Pomona is a four-yearundergraduate institution that enrolled approximately 1,700 students as of the fall 2025 semester. It offers 48majors inliberal arts disciplines and roughly 650 courses, as well as access to more than 2,000 additional courses at the other Claremont Colleges. Its 140-acre (57 ha) campus is in a residential community 35 miles (56 km) east of downtownLos Angeles, near the foothills of theSan Gabriel Mountains.
Pomona suffered through a severe financial crisis during its early years,[15][25][27] but raised enough money to add several buildings to its campus.[28][29] Although thefirst Asian and black students enrolled in 1897[30] and 1900,[31] respectively, the student body (like most others of the era) remained almost all white throughout this period.[25][32][33] In 1905, during presidentGeorge A. Gates' tenure, the college acquired a 64-acre (26 ha) parcel of land to its east known as the Wash.[34][35] In 1911, as high schools became more common in the region, the college eliminated itspreparatory department, which had taught pre-college level courses.[36][37] The following year, it committed to aliberal arts model,[38] soon after turning its previously separate schools of art and music into departments within the college.[39][40] In 1914, thePhi Beta Kappa honor society established a chapter at the college.[41][42] Daily attendance atchapel was mandated until 1921,[43][44] and student culture emphasized athletics[45][46] and academic class rivalries.[47][48] During World War I, male students were divided into threemilitary companies and aRed Cross unit to assist in the war effort.[49][50][51]
Confronted with growing demand in the 1920s, Pomona's fourth president,James A. Blaisdell, considered whether to grow the college into a largeuniversity that could acquire additional resources or remain a small institution capable of providing a more intimate educational experience. Seeking both, he pursued an alternative path inspired by thecollegiate university model he observed atOxford, envisioning a group of independent colleges sharing centralized resources such as a library.[52][53] On October 14, 1925, Pomona's 38th anniversary, the college founded theClaremont Colleges consortium.[54][55] Construction of the Clark dormitories on North Campus (then the men's campus) began in 1929, a reflection of presidentCharles Edmunds' prioritization of the college's residential life.[56][57][58] Edmunds, who had previously served as president ofLingnan University inGuangzhou, China, inspired a growing interest in Asian culture at the college and established itsAsian studies program.[59][57]
Pomona's longest-serving president,E. Wilson Lyon, guided the college through a transformational and turbulent period from 1941 to 1969.[63][69] The college's enrollment rose above 1,000 following the war,[47][70] leading to the construction of several residence halls and science facilities.[71][72] Its endowment grew steadily, due in part to the introduction in 1942 of adeferred giving fundraising scheme pioneered byAllen Hawley called the Pomona Plan, where participants receive a lifetime annuity in exchange for donating to the college upon their death.[65][73][74] The plan's model has since been adopted by many other colleges.[75][76][77]
Men protesting the opening of Frary Dining Hall to women in 1957[78]
Lyon made several progressive decisions relating to civil rights, including supporting Japanese-American students duringinternment[64][79][80] and establishing an exchange program in 1952 withFisk University, ahistorically black university in Tennessee.[81][82][83] He and dean of womenJean Walton ended the gender segregation of Pomona's residential life, first with the opening of Frary Dining Hall (then part of the men's campus) to women beginning in 1957,[78] and later with the elimination ofparietal rules in the late 1960s[84] and the introduction of co-educational housing in 1968.[85][86] The student body, influenced by thecountercultural revolution, became less socially conservative and more politically engaged in this era.[87][88][63] Protestersopposed to the Vietnam War occupied Sumner Hall to obstruct Air Force recruiters in 1968[89][90][91] andforced the cancellation of classes at the end of the spring 1970 semester.[92][93] The college's ethnic diversity also began to increase,[94][95][96] and activists successfully pushed the consortium to establishblack andLatino studies programs in 1969.[32][96][97] A bomb exploded at the Carnegie Building that February, permanently injuring a secretary; no culprit was ever identified.[96][98][99][100]
During the tenure of presidentDavid Alexander from 1969 to 1991, Pomona gained increased prominence on the national stage.[101] The endowment increased ten-fold, enabling the construction and renovation of a number of buildings.[96] Several identity-based groups, such as the Pomona College Women's Union (founded in 1984),[102] were established.[103] In the mid-1980s, out-of-state students began to outnumber in-state students.[104]
In 1991, the college converted the dormitory basements used by fraternities into lounges, arguing that this created a more equitable distribution of campus space. The move lowered the profile ofGreek life on campus.[105][106]
Pomona's Studio Art Hall, completed in 2014, garnered national recognition for its steel-frame design.[107][108][109]
In the 2000s, under presidentDavid W. Oxtoby, Pomona began placing more emphasis on reducing its environmental impact,[110][111] committing in 2003 to obtainingLEED certifications for new buildings[112][113] and launching various sustainability initiatives.[110][112] The college also entered partnerships with several college access groups (including thePosse Foundation in 2004 andQuestBridge in 2005[114]) and committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need of students through grants rather than loans in 2008.[115] These efforts, combined with Pomona's previously instituted[116]need-blind admission policy, resulted in increased enrollment of low-income and racial minority students.[117][118]
Pomona requested proof of legal residency from employees amid aunionization drive by dining hall workers in 2011.[121][122] Seventeen workers who were unable to provide documentation were fired, drawing national media attention and sparking criticism from activists;[121][123] the dining hall staff voted to unionize in 2013.[124][125][126] A rebranding initiative that year sought to emphasize students' passion and drive, angering students who thought it would lead to a more stressful culture.[127] Several protests in the 2010s criticized the college'shandling of sexual assault,[128][129] leading to various reforms.[130][131]
In 2017,[132]G. Gabrielle Starr became Pomona's tenth president; she is the first woman and first African American to hold the office.[133][134] From March 2020 through the spring 2021 semester, the college switched to online instruction in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[135][136] In April 2024, the college had 19 demonstrators occupying Starr's office to urge the college todivest from Israel arrested.[137] This prompted condemnations andprotests,[138][139] including anencampment on Marston Quad that forced the college to move its commencement off-campus.[140]
In its early years, Pomona quickly expanded from its initial home in Sumner Hall, constructing several buildings to accommodate its growing enrollment and ambitions.[158][29] Starting in 1908, development of the campus was guided by master plans from architectMyron Hunt, who envisioned a centralquadrangle flanked by buildings connected viavisual axes.[153] In 1923, landscape architectRalph Cornell expanded on Hunt's plans, envisioning a "college in a garden" defined bynative Southern California vegetation[153] but incorporating global influences in the tradition of theacclimatization movement.[159][160] PresidentJames Blaisdell's decision to purchase undeveloped land around Pomona while it was still available later gave the college room to grow and found the consortium.[161] Many of the earlier buildings were constructed in theMission Revival andSpanish Colonial Revival styles, withstucco walls and redterracotta tile roofs.[50] Other and later construction incorporated elements ofneoclassical,Victorian,Italian Romanesque,modern, andpostmodern styles.[153] As a result, the present campus features a blend of architectural styles.[162] Most buildings are three or fewer stories in height,[152] and are designed to facilitate both indoor and outdoor use.[162]
The campus consists of 88 facilities as of 2023[update],[165] including 70 addressed buildings.[166] It is bounded by First Street on the south, Mills and Amherst Avenues on the east, Eighth Street on the north, and Harvard Avenue on the west.[152] It is informally divided into North Campus and South Campus by Sixth Street,[167] with most academic buildings in the western half and a naturalistic area known as the Wash in the east.[152] It has been featured in numerous films and television shows, often standing in for other schools.[168][169]
South Campus consists of mostly first-year and second-year housing and academic buildings for the social sciences, arts, and humanities.[152]
A row of four residence halls is south of Bonita Avenue, with Frank Dining Hall at the eastern end.[152] Sumner Hall, the home of admissions and several other administrative departments, is to the north of the dormitories.[152] Oldenborg Center, a foreign-language housing option that includes a foreign-language dining hall, is across from Sumner.[174]
South Campus has several arts buildings and performance venues.Bridges Auditorium ("Big Bridges") is used for concerts and speakers and has a capacity of 2,500.[175][176]Bridges Hall of Music ("Little Bridges") is a concert hall with seating for 550.[177] On the western edge of campus is theBenton Museum of Art, which has a collection of approximately 20,000 items,[178] including Italian Renaissancepanel paintings,indigenous American art and artifacts, and American and European prints, drawings, and photographs.[179][180] The Seaver Theatre Complex has a 335-seatthrust stage theater and 125-seatblack box theater, among other facilities.[181] The Studio Art Hall garnered national recognition for its steel-frame design when it was completed in 2014.[107][108][109]
Marston Quadrangle, a 5-acre (2 ha) lawn framed byCalifornia sycamore andcoastal redwood trees, serves as a central artery for the campus, anchored by Carnegie on the west and Bridges Auditorium on the east.[153] To its north is Alexander Hall, the college's central administration building,[152] and the Smith Campus Center (SCC), home to many student services and communal spaces.[185] East of the SCC is the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness (Pomona's primary indoor athletics and recreation facility) and Smiley Hall dormitory, built in 1908.[152]
The college gates historically marked the northern edge of Pomona's campus.
At the intersection of Sixth Street and College Avenue are the college gates, built in 1914, which mark the historical northern edge of the campus. They bear two quotes from President Blaisdell. On the north is "let only the eager, thoughtful and reverent enter here", and on the south is "They only are loyal to this college who departing bear their added riches in trust for mankind". Per campus tradition, enrolling students walk south through the gates during orientation and seniors walk north through them shortly before graduation.[186][187]
North Campus was designed by architectSumner Spaulding, and its initial phase was completed in 1930.[189] It consists primarily of residential buildings for third- and fourth-year students and academic buildings for the natural sciences.[152]
The residence halls include the Clark halls (I, III, and V[c]) and several more recent constructions.[152] The North Campus dining hall, Frary Dining Hall, features a vaulted ceiling and is the location of the muralsPrometheus (1930) byJosé Clemente Orozco, the firstMexican fresco in the U.S.,[192] andGenesis (1960) byRico Lebrun.[193]
Along the north side of campus are several joint buildings maintained byThe Claremont Colleges Services. The Claremont Colleges Library (also known as Honnold/Mudd Library) holds more than 3.4 million items as of 2023[update], of which 1 million are physical and 2.3 million are digital.[198] The consortium also owns theRobert J. Bernard Field Station north of Foothill Boulevard.[199]
Pomona isgoverned as aprivate,nonprofit organization by aboard of trustees responsible for overseeing the long-term interests of the college.[200] The board consists of up to 42 members, most of whom are elected by existing members to four-year terms with a term limit of 12 years.[d][200] It is responsible for hiring the college'spresident (G. Gabrielle Starr since 2017[201]), approving budgets, setting overarching policies, and various other tasks.[200] The president, in turn, oversees the college's general operation, assisted by administrative staff and a faculty cabinet.[200] The college has 902 total employees as of the fall 2023 semester.[202] Pomona operates under a shared governance model, in which faculty and students sit on many policymaking committees and have a degree of control over other major decisions.[203][204][205]
Honnold Library, a shared Claremont Colleges resource
Pomona is the founding member of the Claremont Colleges (colloquially "7Cs", for "seven colleges"), aconsortium of five undergraduate liberal arts colleges ("5Cs")—Pomona,Scripps,Claremont McKenna,Harvey Mudd, andPitzer—and two graduate schools—Claremont Graduate University andKeck Graduate Institute. All are located in Claremont. Although each member has individual autonomy and a distinct identity,[206] there is substantial collaboration through The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS), a coordinating entity that manages the centrallibrary,campus safety services,health services, and other resources.[207] Overall, the 7Cs have been praised by higher education experts for their close cooperation,[208] although there have been occasional tensions.[209][210] Pomona is the largest undergraduate[210] and wealthiest member.[211]
Pomona's office of financial aid is in Sumner Hall.
Pomona has anendowment of $3.01 billion as of June 2024[update],[217] giving itone of the 10 highest endowments per student of any college or university in the U.S.[218] The college's total assets (including its campus) are valued at $3.92 billion.[217] Its operating budget for the 2024–2025 academic year was $271 million,[219] of which roughly half was funded by endowment earnings.[220] In the 2023 fiscal year, 43% of the budget was allocated to instruction, 2% to research, 1% to public service, 13% to academic support, 17% to student services, and 24% to institutional support.[221][needs update] In 2024,Fitch Ratings gave the college a AAAbond credit rating, its highest rating, reflecting an "extremely strong financial profile".[222]
For the 2024–2025 academic year, Pomona charged atuition fee of$65,000,[223][224] with a total estimated on-campus cost of attendance of$89,414.[224][223] In 2024–2025, 55% of students received afinancial aid package, with an average award of $67,027, including 42% of international students, who received an average award of $79,064.[225] The college meets the full demonstrated need of all admitted students, including international students,[226] through grants rather than loans.[227] It does not offermerit awards orathletic scholarships.[225]
Bridges Hall of Music hosts a variety of performances by the college's musical ensembles.
Pomona offers instruction in theliberal arts disciplines and awards theBachelor of Arts degree.[228] The college operates on asemester system,[229] with a normal course load of four full-credit classes per semester.[230] 32 credits and a C averageGPA are needed to graduate, along with the requirements of a major, a first-year critical inquiry seminar, at least one course in each of six "breadth of study" areas,[e] proficiency in a foreign language, two physical education courses, a writing-intensive course, a speaking-intensive course, and an "analyzing difference" course (typically examining a type ofstructural inequality).[231]
Individually, Pomona offers approximately 650 courses per semester.[238] Additionally, students may take a significant portion[g] of their courses at the other Claremont Colleges, enabling access to approximately 2,700 courses total.[230] The academic calendars and registration procedures across the colleges are synchronized and consolidated,[239] and there are no additional fees for cross-enrollment.[104] Students may also createindependent study courses evaluated by faculty mentors.[240]
Estella Laboratory, opened in 2015, houses Pomona's physics, astronomy, and math programs.
All classes at Pomona are taught by professors (as opposed toteaching assistants).[241][203] The average class size is 15;[238] for the fall 2024 semester, 91% of traditional courses[h] had under 30 students, and only four courses had 50 or more students.[225] The college employs faculty members as of the spring 2026 semester, approximately four-fifths of whom are full-time,[225] resulting in a 7∶1ratio of students tofull-time equivalent professors.[225] Among full-time faculty, 38% are members of racial minority groups, 51% are women, and 96% have adoctorate or other terminal degree in their field.[225] Students and professors often form close relationships,[242][203][243] and the college provides faculty with free meals to encourage them to eat with students.[205] Semesters end with a week-longfinal examination period preceded by tworeading days.[244] The college operates several resource centers to help students develop academic skills in quantitative tasks,[245][246] writing,[247] and foreign languages.[248]
Research, study abroad, and professional development
More than half of Pomona students conduct research with faculty.[249][250] The college sponsors an annual Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), in which more than 200 students are paid a stipend of up to $5,600 to conduct research with professors or pursue independent research projects with professorial mentorship.[251][252] The Pomona College Humanities Studio, established in 2018, supports research in the humanities.[253] Pomona is home to the Pacific Basin Institute, aresearch institute that studies issues pertaining to thePacific Rim.[254] The Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity, colloquially termed "the Hive", was established in 2015 to support creative learning.[255][256]
Pomona's Career Development Office is in Alexander Hall.
The Pomona College Career Development Office (CDO) provides students and alumni withcareer advising,networking, and other pre-professional opportunities. It runs the Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP), which provides stipends for completing unpaid or underpaid internships during the semester or summer; more than 250 students participate annually.[258][259] The office connects students with alumni for networking and mentoring via the Sagehen Connect platform.[260] During the 2015–2016 academic year, 175 employers hosted on-site informational events at the Claremont Colleges and 265 unique organizations were represented in 9 career fairs.[261]
For the 2023 entering class,98% of students returned for their second year,[262] giving Pomona one of the highest retention rates of any college or university in the U.S.[263] For the 2018 entering class,61% of students graduated within four years (among the highest rate of any U.S. college or university[264]) and93% graduated within six years.[262]
The top industries for graduates are technology; education; consulting and professional services; finance; government, law, and politics; arts, entertainment, and media; healthcare and social services; nonprofits; and research.[270][271][272] Pomona alumni earn a median early career salary of $73,700 and a median mid-career salary of $146,400, according to 2023 survey data from compensation analytics companyPayScale.[273]
Pomona is considered one of the most prestigious in the country.[6] However, among the broader public, it has less name recognition than many larger schools.[285][286]
Pomona has rated similarly in othercollege rankings.[287] In 2015, theForbes ranking placed it first among all colleges and universities in the U.S., drawing media attention.[288]
Pomona offers three routes for students to apply: theCommon Application, theQuestBridge application, and theCoalition Application. Applicants who want an earlier, binding decision can apply viaearly decision I or II; others apply through regular decision.[290] Additionally, the college enrolls two 10-student[291]Posse Foundation cohorts, from Chicago and Miami, in each class.[292]
Pomona considers various factors in itsadmissions process, placing greatest importance on course rigor, class rank,GPA, application essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent, and character. Test scores,first generation status, geographic residence, volunteer work, and work experience are considered.Alumni relationships, religious affiliation, and level of interest are not considered.[225] Admission isneed-blind for students who are U.S. citizens,permanent residents,DACA recipients, undocumented, or graduates of a U.S. high school, and need-aware for international students.[226][293] The college is part of many coalitions and initiatives targeted atrecruiting underrepresented demographics.[114][294]
The college admitted7.1% of applicants for the 2024 entering class,[295]50.2% of whomchose to enroll.[295] The number oftransfer applicants admitted has varied by year; in 2024, Pomona admitted 44 of 509 applicants (8.6%).[225]
Race and ethnicity of students (spring 2025 semester)†[296][needs update]
White (28.9%)
Asian (18.4%)
Hispanic (16.7%)
Black (9.10%)
Pacific Islander (0.50%)
Native American (0.10%)
Multiracial (9.40%)
International (13.6%)
Unknown (3.30%)
† "Hispanic" includes Hispanics of any race. All other categories refer to non-Hispanics.
As of the fall 2025 semester[update], Pomona's student body consisted of 1,690 degree-seeking undergraduate students and a token number of non–degree seeking students.[297] Compared to its closest liberal arts peers, Pomona has been characterized as laid back, academically oriented, mildly quirky, and politically liberal.[11]
The student body is roughly evenly split between men and women,[297] and 91% of students are under 22 years old.[298] Approximately 65% of domestic students are non-white and 14% of students are international,[296] making Pomona one of the most racially and ethnically diverse colleges in the U.S.[8][9][299][300] The geographic origins of the student body are also diverse,[11][298] with all 50 U.S. states, the major U.S. territories, and more than 60 foreign countries represented.[301][302] Students from California make up 31%, with sizable concentrations from the other western states.[302] The median family income of students was $166,500 as of 2013[update], with 52% of students coming from the top 10% highest-earning families and 22% from the bottom 60%.[303] The college has been increasing its enrollment of low-income students since the early 2000s,[117][118] and was ranked second among all private institutions and eighth among all institutions inThe New York Times' 2017 College Access Index, a measure of economic diversity.[12] Various religious and spiritual beliefs are represented among students, with many leaningsecular.[304][305]
Among students in the 2024 entering class who submitted test scores, the middle 50% scored 740–770 on theSAT evidence-based reading and writing section, 750–790 on the SAT math section, and 33–35 on theACT.[225] Among students with an official high school class rank, 90% ranked in the top tenth and 99% ranked in the top quarter.[225]
Pomona is a residential campus, and nearly all students live on campus for all four years in one of the college's sixteen residence halls.[344] All first-year students live on South Campus, and most third- and fourth-year students live on North Campus.[344] Housing is offered in various configurations, including singles, one-room or two-room doubles, and "friendship suites" consisting of a cluster of rooms, often around a central common area.[344] All incoming students are placed into a sponsor group, with ten to twenty peers and two or three upper-class "sponsors"[345][346] tasked with easing the transition to college life but not enforcing rules (a duty given toresident advisors).[347][348][349] Sponsor groups often share activities such as "fountaining", a tradition in which students are thrown into a campus fountain on their birthday.[350] The program dates back to 1927 for women and was expanded in 1950 to include men.[351][352]
Pomona's social scene is intertwined with that of the other5Cs, with many activities and events shared between the colleges.[206] The college'salcohol policies are aimed at encouraging responsible consumption and include a strict ban ofhard liquor on South Campus.[353][354] Dedicated substance-free housing is also offered.[344] Overall, drinking culture is present but does not dominate over other elements of campus life,[355][356] nor does athletics culture.[10][357] Violations of the student code are typically handled by the student-run Judicial Council, known as "J-Board".[358][359]
Pomona's dining services are run in house.[361] All on-campus students are required to have a meal plan,[362] which can be used at any of the Claremont Colleges' seven buffet-style dining halls.[i] The menus emphasize sustainable and healthy options, and the food quality is generally praised.[355][365] Every night Sunday through Wednesday, Frary Dining Hall opens for a late-night snack.[366][367] Meal plans also include "Flex Dollars" usable at the various campus eateries, including the Coop Fountain, Coop Store, and sit-down Café 47 in theSCC.[368]
Some extracurricular organizations at Pomona are specific to the college, whereas others are open to students at all of the Claremont Colleges.[206] In total, there are nearly 300 clubs and organizations across the5Cs.[369]
TheAssociated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) is Pomona's officialstudent government.[370][371] Composed of elected representatives and appointed committee members, ASPC distributes funding for clubs and organizations, represents the student body in discussions with the administration, runs student programming (such as the Yule Ball dance[372] andSki-Beach Day[373]) through the Pomona Events Committee (PEC), and provides various student services such as an airport rideshare program.[374][375]
There are several media organizations at the Claremont Colleges, the largest of which isThe Student Life,[376] the oldestcollege newspaper in Southern California.[377] It publishes a weekly print edition as well as online content.[378] Pomona also has astudent-run radio station,KSPC.[379] TheClaremont Independent, a conservative magazine, has produced articles about the 5Cs' political culture that have been picked up by nationalconservative media outlets and drawn criticism from many students.[380][381][382][383]The Golden Antlers publishes satirical content.[384] Pomona'syearbook,Metate, was founded in 1894 and discontinued in 2012.[385] The college'sofficial magazine,Pomona College Magazine, is published three times per year by the communications office.[386][387]
Pomona has numerous clubs or support offices which provide resources and mentoring programs for students with particular identities, including female, non-white, Asian, South Asian, Latino, black, indigenous, multi-ethnic or multi-racial, international, queer, religious, and undocumented orDACA recipient students.[j][369][388][389] The college's first-generation and low-income community, FLI Scholars, has more than 200 members.[390] The Campus Advocates and EmPOWER Center support survivors of sexual violence and work to promoteconsent culture.[391][392]
On the Loose (OTL), theouting club of the 5Cs, sponsors trips to outdoors destinations.[393] Its flagship event, an annual hike upMount Baldy in swimwear or goofy costumes,[394] can draw more than 100 participants.[395] It is affiliated with the Outdoor Education Center of Pomona College (OEC), which lends equipment to students for free and provides outdoor leadership training.[396]
The Pomona Student Union (PSU) facilitates the discussion of political and social issues on campus by hosting discussions, panels, and debates with prominent speakers holding diverse viewpoints.[397][398] Other speech and debate organizations include amock trial team,model UN team, and debate union.[399][369] Pomona'ssecret society,Mufti, is known for gluing small sheets of paper around campus with crypticpuns offering social commentary on campus happenings.[400][401]
There are several dance groups on campus, including the Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company (CCBDC), which has more than 130 dancers,[402] making it the third-largest collegiate program in the U.S.[403] It has won multiple national championships.[399] The Pomona College Theater Department produces four mainstage productions and a dance concert each year, and there are several smaller student-run productions as well.[404] The 5Cs have two improv groups, Without a Box and Underground Theatrical Institution (UTI).[369]
Pomona's music department manages several ensembles, including an orchestra, band, choir,glee club, jazz ensemble, andBalinese gamelan ensemble.[405] All students can receive free private music lessons.[406] There are eighta cappella groups on campus.[407] One, the Claremont Shades, hosts the annual SCAMFest concert, which draws singers from other Southern California colleges.[408] Another, Midnight Echo, hosts the less extensive annual Human Symphony. The other six groups are the Ninth Street Hooligans, Blue & White, After School Specials, Earth Tones, Mood Swing, and One Night Stanza.[408]
Students on Alternabreak, a week-longcommunity engagement trip held over spring break, care for trees in a Los Angeles park.
The Draper Center for Community Partnerships, established in 2009, coordinates Pomona's variouscommunity engagement programs.[409] These include mentoring for local youth communities,English tutoring for Pomona staff, and volunteering trips overspring break.[410] It also operates the Pomona Academy for Youth Success (PAYS), a three-year pre-college summer program for local low-income and first-generation students of color.[411][412]
Pomona has two remaining localGreek letter organizations, Sigma Tau and Kappa Delta, both of which are co-educational.[413] Neither havespecial housing, and Greek life is not considered a major part of the social scene on campus the way it is at many other U.S. colleges.[414][413][106]
The Smith Clock Tower (right) has been set up to chime on the 47th minute of the hour.
Thenumber 47 has historical implications to the college and has been incorporated into various aspects of campus life.[415][416] The tradition began in the summer of 1964, when two students, Laurie Mets and Bruce Elgin, conducted a research project seeking to find out whether the number occurs more often in nature than would be expected by chance. They documented various 47 sightings, and professorDonald Bentley produced afalse mathematical proof that 47 was equal to all other integers. The number became ameme among the class, which spread once the academic year began and snowballed over time.[417]
Notable 47 sightings include the fact that Pomona is located off of exit 47 ofInterstate 10, and the fact that the largest residential building on campus, Mudd-Blaisdell (formally Florence Carrier Blaisdell and Della Mullock Mudd Hall, a title with 47 characters), was completed in 1947 and contains a staircase with 47balusters.[417]
Many Pomona alumni have deliberately inserted references to 47 into their work.[415]Joe Menosky (class of 1979), a writer forStar Trek: The Next Generation, inserted mentions of 47 into nearly every episode of the show, a practice that has been picked up by otherStar Trek writers.[417][418][419] Pomona hosts acommunity service–oriented celebration every April 7 (abbreviated 4/7 in the U.S.).[420] In the early 2010s, the college's clock tower was set up to chime on the 47th minute of the hour.[421][422]
As part of Pomona's 10-dayorientation, incoming students spend four days off campus completing an "Orientation Adventure" or "OA" trip. The OA program began in 1995, and is one of the oldest outdoor orientation programs in the U.S.[423]
Every spring, the college hosts "Ski-Beach Day", in which students visit a ski resort in the morning and then head to the beach after lunch. The tradition dates back to an annual mountain picnic established in 1891.[424]
Since the 1970s, Pomona has used a cinder blockflood barrier along the northern edge of its campus,Walker Wall, as afree speech wall.[425] First-year students also decorate the wall during orientation with other students in their sponsor group. Over the years, provocative postings on the wall have spawned numerous controversies.[426][427][428][429]
Club and intramural sports are also offered in various areas, such as dodgeball, flag football, and surfing.[439][440] The physical education department offers a variety of activity classes each semester, such as karate, playground games,geocaching, and social dance.[441]
Members of the Pomona football team from the class of 1907
Pomona's first intercollegiate sports teams were formed in 1895.[442] They competed under several names in the school's early years; the name "Sagehen" first appeared in 1913 and became the sole moniker in 1917.[443] Pomona was one of the three founding members of the SCIAC in 1914.[442] In 1946, it joined with Claremont Men's College (which would later be renamedClaremont McKenna College) to compete as Pomona-Claremont.[444][442] The teams separated in 1956, and Pomona's athletics program operated independently until it joined with Pitzer College in 1970.[442]
^The college also frequently uses gold as an accent color,[3] andits athletics teams use blue and orange to represent both Pomona andPitzer, its athletics partner.[4]
^The Clark numberings are derived from Spaulding's original plan for North Campus. Clark II became Frary Dining Hall, Clark VI became Walker Hall, and Clark VII became Walker Lounge; Clark IV and Clark VIII were never built.[189]
^The unelected trustees consist of the college's president and two non-votingex-officio members, the chair of the alumni association and chair of national giving. At least 10 trustees must be alumni, including one who has graduated within the last 11 years.
Criticism, Analysis, and Contextual Study of Works of the Human Imagination
Social Institutions and Human Behavior
History, Values, Ethics and Cultural Studies
Physical and Biological Sciences
Mathematical and Formal Reasoning
Creation and Performance of Works of Art and Literature
^Students may also petition to create their own custom major.
^Without special advisor approval, first-year students may cross-enroll for one course per semester, and others may cross-enroll for up to 40% of their total credits.
^The definition of "traditional course" excludes thesis classes, lab sections, and independent study courses.
^Meal plan credits can also be used for takeout meals[363] or at Claremont McKenna'sAthenaeum.[364]
Fiske 2021, p. 154: "the undisputed star of the Claremont Colleges and one of the top small liberal arts colleges anywhere. This small, elite institution is the top liberal arts college in the West."
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^abJohnson, Nate (Spring 2001)."Frats with a Difference".Pomona College Magazine. Vol. 37, no. 2. Pomona College. Archived fromthe original on December 12, 2008. RetrievedApril 17, 2021.
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^Balchunas, Michael (October 1, 2005)."The Duke on the Quad".Pomona College Magazine. Vol. 41, no. 2. Pomona College. Archived fromthe original on September 1, 2006. RetrievedApril 7, 2021.
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^Nishimura, Mikiko; Kim, Allen; Bhatt, Bhuwan Shankar (2019). "Policies and Practices of Diversity and Inclusion in Liberal Arts Colleges".Doing Liberal Arts Education: The Global Case Studies. Singapore:Springer Nature. p. 113.ISBN978-981-13-2877-0.
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^Shulock, Anne (Winter 2007)."Snacktime".Pomona College Magazine. Vol. 41, no. 2. Pomona College. Archived fromthe original on February 19, 2015. RetrievedApril 7, 2021.
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^abcDolinar, Sarah (October 1, 2000)."The Mystery of 47".Pomona College Magazine. Vol. 37, no. 1. Pomona College.Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. RetrievedApril 7, 2020.
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