Pitzer College at a Glance
A Distinctive Liberal Arts College
One hundred percent of Pitzer’s 67 tenured/tenure-track faculty members hold a PhD or the terminal degree in their field of expertise. The student/faculty ratio is 12:1. Pitzer College is the 12th most diverse top-tier private coed national liberal arts college in the U.S.; it has 63 domestic and international study programs, including 9 of its own programs; the College ranks 35th for academic reputation by U.S.News & World Report; and 13 Pitzer graduates were awarded Fulbright Scholarships this year—12 from the Class of 2008 and one recent alumni.
Pitzer College granted admission to 22 percent of the student applicant pool. Only 30 liberal arts colleges have acceptance rates less than 22 percent.
Location
Situated at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, Claremont enjoys an excellent climate year round. Mountain skiing and hiking, desert and ocean sports, and one of the largest and most electrifying cities in the world are within an hour drive, with downtown Los Angeles easily reached via the Metrolink commuter rail.
Commercial airline service is available through nearby Ontario International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and John Wayne (Orange County) International Airport.
Majors
The College believes that mastery of a subject makes informed, independent judgments, and so requires students to complete a major. Prior to midterm of the second semester of the sophomore year, students choose an advisor in the field of their selected major and begin discussions regarding the major. Students must complete a Major/Educational Objectives form signed by the major advisor of record and submit it to the Registrar’s Office no later than midterm of the first semester of the junior year. A substantial part of the junior and senior years is devoted to the major program. Field groups (similar to a discipline or department) organize major requirements and courses. Students may choose existing majors at the other Claremont Colleges provided that the fields are not offered as majors at Pitzer. Students may also design special majors in consultation with their advisers, which then must be approved by the Curriculum Committee.
To view the list of available majors and the course catalog, click here.
2008 First-Year Students
We received 4,032 applications for prospective students for a first-year class of 259.
Forty-five percent of the entering class comes from California. Other states with a large number of incoming students include Washington State, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Students of color represent 31 percent of the class. Females make up 61 percent of the Class of 2012.
International and National Student Awards since 2001
From 2001-2008, Pitzer students were awarded:
- Sixty-four Fulbright Scholarships
- Two Freeman Asia Fellowships
- Eight Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships
- Six Watson Fellowships
- Six Coro Fellowships
- Five American Sociological Association Minority Fellows
- Four Kemper Scholarships
- Eight McNair Scholarships
- One Truman Fellowship
- One Princeton in Asia Teaching Fellowship
- One Udall Fellowship
- One Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award
- Two Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Fellowships
- Two teaching/study grants awarded by the French Government
- Four Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships
- One Union Semester Fellowship
- Five Pearson Teacher Fellowship
- One ATHGO Intern
- One IEA Internship
- Two PPIA Fellowships
Tuition and Fees
For current tuition and fees, please visit the Financial Aid pages.
Financial Assistance
Forty-four percent of Pitzer students receive financial assistance. More than $8.2 million in institutional scholarship assistance is available. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid pages.
Athletics
Pitzer joins with Pomona College in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Athletic teams include soccer, basketball, football, baseball, track and field, golf, tennis, water polo, and swimming and diving. Pomona-Pitzer women’s intercollegiate athletic teams include soccer, cross-country, volleyball, swimming and diving, basketball, track & field, softball, tennis and water polo. Pitzer students participate in The Claremont Colleges club sports programs that compete nationally. A wide variety of intramural sports is available to all students.
Student Life
Nearly 150 special interest clubs and organizations are offered by The Claremont Colleges. There are various on-campus entertainment events and off-campus recreational activities.
Alumni
There are 8,822 living alumni located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 55 countries worldwide.
Pitzer College graduates are prepared to take on life’s challenges while making a difference in their communities. Pitzer’s many impressive alumni include individuals with varied careers in arts, science and research, non-profit, education and public service.
Giving
Contributions to the Annual Fund reached an all-time high in 2007-08. Total cash donations represent the largest sum ever raised in a single year at Pitzer College. These numbers were bolstered by impressive participation figures as well: 25 percent of alumni, 20 percent of current parents, 89 percent of Pitzer faculty and staff, and more than 98 percent of graduating seniors contributed to the College.
The College is currently engaged in fundraising for the Residential Life Project, which has resulted in the construction of three nationally-recognized environmentally sustainable residential halls that opened in fall 2007.
Honnold/Mudd Library
Honnold/Mudd is the largest of The Claremont Colleges libraries, with holdings across all disciplines, including special collections, government publications, and electronic resources. There are over 2 million books and journal volumes, 2,000 print periodical subscriptions, 35,000 online journals, and over 32,000 e-books.
Services include an extensive Web site and online resources, in-person and virtual reference, individual and group instruction, and customized delivery options like Interlibrary Loan.