Pitzer College

Pitzer College is a private institution that was founded in 1963. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,212 (fall 2022), its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 31 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Pitzer College's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #39. Its tuition and fees are $62,692.

Students at Pitzer attend a small liberal arts college with the breadth and resources of five undergraduate institutions. Pitzer is in the network of Claremont Colleges, along with undergraduate schools Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pomona College and Scripps College. Students can major in an academic program at any of the five institutions, or can design a major at Pitzer. All campuses are within walking distance of each other in Claremont, Calif., and junior and senior Pitzer students can take up to half of the classes in their program at other schools. If a student doesn’t feel like walking, they can take a free bicycle through Pitzer’s Green Bike Program. The campuses’ close proximities are ideal for Pitzer student athletes, who team up with peers at Pomona College for varsity sports. The Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens compete in the Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, cheered on by mascot Cecil, a costumed blue bird.

Unlike most institutions, Pitzer does not require students to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their application, as long as a student is in the top 10 percent of their high school class or has a 3.5 or greater GPA. There are more than 100 student clubs and organizations, but there is no Greek system. All full-time students must live on campus, unless they have received school permission to move off. With so many institutions in Claremont, Pitzer students live among 5,000 students in the suburban area. Los Angeles is 35 miles away, and students with cars can get to Santa Monica Beach, the Mojave Desert and Hollywood in an hour.

Close to three-quarters of students study abroad, often through Pitzer’s specialty programs, like a semester in Costa Rica at the school’s Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology. Students can also complete community-based internships in Ontario, Calif., conduct social research projects and go on field trips, including a tour of U.S. border towns. Notable alumni include John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions; Debra Yang, the first Asian-American U.S. Attorney; and Fabian Núñez, former speaker of the California Assembly.