Golden West College

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a large suburb.

Overview

Golden West College, also known as GWC, is a community college providing two-year associate of arts degrees and lower-division classes which are transferable to other colleges and universities. It was established in 1966. The campus is located in Huntington Beach, California, about 58 kilometers south of Los Angeles, California. The college is 30 minutes from Disneyland.

GWC’s main goal is to provide inexpensive education in the trades, licensed trades, and skilled professions. It offers transferable lower-division courses for students who plan to transfer to either a California State University or a campus of the University of California.

GWC offers degrees in diverse areas of study including Accounting, Business, Cosmetology, and Law Enforcement and Forensic Science. The student body has a good number of international students. There is an international students club which assists foreign students.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in nursing and emergency medicine, liberal arts, beauty and cosmetology, landscaping and horticulture, mathematics, and security and law enforcement.
• Affordable tuition & fees.
• High faculty salary.
• Large number of students.
• Large number of programs of study offered.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Associates Colleges.

Features of note:

• Open admission; accepts all qualified candidates.
• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• Weekend study is an option.
• Part-time classes are available.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Golden West:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 13,961 in 2009-2010 (7,902 full-time equivalent).

Undergrads are 100% of enrolled students.

Students under 25 years old represent 63% of the student body. About 11% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Room and Board

On-campus housing is not available.

Graduate School Focus

The highest degree offered is the Associate.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

(0 awarded)

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING (14 awarded)

• Architectural Technology/Technician

ART STUDIES (2 awarded)

• Visual and Performing Arts

BEAUTY AND COSMETOLOGY (120 awarded)

• Cosmetology/Cosmetologist

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (64 awarded)

• Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping
• Business Administration and Management
• International Business/Trade/Commerce
• Retailing and Retail Operations
• Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations
• Small Business Administration/Management
• Taxation

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (0 awarded)

• Computer Programming/Programmer

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (0 awarded)

• Environmental Science

DESIGN (10 awarded)

• Graphic Design

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (0 awarded)

• Dance
• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (7 awarded)

• Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD
• Drafting and Design Technology/Technician
• Engineering Technologies/Technicians
• Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/Technician

LANDSCAPING AND HORTICULTURE (16 awarded)

• Floriculture/Floristry Operations and Management

LAW (0 awarded)

• Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary

LIBERAL ARTS (604 awarded)

• Anthropology
• English Language and Literature
• Foreign Languages and Literatures
• French Language and Literature
• Humanities/Humanistic Studies
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Sign Language Interpretation and Translation
• Social Sciences
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Speech and Rhetorical Studies

MATHEMATICS (25 awarded)

• Mathematics

MECHANICS AND REPAIR (53 awarded)

• Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician
• Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician
• Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician
• Electrical/Electronics Equipment Installation and Repair

MEDIA (9 awarded)

• Animation, Interactive Tech, Video Graphics and Special Effects
• Broadcast Journalism
• Journalism
• Mass Communication/Media Studies
• Public Relations/Image Management
• Radio and Television
• Recording Arts Technology/Technician

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (0 awarded)

• Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (318 awarded)

• Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (16 awarded)

• Health and Physical Education

OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATION (6 awarded)

• Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science
• Office Management and Supervision

REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT (0 awarded)

• Real Estate

SCIENCE (0 awarded)

• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Physics

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (135 awarded)

• Corrections
• Criminal Justice/Police Science
• Forensic Science and Technology

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (0 awarded)

• Psychology