Claremont Education

Claremont Education

A consortium of seven highly selective private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, the Claremont Colleges comprise five undergraduate schools – Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College and Pitzer College – plus two graduate institutions, Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute.

Located on contiguous campuses within Claremont, each institution has its own student body, faculty, governance, curricular emphasis, culture and mission. Intercollegiate cooperation provides university-scale services and facilities and, with 8,500 students and 3,200 faculty and staff located on more than 540 acres of land, the Claremont Colleges benefit from the diverse missions, characters and cultures as well as the integration of academic and extracurricular programs that make up this truly unique consortium.

Founded in 1925 by Pomona College President James A. Blaisdell, who proposed a collegiate university design inspired by Oxford University, the structure was designed to provide the specialization, flexibility and personal attention commonly found in small colleges but with the resources of a large university.

In 1923, Blaisdell said, “My own very deep hope is that, instead of one great, undifferentiated university, we might have a group of institutions divided into small colleges – somewhat of an Oxford type – around a library and other utilities which they would use in common. In this way, I should hope to preserve the inestimable personal values of the small college while securing the facilities of the great university.”

Visitors may enjoy a leisurely walk through gardens and tree-filled campuses, where they will encounter architect-designed buildings spanning from the 1880s to modern times, in styles reflecting the Queen Anne Victorian era, Spanish Colonial Revival, California Modernist and more. Art, sculptures and murals abound in hidden gardens and courtyards. Renowned architects practiced in Claremont, and many designed master plans for entire campuses and individual buildings located throughout America.

Scripps College, considered one of the nation’s most beautiful college campuses, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designed by Gordon Kaufmann, who also designed the Los Angeles Times building, Greystone Mansion and the Hoover Dam, among others. The imposing Bridges Auditorium was designed by William Templeton Johnson, who also dreamt up the San Diego Museum of Art and Museum of Natural History in Balboa Park, while the beautiful Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music on the Pomona College campus was designed by Pasadena architect Myron Hunt, also known for the Rose Bowl and the Huntington Library.

POMONA COLLEGE (1887)

Pomona College is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading liberal arts colleges, offering an ideal environment for intellectually curious students to pursue their academic goals across 48 majors, with sponsored research and internships as well. Pomona holds a unique role in creating opportunities in American higher education, committed to enrolling the best students regardless of financial circumstances. To that end, Pomona is one of a small group of colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated need without loans. The close-knit student body is diverse in background and academic pursuits yet unified by a spirit of collaboration and a commitment to sparking real change in our world.

CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY (1925)

Since its founding in 1925, Claremont Graduate University (CGU) has offered an intimate, high-touch academic research environment along with unique, graduate-only scholarships that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries to foster the creation of new knowledge and ways of viewing and changing the world. Globally recognized faculty scholars lead specialized programs, including an array of professional doctorates, which can be tailored to specific interests or career aspirations. CGU students receive practice-based training and individual mentorship to prepare them for successful employment and enable them to enact positive social change.

SCRIPPS COLLEGE (1926)

Scripps College is a top-ranked, private women’s liberal arts college, founded in 1926 by newspaper publisher and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. Offering a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum, robust intellectual community, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and rich residential experience designed to shape the next generation of leaders, Scripps prepares graduates to contribute to society through leadership, service, integrity and creativity. Top majors include politics, psychology, biology, environmental analysis, English, media studies and neuroscience.

CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE (1946)

Claremont McKenna College is a highly selective, independent undergraduate college that first started as a men’s school after World War II. Its mission is to educate students to encourage thoughtful, productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government and professional industries. Claremont McKenna pursues this mission by providing a liberal arts education that emphasizes economics and political science, with a professoriate that is dedicated to effective undergraduate teaching, a close student-teacher relationship that fosters critical inquiry, an active residential and intellectual environment that promotes responsible citizenship, and support that generates a faculty of teacher-scholars.

HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE (1955)

Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is a premier engineering, science and mathematics college that educates engineers, scientists and mathematicians who go on to become leaders in their fields with a clean understanding of their work’s impact on society. For more than 50 years, HMC has led the way with interactive undergraduate research opportunities on par with graduate institutions. With a strong focus on the humanities, social sciences and the arts, HMC’s exceptional faculty members challenge students to achieve beyond their expectations, attaining one of the nation’s highest rates of graduates who go on to earn Ph.Ds in the sciences. The college’s graduates are highly trained scientists, technologists, educators and entrepreneurs committed to excellence, integrity, equity and inclusion.

PITZER COLLEGE (1963)

Pitzer College is a top-ranked liberal arts and sciences college with an approach to education that is distinguished by five core values: interdisciplinary learning, social responsibility, environmental sustainability, intercultural understanding and student engagement. Focused educational objectives and values-driven coursework guide undergraduates as they plan their academic careers as agents of change; students can also work with faculty advisers to create their own special majors, specially shaping their own college experience. Encouraged to collaborate with community members on local projects and critically examine the effects of social and environmental policies, graduates continue a legacy that, since the college’s inception, has allowed Pitzer to pioneered fields such as environmental studies and secular studies.

KECK GRADUATE INSTITUTE (1997)

Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers innovative postgraduate degrees and certificates that integrate life and health sciences, business, pharmacy, engineering, medicine and genetics, with a focus on industry projects, hands-on experiences and team collaboration. With an entrepreneurial approach and industry connections, KGI provides pathways for students to become leaders within healthcare and the applied life sciences. It consists of three schools: Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences, School of Medicine, and School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

SIGHT SEEING

The local preservation organization, Claremont Heritage, offers 2 ½ hour walking tours of the campuses every quarter and can organize special tours upon request for groups. Claremont Heritage is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1976 by citizens of Claremont to carry out a mission to advance, preserve and celebrate the historic architectural, natural and cultural resources of our community through collaboration, education, and advocacy. To inquire about The Claremont Colleges walking tour and other guided and self-guided tours, including a Village Walking Tour, contact Claremont Heritage at claremontheritage.org, or call 909.621.0848.

FIRST IN THEIR CLASS

The Claremont Colleges are consistently ranked among the top 50 colleges in the nation. In 2021, Pomona College garnered the #19 spot in the Forbes Top-50 ranking of colleges, and Claremont McKenna College #46.

In the 2021 US News and World Report rankings for National Liberal Arts Colleges, Pomona College took the #4 ranking, with Claremont McKenna at #8, Harvey Mudd at #28, Scripps College at #30 and Pitzer College at #35. Harvey Mudd also ranked #2 in Best Engineering Schools for 2022. Among Best Education Schools, Claremont Graduate University is ranked at #76.