Pitzer College

What is the history of Pitzer College?

Pitzer College was founded in 1963 in Claremont, California, as a coeducational liberal arts college. It became the fifth undergraduate institution in The Claremont Colleges consortium and welcomed its first students in 1964.

The college was named for Russell K. Pitzer, whose family supported its establishment. Its founding emphasis on student participation in college governance remains part of its identity: students have a formal role in discussing academic and campus policies. Membership in The Claremont Colleges also shaped Pitzer's development, allowing a small college to share academic and student resources with neighboring institutions.

What are the faculties and departments at Pitzer College?

Pitzer is an undergraduate liberal arts college, not a university divided into separate professional schools. It awards bachelor's degrees across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Students can pursue fields such as environmental analysis, psychology, sociology, political studies, media studies, and the arts. Interdisciplinary programs and the possibility of designing a major give students room to connect fields, subject to academic approval. Science students may also use shared academic resources within The Claremont Colleges. Because cross-registration rules and course availability affect what a student can actually take, applicants interested in a particular major should examine Pitzer's current catalog alongside the consortium's course arrangements.

What is the location of Pitzer College?

Pitzer College is in Claremont, California, an eastern Los Angeles County city. Its campus sits within The Claremont Colleges, where several separate institutions share a walkable academic district.

Claremont's downtown, commonly called the Village, is near campus. The Metrolink station offers a rail connection toward Los Angeles, although schedules and the need for onward transportation matter for internships or commuting. Ontario International Airport is a nearby option for longer-distance travel. Students considering off-campus work should account for Southern California travel times rather than assuming every regional opportunity is close to campus.

What is the mission and vision of Pitzer College?

Pitzer describes its educational purpose through five core values: interdisciplinary learning, intercultural understanding, social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and student engagement. These are the college's stated priorities, not measures that every course or student experience will necessarily meet.

The values help explain Pitzer's emphasis on connections across subjects, community-based learning, and student participation in governance. Pitzer is a nonsectarian college; its educational approach is organized around the liberal arts rather than a religious affiliation.