaged socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity. The meaningful participation of students, faculty and staff in college governance and academic program design is a Pitzer core value. Our community thrives within the mutually supportive framework of The Claremont Colleges, which provide an unsurpassed breadth of academic, athletic and social opportunities.
Pitzer College has approximately 1,000 students and is a fully coeducational liberal arts college with a strong commitment to the values of a residential educational community. It offers majors in all key fields of the liberal arts. Its particular strengths lie in the encouragement of independent interdisciplinary work and the development of a critical approach to the traditional disciplines. The College expects students to take an active part in planning their course of study, bring a spirit of inquiry and adventure to planning that course of study, and to work hard to meet the intellectual goals of a Pitzer education. To guide students and their advisers, the College has six educational objectives: Breadth of Knowledge; Understanding in Depth; Critical Thinking, Formal Analysis and Effective Expression; Interdisciplinary Perspective; Intercultural Understanding; and Concern with Social Responsibility and the Ethical Implications of Knowledge and Action.
Pitzer College celebrates cultural diversity and intercultural understanding. Students of ethnically diverse backgrounds come from all parts of the United States, as well as from nearly 20 other countries. In addition to learning from one another, students are encouraged to participate in one of Pitzer's External Studies programs. Finally, Pitzer challenges students to develop a set of courses that will examine some issue from the perspective of at least two cultures and two disciplines. Intercultural and interdisciplinary learning are highly valued at Pitzer. Students are encouraged to take advantage of these programs as well as many other Claremont resources that enrich and strengthen their appreciation of global diversity.
Pitzer College currently enrolls approximately 1,000 students in more than 40 fields of study leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. Some of the more popular concentrations include psychology, sociology, political studies, media studies, environmental studies and art.
More about Pitzer CollegePomona College
Pomona College, the founding member of The Claremont Colleges, is a leading institution that develops scholarly entrepreneurs who are citizens of the world. Ranked in Kiplinger's Personal Finance's Best Values in Private Colleges (2009) as number one for the best private liberal arts college, Pomona College is indeed one of the nation’s premier liberal arts and sciences institutions. Pomona is where students from a variety of backgrounds converge and are able to continue their journey of lifelong learning. These future leaders then go out and are the change agents needed to face the challenges of our complex world.
The rigorous and comprehensive curriculum in the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences enables students the opportunity to be exposed to a breadth of knowledge while still receiving depth within their chosen specialty area. Our academic structure encourages students to develop, express, and defend their ideas in a challenging, but supportive atmosphere through small class sizes (the average class size is 14 students) and close relationships with faculty and their peers. The education students receive within the walls of Pomona College prepares them to go out into the world and make a difference in a variety of areas such as non-profits, business, education, the environment, law/government/public policy, and healthcare.
Diversity in every sense of the word is a priority for Pomona. Our 1520 students come from all fifty states (28% from CA and 23% from the northeast) and many countries throughout the world. The campus is almost equally split between males and females. Over one third of our population is comprised of students of color and many of them are first generation college students. Diversity of thought is also very critical to the growth of our students and is welcomed and appreciated in our community.
Leaders - Pomona College produces students who go on to become leaders in every industry, everywhere. They enter Pomona College looking for intellectual stimulation and to further their education. They leave as the ones who will do the educating, ready to make a global impact – one person at a time.
More about Pomona CollegeScripps College
Founded by newspaper publisher and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1926, Scripps College emphasizes a challenging core curriculum based on interdisciplinary studies and liberal arts. This course of study teaches students to think clearly in defining questions from a variety of perspectives and to develop critical approaches for the pursuit of knowledge. By requiring a senior thesis based on research in the major, Scripps stimulates independent thought and a lifelong commitment to original inquiry. Scripps alumnae go on to some of the most prestigious graduate schools in the nation and leadership positions in a wide range of academic fields and endeavors. About 60% of Scripps graduates enter the work-force, about 25% pursue graduate or professional degrees, and the other 15% embark on fellowships, volunteer opportunities, and other courses of independent study.
As the premier women's college in the western United States, Scripps is ideally positioned to educate women leaders for the 21st century. Studies repeatedly demonstrate that women’s colleges surpass others in helping its students learn to think analytically, bring social and historical perspectives to issues, work as part of a team, write and speak effectively, and gain entry into a career. Building upon the foundation of the Core Curriculum, Scripps students go on to pursue their multiple interests in innovative ways. One-quarter of the students double major, and some design their own, such as Bioethics. They intern at places like the Central Intelligence Agency, the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, National Public Radio, and Vogue magazine. Scripps also sends more graduates on to Teach for America than any other women’s college. The most popular majors in recent years include Biology, Economics, English, Hispanic Studies, Media Studies, Politics and International Relations, Psychology, and Studio Art.
In today's global society, opportunities for women to demonstrate leadership have never been more promising, and the challenges have never been more daunting. Scripps students prepare to embrace opportunities and challenges through studying cultures and values that reflect the broad range of human experience over time. Students learn by testing their principles and knowledge through action and reflection and by participating in a community that values ethical leadership, mutual respect, and vigorous debate. As a result, students develop the courage to take risks and to live up to their full potential.
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