The Claremont Colleges: A Unique Consortium of Higher Education

The Claremont Colleges, often referred to as the 7Cs, represent a distinctive model of higher education. This consortium of seven private institutions in Claremont, California, offers students the resources of a large university while maintaining the personalized atmosphere of small, liberal arts colleges.

A Model Inspired by Oxford

The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS) is the central coordinating and support organization for a highly regarded cluster of seven independent colleges known as The Claremont Colleges. The consortium was founded in 1925 by Pomona College president James A. Blaisdell, drawing inspiration from the collegiate university designs of Oxford and Cambridge. Blaisdell envisioned a system that combined the specialization and personal attention of small colleges with the extensive resources of a large university. This vision has materialized into a unique educational ecosystem that has drawn national recognition.

The Seven Claremont Colleges

The 7Cs consist of five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs) and two graduate schools, each with its own distinct identity, mission, and academic focus.

The Undergraduate Colleges (The 5Cs)

Pomona College: Established in 1887, Pomona College is the founding member of The Claremont Colleges. It offers a traditional liberal arts program with majors in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to approximately 1,520 students.
Scripps College: Founded in 1926 by Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps College is an undergraduate women's college with a current enrollment of nearly 900. It is known for its core curriculum in the humanities and its emphasis on interdisciplinary study, offering concentrations in the arts, language and literature, philosophy and religion, science, and social studies.
Claremont McKenna College (CMC): Claremont McKenna College is a highly selective, co-educational, liberal arts college educating leaders in business and public affairs. CMC was founded in 1946 and has a current enrollment of approximately 1,200 students.
Harvey Mudd College: Joining the consortium in 1955, Harvey Mudd College is a coeducational, 735-student college that offers undergraduate programs in engineering, science, and mathematics, while also emphasizing the humanities and social sciences. The school produces highly competent scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who understand the impact of their work on society.
Pitzer College: Pitzer College, founded in 1963, is a coeducational college that enrolls nearly 950 students. Its curriculum emphasizes the social and behavioral sciences, particularly psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political studies.

The Graduate Schools

Claremont Graduate University (CGU): Founded in 1925, Claremont Graduate University has an enrollment of just over 2,000 students. It offers master's and doctoral degrees in the humanities and social sciences, government, economics, mathematics, botany, management, and education.
Keck Graduate Institute (KGI): The seventh and newest member of The Claremont Colleges, Keck Graduate Institute, was founded in 1997. It is the first American graduate school dedicated exclusively to the emerging fields of the applied life sciences and offers professionally-oriented master's degrees.

The Benefits of the Consortium

The consortium model offers numerous benefits to students at The Claremont Colleges.

Cross-Enrollment and Shared Resources

One of the most significant advantages is the ability to cross-enroll in classes at any of the other colleges. This allows students to broaden their academic horizons and take advantage of the diverse expertise available across the consortium. The colleges also share a central library, campus safety services, health services, and other resources, managed by The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS). Students enjoy dining privileges on all of the Claremont Colleges campuses; they also can participate in sister schools’ extracurriculars, organizations, and athletics.

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A Vibrant Campus Life

The Claremont Colleges offer a vibrant campus life with a wide range of multi-campus social, academic, political, creative, and religious organizations. Students can participate in a host of highly competitive NCAA Division III men's and women's athletic teams. The Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity, colloquially termed "the Hive", was established in 2015 to support creative learning. There are eight a cappella groups on campus. One, the Claremont Shades, hosts the annual SCAMFest concert, which draws singers from other Southern California colleges.

Shared Academic Departments

Shared academic departments include the Intercollegiate Women’s Studies Center, the Intercollegiate Department of Chicano Studies, the Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies, the Intercollegiate Department of Africana Studies (formerly Black Studies), the Intercollegiate Department of Religious Studies, the Intercollegiate Department of Media Studies, and the Five-College Theater Department. In addition, Pitzer College and Scripps College share a single science program, the Department of Natural Sciences. Many research projects and courses use the Robert J. Bernard Field Station, an 86-acre (35 ha) natural area which consists principally of the rare Coastal Sage Scrub ecosystem.

A Look Back at the History

Before the idea of the Claremont Colleges, Pomona College was founded in 1887 in Pomona, California. Pomona began after a group of congregationalists envisioned a "New England-type" college on the West Coast. The college relocated to Claremont in 1888 after acquiring an unfinished hotel there. By 1923, Pomona College faced a problem: the school's population was growing. Pomona had to choose to either continue expanding or to limit the amount of growth at the college. The college's president at the time, James Blaisdell, developed a different option. He advised that the college choose to form a consortium of differentiated small colleges, modeled after Oxford and Cambridge.

In 1946, 86 students and 7 faculty members formed the fourth institution of the Claremont Colleges, the Claremont Men's College, now known as Claremont McKenna College. CMC was formed as a fully male undergraduate school until women were admitted in 1976. In 1955, Harvey Mudd College became the fifth institute in the consortium. HMC was founded by Harvey Seeley Mudd, a former chairman of the Board of Fellows of Claremont College. He envisioned an undergraduate college in the consortium that focused its education in science and engineering. In 1963, Pitzer College joined the Claremont Colleges. Pitzer was founded as a college for women focusing on the social sciences. Later in 1970, Pitzer enrolled 80 men. The school was named after Russell K. Pitzer, an important benefactor in the development of the institution. The final and seventh college to join the consortium was Keck Graduate Institute. KGI was founded in 1997 after a $50 million donation from W.M.

Rankings and Reputation

The Claremont Colleges enjoy a strong national reputation, consistently ranking among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. High school students should also keep in mind that each Claremont College has a separate application. Furthermore, each individual school issues its own degrees. Students must fulfill the degree requirements specified by the school that they attend, even if they take courses at any of the other Claremont schools. In addition to employing more than 3,000 internationally recognized faculty, the schools are highly selective. For example, in the 2024-25 admissions cycle, Claremont McKenna College had an acceptance rate of just 10%; the rate at Pomona College was only 7%.

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Admissions and Campus Life

Prospective students apply to each campus of interest individually to be considered for admission. Students at The Claremont Colleges are enrolled at one institution but benefit from the consortium’s academic and extracurricular programs and services. Students enjoy the advantages of a small college with the resources of a large university. The Claremont Colleges includes five undergraduate liberal arts colleges and two graduate institutions: Pomona College, Claremont Graduate University, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College and Keck Graduate Institute. Located on contiguous campuses in the Southern California city of Claremont, each institution has its own student body, faculty, governance, curricular emphasis, culture, and mission. Intercollegiate cooperation provides university-scale services and facilities.

Claremont, a suburban city 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, is nestled at the base of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. With a population of just 35,000, the quintessential college town of Claremont is known as the City of Trees and PhDs. At its center is the Village, a strollable downtown destination where café tables dot the sidewalks, and shops invite browsing on tree-lined streets. Street festivals, concerts in the park, movie nights and a weekly farmers market contribute to the city’s unique and welcoming environment. Claremont, California, boasts an academic prestige as the home of The Claremont Colleges, comprising five distinguished liberal arts colleges and two graduate schools. These institutions collectively form an academic powerhouse renowned nationwide. The inviting ambiance surrounding these prestigious campuses opens its arms to the public, offering a glimpse into the vibrant academic atmosphere. The streets and pathways meandering around the campuses are accessible to visitors, providing a chance to explore picturesque examples of architecture, admire public art installations, and stroll through beautifully landscaped gardens.

The Claremont Colleges: A Summary

The Claremont Colleges are seven independent institutions that collaborate as a consortium. Although distinct from each other, students at The Claremont Colleges are enrolled at one institution but benefit from the consortium’s academic and extracurricular programs and services. The Claremont consortium was started by Pomona College in 1925 with the establishment of The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS), the purchase of a large parcel of land for future institutions, and the founding of the Claremont Graduate University. Scripps College was founded in 1926, Claremont McKenna College in 1946, Harvey Mudd College in 1955, and Pitzer College in 1963. KGI students and faculty have access to a top-quality library and a broad array of courses, programs, and services offered by consortium members. The Claremont Colleges-which are also known as the Claremont Consortium or the 7Cs-are a group of private liberal arts schools in Southern California.

The Claremont Colleges are a group of seven colleges-five undergraduate colleges, and two graduate colleges-located in Claremont, California, which is in eastern Los Angeles County. The consortium was established in 1925 and modeled after the design of Oxford University. These colleges are also very close to one another--in fact, all the campuses (except for Keck) occupy one square mile. But the thing that makes the 7Cs so unique is that they collaborate. The biggest perk of being a student at one of the seven Claremont Colleges is that you can take classes at any of the other colleges in the Consortium. The seven Claremont Colleges are governed by similar values and goals, but each one is unique in its own way. As you can see, each college is small. All of the campuses have fewer than 2,000 students enrolled! The Claremont Colleges are also very selective schools. Most of the undergraduate colleges have admissions rates of 14 percent or less, making them as competitive as schools like Georgetown and UCLA. Each Claremont College provides a 4-year liberal arts education. These private colleges have been nationally recognized for the quality and rigorousness of their academic programs. For many students, the location of the Claremont Colleges is a huge perk, too. Claremont is located an hour away from Los Angeles in Southern California. Along with the beaches and beautiful weather, the Claremont Colleges’ location provides great employment opportunities, too! The student-to-faculty ratio is another reason students choose to attend a Claremont Consortium college. With ratios ranging from 8:1 to 10:1, the Claremont Colleges give students the chance to get to know their professors and receive one-on-one guidance in their academics. Another major perk of attending a Claremont Consortium is the “small college” feel. Because each individual school is small, students get to know their fellow students much better than they would if they attended a much larger school. But students still get some of the benefits of attending a larger campus. Students who attend a Claremont College have the unique opportunity to take classes at other colleges that are a part of the Claremont Consortium. So, for instance, if you are a student at Pitzer College but you find a course listing at Claremont McKenna College that interests you, you can take that course! This gives Claremont students the chance to connect with even more faculty members and Claremont students. Even though the Claremont Colleges work together, they're still individual schools. Each college in the consortium offers something different to enrolled students. The Claremont Colleges are unified by a belief in the value of collaborative education, but each school has its own mission and academic specializations.

Individual Colleges: Unique Strengths and Missions

Each of the Claremont Colleges is unique, so you’ll want to make sure you’re applying to the school that most closely aligns with your needs and goals. Claremont McKenna College is an undergraduate college that specializes in economics and government, but this school is also known for its majors in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. This school emphasizes good citizenship through responsible leadership in the professional world. Another major draw of this school is its eleven world-class research institutes and accessible opportunities for undergraduate students to conduct research with faculty. Harvey Mudd College specializes in engineering, mathematics, computer science, and the physical and biological sciences. What makes this school unique is that it’s also a liberal arts college. Harvey Mudd teaches students to be aware of the social impact of their work in science, math, and technology. Pitzer College is known for its interdisciplinary education and leadership in social justice, intercultural understanding, and environmental sustainability. One appealing--and unique--thing about Pitzer is that students at this school shape their own educational path. Students can work from a set of focused educational objectives in collaboration with Pitzer faculty to design their degree plan. Pomona College is best known for its interdisciplinary study across the arts and sciences. For instance, Pomona College admits domestic applicants regardless of their ability to cover the costs of attendance, then meets the full demonstrated financial need of all admitted students. In fact, 56 percent of Pomona students receive financial aid. Additionally, almost all Pomona students live on campus in residence halls. Scripps College is the only women’s college of the 7Cs. Scripps offers a robust liberal arts education with interdisciplinary curriculum and progressive policies that promote diversity and inclusion across the educational experience. One unique thing about Scripps is that all students are required to complete an undergraduate thesis or project as part of their graduation requirements. Claremont Graduate University is one of two graduate schools in the Claremont Consortium. This school offers master’s and doctoral degrees, dual degrees, and interdisciplinary opportunities. CGU’s academic programs are practice-based, which means they’re hands-on. Claremont Graduate University is a rare example of an institution devoted entirely to graduate study. As the only other graduate-only institution in the Claremont Consortium, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers five graduate degree programs focusing on the life sciences. These academic programs are organized into the School of Applied Sciences and the School of Pharmacy. KGI is a school for students who want to pursue a career in life and health sciences, engineering, business, pharmacy, and/or genetics.

Tips for Admission

Each Claremont College has a unique mission, and each school wants to know that you are prepared to contribute to their mission. This starts with a quick search for each school’s mission statement. Knowing each school’s mission will help you tailor your application to match its values. Because the Claremont Colleges are selective, you’ll need your application to be as perfect as possible to have the best chance of getting in. First, make sure you start taking your standardized tests with enough time that you’re able to make a great score. It’s no secret that the 7Cs offer rigorous educational experiences. In fact, Harvey Mudd Admissions emphasizes that applicants who opt out of difficult high school courses will be at a disadvantage in the admissions process. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to take seven AP courses per semester. Each Claremont Consortium school relies on a holistic admissions process. This means that they’ll consider a range of factors about you, from your high school GPA, to your test scores, to your extracurricular activities. For example, if you list four years of volunteering at a local veteran’s hospital on your resume, Claremont admissions may want to know why that experience was meaningful to you and how it has prepared you for life as a Claremont student. In order to get into a selective school, you’ll need to have an excellent high school GPA. If you need a little extra help in that department, don’t miss our expert advice on how to bring your GPA up as quickly as possible. AP and IB courses will also look great on your college applications. That’s because AP and IB classes are designed to prepare you for college. And of course, you’ll also need a fantastic SAT or ACT score to get into the school of your dreams. And guess what? A perfect score is possible!

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