Claremont Colleges

Not to be confused with the Five College Consortium in Massachusetts or Claremont College in Tasmania, Australia.

Claremont Colleges
Mason Hall, Pomona College
Keck Graduate Institute
Harper Hall, CGU
Brant Clock Tower, Pitzer College
Scripps College
Harvey Mudd College entrance sign
Kravis Center, Claremont McKenna College
(clockwise from top)
Former name
Claremont University Consortium (until 2017[1][2])
TypePrivate consortium
EstablishedOctober 14, 1925 (1925-10-14)[3][4]
FounderJames Blaisdell
Endowment$27 million (2019)[5][a]
Budget$47 million (2019)[5][b]
CEOStig Lanesskog[4]
StudentsApprox. 8500[6]
Location
Claremont
,
California
,
United States

34°06′09″N 117°42′45″W / 34.10250°N 117.71250°W / 34.10250; -117.71250
CampusSuburban, 546 acres (221 ha)[6]
NicknamePomona-Pitzer Sagehens
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division III – SCIAC
Websitewww.claremont.edu

The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)—Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College (CMC), Harvey Mudd College, and Pitzer College—and two graduate schools—Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and Keck Graduate Institute (KGI). All the members except KGI have adjoining campuses, together covering roughly 1 sq mi (2.6 km2).

The consortium was founded in 1925 by Pomona College president James A. Blaisdell, who proposed a collegiate university design inspired by Oxford University. He sought to provide the specialization, flexibility, and personal attention commonly found in small colleges, but with the resources of a large university.[7] The consortium has since grown to roughly 8,500 students[8] and 3,600 faculty and staff,[8] and offers more than 2,000 courses every semester.[9] The colleges share a central library, campus safety services, health services, and other resources, managed by The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS). Among the undergraduate schools, there is significant social interaction and academic cross-registration, but each college maintains a distinct identity.[10][11][12]

Admission to the Claremont Colleges is considered highly selective.[13] For the Class of 2020 admissions cycle, four of the five most selective liberal arts colleges in the U.S. by acceptance rate were among the 5Cs (the five undergraduate colleges), and the remaining college, Scripps, had the second-lowest acceptance rate among women's colleges.[14] The Fiske Guide to Colleges describes the consortium as "a collection of intellectual resources unmatched in America."[15]

  1. ^ "Claremont University Consortium Is Changing Its Name". The Claremont Colleges Services. Retrieved May 11, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ Rodriguez, Monica (December 9, 2017). "The Claremont University Consortium legally changes name to The Claremont Colleges". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  3. ^ "History of the Colleges". The Claremont Colleges Services. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "CEO Welcome". The Claremont Colleges Services. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "The Claremont Colleges 2018–2019 Financial Report" (PDF). The Claremont Colleges. Retrieved August 3, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ a b "The Claremont Colleges". www.claremont.edu. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  7. ^ James A. Blaisdell, the creator of the Claremont Colleges, declared in 1923 "My own very deep hope is that instead of one great, undifferentiated university, we might have a group of institutions divided into small colleges—somewhat of an Oxford type—around a library and other utilities which they would use in common. In this way, I should hope to preserve the inestimable personal values of the small college, while securing the facilities of the great university."
  8. ^ a b "The Claremont Colleges". Claremont Colleges. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Claremont Colleges". Claremont Colleges. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  10. ^ Fiske 2021, pp. 146–147.
  11. ^ Felch, Trevor (October 22, 2019). "The 12 best college towns in California". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  12. ^ Ferrall, Victor E. (2011). "Cooperating". Liberal Arts at the Brink. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 85. ISBN 9780674060883.
  13. ^ Characterizations of the reputation of the Claremont Colleges:
  14. ^ "Ivy League Admissions Stats & Acceptance Rates, Class of 2020". April 5, 2016. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  15. ^ Hurst, Allison L. (October 18, 2019). Amplified Advantage: Going to a "Good" College in an Era of Inequality. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. pp. 19–20. ISBN 9781498589666. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2020.


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