Occidental College

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a large city.

Overview

Occidental College, also referred to as Oxy, is located in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was established in the year 1887 by a group of Presbyterian laymen and clergymen. This college is among the oldest West Coast liberal arts colleges. Oxy offers degree and certificate programs in a range of subjects including film and media studies, mathematics, religious studies, biochemistry, and linguistics.

This college hosts more than 100 student clubs and organizations. Some of them are the Buddhist Meditation Group, Cult Fusion Musical Gathering, Kappa Alpha Theta, Rock Climbing Club, Sigma Lambda Gamma, South Asian Student Association, and Progressive Christians Uniting. The men's teams of Oxy participate in sports such as basketball, baseball, football, cross country, soccer, golf, tennis, swimming and diving, water polo, and track and field. The women's teams compete in basketball, softball, lacrosse, water polo, volleyball, track and field, cross country, swimming and diving, soccer, tenni, and golf.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in art studies, science, liberal arts, mathematics, conservation and resource management, and drama and performing arts.
• Large number of students.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• High faculty salary.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• Selective admissions.
• Superior share of faculty on tenure track.
• Large number of programs of study offered.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Baccalaureate Colleges, Liberal Arts.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• 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 Occidental College:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 1,868 in 2009-2010 (1,855 full-time equivalent).

About 43% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 57% of the class.

Undergrads are 98% of enrolled students and graduate students are 2%.

Students under 25 years old represent 99% of the student body. About 0% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Occidental College provides on-campus housing for 1,577 of its 1,855 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Southern California Intercoll Athletic Conference for major sports.

Graduate School Focus

Occidental College offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Master.

The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Single Postbaccalaureate (Education).

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (35 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (0 awarded)

• Computer Science

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (17 awarded)

• Environmental Studies

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (11 awarded)

• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (4 awarded)

• Elementary Education and Teaching
• Secondary Education and Teaching

LIBERAL ARTS (227 awarded)

• American/United States Studies/Civilization
• Asian Studies/Civilization
• Economics
• English Language and Literature/Letters
• Ethnic, Cultural Minority, and Gender Studies
• Foreign Languages and Literatures
• French Language and Literature
• History
• International Relations and Affairs
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (11 awarded)

• Mathematics

MUSIC (4 awarded)

• Music

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (13 awarded)

• Kinesiology and Exercise Science

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (18 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (70 awarded)

• Biochemistry
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Geology/Earth Science
• Physics

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (34 awarded)

• Cognitive Science
• Physiological Psychology/Psychobiology
• Psychology