Pitzer College

Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college located in Claremont, California, and is a member of the prestigious Claremont Colleges consortium. Founded with a progressive spirit, Pitzer is defined by its five core values: social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement, and environmental sustainability. The college serves a close-knit community of approximately 1,200 students on a 35-acre campus that emphasizes sustainable living and social activism. As part of a seven-institution consortium, Pitzer provides its students with the intimate feel of a small school alongside the vast resources, libraries, and social opportunities of a large university.

The college was founded in 1963 as a women's college, making it the sixth member of the Claremont Colleges. It was named in honor of Russell K. Pitzer, a local orange grower and philanthropist. From its inception, Pitzer was designed to be an innovator in higher education, focusing heavily on the social and behavioral sciences. The college became coeducational in 1970 and has since built a reputation as one of the most politically active and environmentally conscious campuses in the United States. In recent decades, it has made history by being the first college on the West Coast to adopt a test-optional (and later test-free) admission policy and for launching pioneering programs like the first secular studies major in the country.

Pitzer College stands as a bold vanguard of the progressive liberal arts tradition. By placing social justice and environmental stewardship at the center of its curriculum, the college attracts students who are not content with the status quo and wish to be "mindful of the future" (Provida Futuri). Its unique position within the Claremont consortium allows it to offer a radical, individualized education supported by world-class scientific and athletic facilities. For the student who values activism, environmentalism, and the freedom to design their own intellectual path, Pitzer remains one of the most distinctive and impactful institutions in American higher education.