Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles (known asMount St. Mary's College until January 2015)[4] is aprivate, Catholic universityprimarily for women, inLos Angeles, California, United States.
Colloquially referred to as "The Mount" by the community, the university served as a women's-only educational institution until 1960, when the university chose to offer a selection of co-educational graduate programs.[5] Men are now welcomed into all Graduate programs, as well as the Weekend/Evening & Online College. All nursing programs are also co-educational.[6] As of 2025, women still make up 88 percent of the undergraduate student body.[7]
The university offers 40+ undergraduate majors and minors, 15+ graduate programs, and 10+ Weekend/Evening & Online College programs. A total of 10 different degree types are available, as well as 10 professional development certificates and 8 teaching credentials.[9] The most popular for 1st year undergraduate students are Pre-Nursing and Nursing, Biology, Psychology and Business.[10]
The university first held its classes at St. Mary's Academy, then located at WestSlauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard.[11] In 1928, the Sisters purchased 36 acres (15 ha) of land along the foothills of theSanta Monica Mountains from the Rodeo Land and Water Company for $162,000. In 1947, an additional 20 acres (8.1 ha) was acquired to complete what is today the university's Chalon campus. The campus contains a blend of architecture familiar to Los Angeles, largely in the tradition of theSpanish Colonial Revival andMission Revival styles. The location of the campus inBrentwood, on a 1,100-foot (340 m) ridge, provides an overlook to both theGetty Center and 40 miles (64 km) of thePacific Ocean.
Being the university's first campus, Chalon has been home to a number of important events in the history of the university. In 1929, the university's first graduation was held on the Chalon campus. 20 years later, the university founded its historic Nursing program under the direction of Sr. Rebecca Doan, CSJ.[12] After receiving full accreditation from the California Board of Nursing Examiners for itsBachelor of Science in Nursing degree, Mount Saint Mary's producedCalifornia's first BSN graduates in 1952.[13] In 1955, the university also began offering graduate degree programs.
Today, the Chalon campus is home to the university's traditional undergraduate students, though some classes and student housing are also offered at the Doheny campus.[14]
The Doheny Mansion, the center of the university's Downtown campus
The university grew to two campuses in 1962 when it was given 20 acres (8.1 ha), holding two city blocks ofQueen Anne style andVictorian mansions, in theWest Adams District[15] The property was formerly owned byEdward L. Doheny and his wife, theCountess Estelle Doheny, who made their fortune in oil. TheChester Place residences were built at the turn of the century by JudgeCharles Silent. The Dohenys purchased the mansion at#8 Chester Place in 1901. Due to his wife's desire for more privacy, Edward L. Doheny went on to purchase all thirteen remaining lots on Chester Place in order to make it into a secure, gate- guarded street.[16][17] The university named the campus after the Countess Doheny and her husband.
The Doheny campus first played host to the university's Associate in Arts program when it opened in 1962. Forty years later, in 2002, the university began its first doctoral degree, in physical therapy, which joined the other graduate programs offered at the Doheny campus. The first class of DPT students graduated in 2005.[18]
In 1992, the university launched its Weekend and Evening College program at the Chalon campus, which primarily focuses on providing working professionals the opportunity to complete their undergraduate degrees within four years by attending classes scheduled on weekends. The Weekend and Evening College program moved to the Doheny campus in 2006, joining a number of courses for the associate and graduate programs offered at Doheny on weekday evenings and on weekends, furthering the idea of accessibility introduced by Weekend and Evening College.
Doheny is home to the university'sassociate, daytime and evening graduate programs, Weekend and Evening College (undergraduate and graduate), and educational credential programs.
In 2022, the Mount opened a third academic location named the Hollywood Studio. Though not officially a campus, it serves as home to the university's Film, Media, and Communication department and is used to conduct tech-heavy multimedia courses.[19] The Hollywood Studio also contains a podcast studio, computer lab, sound editing bay, full recording studio with isolation booth, and a 1,200 square foot shooting stage.[20]
TheGeena Davis Institute on Gender in Media is historically affiliated with the university. The current relationship is not clear, as the Institute's website contains no references to the university.[21]
Because of its isolated location and scenic vistas and architecture, a number of movies and television shows have filmed on both campuses of the university. Some of the most notable past media projects filmed at the Mount include:
^Davis, Margaret Leslie (1998).Dark Side of Fortune: Triumph and Scandal in the Life of Oil Tycoon Edward L. Doheny. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.ISBN978-0-52020-292-4.
