2012-2013 Pitzer Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2012-2013 Pitzer Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

The Claremont Colleges


Nestled in the beautiful, tree-lined city of Claremont, California, The Claremont University Consortium is an association of five undergraduate liberal arts colleges and two graduate higher education institutions reminiscent of the Oxford-Cambridge model. The seven independent institutions on adjoining campuses offer rigorous curricula, small classes, distinguished professors and personalized instruction in a vibrant residential college community that provides intensive interaction between students and faculty.

The unique consortium offers an education that focuses on broad-based knowledge, development of critical and analytical thinking and effective communication at the undergraduate and graduate level in the liberal arts and sciences. The curriculum includes natural and applied sciences, social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, business, mathematics, engineering, and the arts.

Pitzer College is a comprehensive liberal arts college that offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 40 majors and 19 minors. Pitzer’s curriculum emphasizes intercultural understanding, social responsibility and interdisciplinary learning. More than 70 percent of Pitzer students study abroad. For the past six consecutive years, Pitzer has held the record for the highest number of the prestigious Fulbright Fellowships awarded per capita for colleges and universities nationwide. Pitzer stands positioned to become the first college in the nation to have all Gold LEED-certified residence halls by the U.S. Green Building Council. Pitzer is the youngest college ranked in the U.S. News & World Report’s Top 50 liberal arts colleges and the only college within the group with a social responsibility requirement for all of its students.

Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is America’s only research-extensive university dedicated solely to graduate study and research. More than 2,000 graduate students pursue advanced degrees across 38 masters and 22 doctoral fields in nine schools, including the internationally renowned Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management. The CGU experience is intimate, transdisciplinary and engaged with the world. CGU provides a unique blend of intimacy and community, of high academic standards, and transdisciplinary research, and innovative teaching concerned with making our world a better place. This blend is just what some of the world’s ablest graduate students demand-and just what tomorrow’s hardest problems require.

Claremont McKenna College (CMC), established in 1946, is among the highest-ranked and most selective liberal arts colleges in the nation. CMC excels in preparing students for leadership through the liberal arts in business, the professions, and public affairs. The College is home to more than 130 accomplished teacher-scholars who are dedicated to teaching and to offering unparalleled opportunities for student collaboration in the research process. Enrolling approximately 1,200 students, CMC combines highly-selective need-blind admission, innovative programs, a 9-to-1 student-faculty ratio, ten research institutes, the impact of the seven-member Claremont College Consortium, and a strong and committed network of alumni, to educate its graduates for a lifetime of leadership.

Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is the liberal arts college of engineering, science and mathematics, ranked high among the nation’s best colleges. Our 750 undergraduates pursue Bachelor of Science degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, plus joint major programs in biology and chemistry, computer science and mathematics and computational biology. For more than 50 years, HMC has led the way with hands-on undergraduate research opportunities on a par with graduate institutions, a strong focus on the humanities, social sciences, and the arts, an exceptional faculty who challenge students to achieve beyond their expectations and one of the nation’s highest rates of graduates who go on to earn PhDs. Our graduates are highly trained scientists, technologists, educators, entrepreneurs and other professionals who understand the impact of their work on society.

Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) Educating the future leaders of the bioscience industry, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers an interdisciplinary graduate education through its Master of Bioscience (MBS), Postdoctoral Professional Masters in Bioscience Management (PPM), PhD programs, and other degrees. 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.

Pomona College, founded in 1887, is a place for people who are venturesome by choice, people who want to make a difference and are prepared to dream big and work hard in order to grow. Students’ interests are distributed across concentrations in the humanities, natural and physical sciences, social sciences and the arts. With a student-faculty ratio of 8:1, students have the opportunity to work closely with professors who are also top scholars. Pomona offers 45 majors, individually designed concentrations and approximately 650 courses each year. Opportunities include 42 study abroad programs, summer undergraduate research grants, public policy internships and 227 active clubs. Approximately 72 percent of faculty shared a meal with students at least six times last year. Pomona’s 1,520 students come from 47 states and 32 countries and reflect an impressive diversity of socioeconomic, ethnic and geographic backgrounds. Eighty percent go on to graduate or professional schools.

Scripps College, founded in 1926, is a nationally top-ranked liberal arts college and a member of The Claremont Colleges. With approximately 950 students, Scripps College offers an intense learning experience with small classes on a campus famous for its beauty. As part of a consortium with four other colleges in immediate proximity and two graduate institutions, Scripps offers its students the benefits of a larger university, with shared facilities, co-curricular activities, and ability to cross-register at any or all of the colleges. The mission of the College is to develop in its students the ability to think clearly and independently, and the ability to live confidently, courageously, and hopefully.

Pitzer College

Pitzer College stands for academic excellence, social leadership and intercultural understanding. We deliberately explore the dynamic tension that exists in the world and work closely with our students to appreciate and critically interpret the beauty and challenges that frame our existence.

Pitzer College is dedicated to providing students with a transformative liberal arts education and developing the individuality of each student. Students are expected to lead thoughtful, involved lives and to positively contribute and work toward constructive social change.

Mission Statement

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 that provide an unsurpassed breadth of academic, athletic and social opportunities.

About Pitzer College

Pitzer College is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (985 Atlantic Ave., Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510.748.9001). The accreditation report is available in the Office of the President and the Office of the Dean of Faculty.

Pitzer College adheres to both the letter and the spirit of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its admission policies, educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other College-administered programs, and employment policies.

The regulations, rules, and requirements contained in this catalog constitute a binding agreement between Pitzer College and its registered students. The Faculty Handbook and the Student Handbook also contain rules of operation that are binding.

The information contained in this catalog is subject to change without published notice. Such changes may result from action by the trustees, the President, the committees, or the College Council of Pitzer College.