group of independent colleges located on 317 acres (128 hectares) near the San Gabriel Mountains in Claremont, Calif., 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. The group is made up of five undergraduate residential colleges (Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer) plus the Claremont Graduate School. The Claremont University Center provides central coordination among the institutions. The area includes botanical gardens and art galleries. The Center for California Public Affairs and the Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station are affiliated with the Claremont Colleges. The Claremont Colleges are patterned after the two great English universities, Oxford and Cambridge. Their objective is to provide the advantages of a large university within the system of small residential colleges. Each college tends to specialize in an area that complements the others, and students may take courses at any of the member colleges (within limits set by their own college). Some interdisciplinary and joint courses are offered between institutions. The campuses are adjacent to one another. Each college has its own faculty, administration, curriculum, and student body. However, the colleges share such resources as health and counseling services, the auditorium, a computer system, art studios, and minority studies centers. The religious center is open to the entire college community and is staffed by a rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest, and a Protestant minister. The Claremont library system enables the colleges to share material, but each campus also has a library of its own. The academic calendar at each college is divided into semesters. Almost all of the full-time faculty at the Claremont Colleges hold doctorates, and students often participate in faculty research. Many students go on to pursue graduate and professional degrees. Total enrollment is about 5,000 students. All of the Claremont Colleges are very selective. Students have high standardized test scores, and most ranked in the top quarter or higher of their high school class. Only about half of the applicants are accepted. No tuition discounts are given to state residents, who make up roughly half of the student body. Between one half and three fourths of the students at each college receive some sort of financial aid. Most students live on campus in their college's dorms or apartments. Some students live in houses on campus with other members of their college who share a common interest, such as learning a foreign language. Students may eat in any of the dining halls. Students play a strong role in determining policies on campus, from matters concerning curriculum to organizing social functions to setting visiting hours at student residences. The overlap between colleges extends into many extracurricular activities. There is a central student newspaper, and activities such as the chamber orchestra, theatrical presentations, and the concert choir draw participants from all colleges. Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Scripps colleges field joint athletic teams. Likewise, Pomona and Pitzer compete together. All varsity sports teams participate in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Intramural sports tend to be popular on all the campuses. Many events such as concerts, films, and dances are open to the entire Claremont Colleges community. For those interested in going off-campus, beaches, skiing slopes, and the attractions of Hollywood are nearby. The oldest member of the Claremont Colleges is Pomona College, founded in 1887. It covers 160 acres (65 hectares) and features Spanish-Mediterranean architecture and some ivy-covered buildings. The campus has been used as the filming location for various movies and television shows. Pomona is also the largest of the undergraduate institutions. Enrollment is about 1,400 students, with the numbers of men and women attending being about equal. Pomona is one of the highest-ranked liberal arts colleges in the United States and offers an array of majors. A five-year engineering program is available in conjunction with California Institute of Technology and Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. All students are required to take three courses in the natural sciences, three in the social sciences, and three in the humanities and fine arts. Freshmen take Critical Inquiry, a discussion seminar that also boosts writing skills. Students must achieve proficiency in a foreign language. About half of the students choose to study abroad in one of 17 countries. Other off-campus opportunities are available at various institutions in the United States, including a semester-long program in Washington, D.C. Pomona is the only member of the Claremont Colleges to have fraternities. Four of the seven fraternities are coeducational. A popular campus program is take a professor to lunch which encourages faculty-student interaction by providing free meals. Scripps College is the only single-sex institution among the Claremont Colleges and is one of only two women's colleges on the West Coast. It was founded in 1926 by Ellen Browning Scripps, a newspaperwoman and philanthropist. The campus, featuring Spanish and Mediterranean architecture, occupies 26 acres (11 hectares) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Enrollment is about 600 students. Scripps specializes in the humanities and the fine arts, though it grants degrees in many disciplines within the social, physical, and life sciences. A five-year engineering program is available in conjunction with other institutions. The college also offers joint programs in public policy, religion, government, international studies, and business administration with Claremont Graduate School. All freshmen take the Integrated First Year Program, which develops students' writing, speaking, and analytic skills while exploring philosophical and literary concepts and making multicultural comparisons. About 60 percent of the students study abroad in programs available in some 20 countries. Seniors complete a thesis or project in their chosen field. The students at Scripps have many opportunities to learn from other women. Freshmen are assigned a Big Sister from an upper class to help them during their first year. More than half of the faculty members at Scripps are female. Outside of the classroom, women are brought into contact with leaders in various fields through the college's strong internship program. Claremont McKenna College was founded in 1946 as Claremont Men's College. It became coeducational in 1976, but men still outnumber women almost two to one. Total enrollment is about 900 students. The campus covers 56 acres (23 hectares) and contains Spanish-style architecture. Like Pomona College, Claremont McKenna is ranked among the best liberal arts colleges in the nation. Although it offers programs in liberal arts and sciences and foreign languages, its specialty is public affairs. The campus contains eight research institutes that support the college's focus. A large number of students major in economics, political science, or international relations. Special programs include a five-year management engineering program with Harvey Mudd College or Stanford University, a five-year business program with the University of Chicago or with Claremont Graduate School, and a six-year law program with Columbia University in New York. All students must complete one course each in mathematics and composition, two each in natural sciences and humanities, and three in the social sciences. In addition, students must take a course in Western Civilization or an advanced class in a foreign language. Study abroad options exist in some 40 countries. Many of Claremont McKenna's alumni attend business, law, or medical school. Harvey Mudd College was named after an engineer who owned the Cyprus Mining Corporation and left a generous amount of money to the Claremont Colleges. He was one of the earliest supporters of the founding of the Claremont Colleges and was a trustee. Appropriately, the college has one of the most highly regarded engineering programs in the United States. Harvey Mudd College is devoted to technical fields and was founded in 1955. It is located on 33 acres (13 hectares) and contains cinder-block buildings. Among its research facilities is Table Mountain Observatory. Enrollment is about 700 students, with men greatly outnumbering women. All have extremely high scores on standardized tests, especially in mathematics. Though Harvey Mudd specializes in science and engineering, students are required to devote a third of their time to the humanities and social sciences and complete a senior thesis in one of those areas in addition to a research project in their major. The college also emphasizes breadth in the sciences, with all students taking courses in math, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering design, and computer science. Five-year programs in engineering and mathematics are available in conjunction with Claremont Graduate School. Many students are involved with the engineering, computer science, and mathematics clinics, in which industries bring real problems to the college and pay for them to be solved. In addition to hands-on experience, this provides paying jobs. About 40 percent of Harvey Mudd College's alumni complete Ph.D. programs, one of the highest figures for any school in the United States. Many students at Harvey Mudd participate in community service projects and student government. Annual traditions at the college include singing carols at professors' houses on Halloween and a competition of unusual contests called the Five Class Competition. Harvey Mudd College has a rivalry with another outstanding scientific institution on the West coast, the California Institute of Technology. Their competition has taken such forms as pranks and soccer matches. Pitzer College was created through the generosity of Russel Pitzer, an alumnus of Pomona College. It was founded in 1963, making it the youngest of the Claremont Colleges, and was a women's college until the early 1970s. It enrolls about 750 students, with the numbers of men and women attending being about equal. The campus covers about 35 acres (14 hectares) and has octagonal buildings. Pitzer's emphasis is on the social and behavioral sciences, though it offers other majors in disciplines within the arts and sciences. Students tend to have a great deal of freedom in choosing their classes. Five-year programs in business administration, public policy, and mathematics are available in conjunction with Claremont Graduate School, and management engineering programs are offered with various institutions. Pitzer conducts the New Resources Program for students over the age of 25. The college also offers the Program in American College English, which provides intensive training in English for foreigners wishing to pursue a higher education. Pitzer operates on the concept of a community government composed of students, faculty, administrators, and trustees. Students sit on all policy committees, including those involved with the curriculum and faculty promotions. The Claremont Graduate School was founded in 1925. It enrolls 1,700 students in addition to offering advanced classes to select undergraduates of the Claremont Colleges. Master's degrees are awarded in some 18 fields and doctorates in 14. The school shares some faculty and course offerings with the Claremont School of Theology. |