Nestled in the Foothills of the San Gabriel Mountain, 35 miles east of Los Angles, in the City of Claremont, CA, Claremont McKenna College is home to over 1300 undergraduate students. Founded in 1946 as Claremont Undergraduate College for Men, the College became co-ed in 1976 and, in 1981, changed its name to Claremont McKenna College.

CMC, a member of the highly regarded Claremont Colleges consortium, is a highly selective applied liberal arts college guided by its mission to educate its students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions.

 

Setting CMC Apart

The Athenaeum

Unique in American higher education, the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum (the “Ath”)brings scholars, public figures, thought leaders, artists, and innovators to campus four nights a week during the school year.

Students, faculty, staff, and other community members gather to hear the speaker, pose questions, and also to build community and exchange ideas over a shared meal. In addition, the Ath also hosts lunch speakers, roundtables, and smaller presentations in its two auxiliary dining rooms.

Student Fellows, selected annually, host, introduce and moderate discussion with the featured speaker. Priority is given to students in attendance during the question-and-answer session following every presentation. Moreover, speakers often take extra time to visit a class, meet with student interest groups, or give an interview to the student press and podcast team.

 

Research Institutes and Centers

CMC, students have access to 11 world-class research institutes and centers. These institutes and centers have one common goal: to provide CMC students with graduate-level research opportunities in conjunction with the College's distinguished faculty. In so doing, CMC students—as undergraduates—are afforded opportunities unparalleled at liberal arts colleges around the world.

 

Open Academy

Freedom of speech and expression are foundational to the mission of Claremont McKenna College. It is only through the presentation and scrutiny of different perspectives that together we develop the ability to confront and solve complex problems and exercise forms of collaborative leadership in diverse social and professional settings.

To reinforce and advance a strong College commitment to freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity and effective dialogue, CMC has developed the Open Academy. The goal is to strengthen the effectiveness of current policies, programs and teaching through increased opportunity and institutional championship of faculty, staff and students.

 

We are not here just to disagree better. That is not why we are in education. Disagreement is fundamental to agreement, but the underlying purpose is to get deeper levels of understanding.

- CMC President Hiram Chodosh