OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE LIBERAL ARTS / LOS ANGELES
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
WHY
OXY?
Occidental fully integrates the liberal arts and sciences with the cultural and intellectual resources of a global city. Situated on a 120-acre residential campus in Los Angeles, our location serves as a springboard for putting theory into practice and ideas into action. Here, you can expect to spend as much time in the lab, in the field, in the community and in the studio as you do in the classroom.
EXPLORE YOUR PASSIONS
AN INTELLECTUAL ADVENTURE
DISTINCTLY OXY
Oxy is a place for talented, hard-working, curious students to explore current passions— and find new ones. Students benefit from our interactive classroom environment, with stimulating faculty who take their teaching as seriously as their research. Our distinctive interdisciplinary approach will give you the chance to explore new ideas and see the world from a new perspective.
With more than 40 majors and minors, exemplary, one-of-a-kind programs such as the Kahane United Nations Program and Campaign Semester, and our emphasis on research through the Undergraduate Research Center and Senior Comprehensives, Occidental provides its students with a compelling intellectual adventure. The academic rigor on campus is enhanced by internships and partnerships across Los Angeles.
Students graduate from Occidental as strategic thinkers and effective communicators. Uncommonly inclusive and consciously collaborative, our students seek to embrace difference and make a difference in the world. Occidental is reinventing the liberal arts and sciences for a new generation of problemsolvers, creators and thinkers. It’s an education that is distinctly Oxy.
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
A SAMPLING OF
CULTURAL STUDIES PROGRAM SEMINARS
• C hildhood, Youth, and the Social Construction of Difference • H ollywood Representations of Race and Ethnicity • N ature Writing and the Environment
ACADEMICS To complete the Core, students must take: • Cultural Studies Program ›› 2 courses, Fall and Spring of the first year • C ulture Requirement—at least three courses in each of the following areas: The foundation of our commitment to a liberal ›› Global Connections arts and science education is embodied in the ›› Regional Focus Core Program, which is designed to spur students ›› U.S. Diversity to think critically and creatively. The Core Program • P re-1800s—1 course exposes students to a broad range of cultural, • F ine Arts—1 course geographical and historical issues in addition to • S cience/Math—3 courses, including a laboratory course developing their writing and research skills and • F oreign Language—level 102 proficiency encouraging interdisciplinary inquiry. • C omps—a major-specific, senior capstone project
• C ontagion: From Plague Narratives to the Literature of Public Health • M yths and Metaphors of Modern American Life
THE CORE
2
Oxy seniors share the common bond of “comps” — students demonstrate comprehension within their major(s) through a variety of forms, including art exhibits, music recitals, film screenings, theses, and field research projects.
Some
34 SIZE Choose from
AVERAGE
CLASS
MAJORS
plus the option for a self-designed course of study
10: 1 STUDENT-TO-
FACULTY
RATIO
:
19
Nearly
Approximately
110 3/4
2,100
participate in our annual
come from
STUDENTS STUDENTS participate in
SUMMER
OFF-CAMPUS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS in the U.S. and
PROGRAM
around the world
SPORTS, AND 15 100 CLUBS & 21 Choose from more than
CLUBS & INSTRAMURAL
NCAA DIVISION III
VARSITY SPORTS
ORGANIZATIONS
STUDENTS
47
STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AMERICAN SAMOA,
& OTHER APO and
Occidental is
Some
75%
OF STUDENTS
of Fulbright scholars according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual rankings
LIVE ON CAMPUS
FOR ALL FOUR YEARS
31
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH Recognized by the Insider’s Guide to Colleges as one of a handful of schools with the strongest undergraduate focus, our commitment to producing well-rounded graduates is combined with a hands-on approach. Research opportunities, faculty mentorship, and funding make this possible for students in every discipline. This summer marks the 17th year of our full-time Summer Research Program, an experience that often results in co-authored publications and positions students to win prestigious awards.
FOREIGN
COUNTRIES 3
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
STUDY
OFF CAMPUS
4
& ABROAD
THE AMERICAS Buenos Aires, Argentina Cochabamba, Bolivia Bahia, Brazil Belém, Brazil Fortaleza, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Salvador da Bahia, Brazil São Paulo, Brazil Arica, Chile
Valparaiso, Chile Havana, Cuba Monteverde, Costa Rica San Jose, Costa Rica Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Galapagos, Ecuador Quito, Ecuador Managua, Nicaragua Panamá, Panama Cuzco, Peru New York, NY Washington, DC
Belfast, Ireland Dublin, Ireland Ferrara, Italy Milan, Italy Rome, Italy Amsterdam, Netherlands Moscow, Russia St. Petersburg, Russia Belgrade, Serbia Barcelona, Spain Granada, Spain
Madrid, Spain Salamanca, Spain Uppsala, Sweden Geneva, Switzerland Brighton, United Kingdom Bristol, United Kingdom Cambridge, United Kingdom London, United Kingdom Norwich, United Kingdom
hether you hail from five miles away or 5,000, Oxy will challenge you to explore your academic interests in contexts beyond the classroom and Los Angeles.
EUROPE Vienna, Austria Brussels, Belgium Prague, Czech Republic Copenhagen, Denmark Montpellier, France Nantes, France Paris, France Berlin, Germany Freiburg, Germany Athens, Greece Budapest, Hungary
Fort Dauphin, Madagascar Rabat, Morocco Kigali, Rwanda Dakar, Senegal Cape Town, South Africa
Durban, South Africa Mookgophong, South Africa Arusha, Tanzania Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Zanzibar, Tanzania Kampala, Uganda
New Delhi, India Bedulu, Indonesia Nagoya, Japan Tokyo, Japan Amman, Jordan Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Kathmandu, Nepal
Seoul, South Korea Taipei, Taiwan Khon Kaen, Thailand Sharjah, UAE Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Townsville, Australia Dunedin, New Zealand
Apia, Samoa
ASIA Beijing, China Hong Kong, China Kunming, China Nanjing, China Shanghai, China Hyderabad, India Jaipur, India
• Austria, Music 268: Vienna, 1890 - 1914
• Costa Rica, Biology 370: Tropical Field Ecology • Germany & Poland, History 345: The Holocaust: History, Memory, and Commemoration • Italy, Art History 373: Michelangelo: Art and Biography • Spain, Spanish 309: Latin American Writers in Spain
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST Gaborone, Botswana Yaounde, Cameroon Legon, Ghana Antananarivo, Madagascar
CO U R S E S A B ROA D
hree-quarters of our students pursue T Oxy’s multiple routes to global citizenship: traditional study abroad, and research, internships, and fellowships on six continents. Richter Fellowships fund eight to 12 weeks of independent summer research abroad. Many participants incorporate their experience into senior comprehensive projects. The Kahane UN Program provides a rare opportunity for seniors to live in New York during the fall semester while the General Assembly is in session. They take two courses in international studies while interning full time at a UN-related agency or country mission to the UN such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Rwanda or the UK. Campaign Semester offers full academic credit for work on key gubernatorial, Senate, House, or presidential elections in various states throughout the United States. After the elections in November, students return to campus for an intensive seminar with politics professors.
OCEANIA Byron Bay, Australia Melbourne, Australia
5
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
L.A.-centric courses are featured in the College’s curriculum. Offered in areas as diverse as art history, writing, geology, history, and urban & environmental policy, faculty across disciplines send their students out into the city. It’s difficult to imagine a better laboratory.
• Community Literacy • Biology of Marine Fishes • Intro to Public Health • American Indian Art History • Los Angeles Politics
LIFE IN
L.A.
6
LOS ANGELES
Occidental College offers students the best of both worlds—the intimacy of a close-knit campus located in a residential community and access to the cultural, recreational, and educational resources of Los Angeles and Southern California. Our location provides students a wide range of opportunities, from
internships at the Grammy Museum and the L.A. Zoo to community involvement in programs addressing the environment, housing, nutrition, and urban development. Faculty and students routinely use the city as a resource for field study and research, whether it involves an evening poetry reading or a semester studying local ecology.
InternLA
RECENT
InternLA is a unique summer internship program that funds over 35 students to intern in Los Angeles based organizations and companies in six broad sectors: business, policy, media, research, advocacy, and the arts. Students intern full-time for 10 weeks over the summer while also enrolling in a weekly on-campus educational component.
City of Hope National Medical Center Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles Mayor’s Office NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Paramount Pictures
INTERNSHIP SITES
L.A.BORATORY
Community based learning is a teaching model integrated throughout Occidental’s curriculum. Students apply what they learn in the classroom to community projects and issues identified by local residents. The College’s Center for Community Based Learning was a pioneer in the field of service learning when it opened a decade ago, and it continues to work alongside our Office of Community Engagement to coordinate student-led projects and service organizations. An annual tradition for the entire Oxy community is the MLK Day of Service, which provides a fun and challenging way of honoring Dr. King.
10
DESTINATIONS WITHIN 10 MILES OF CAMPUS • The Broad museum • Chinatown • Dodger Stadium • Griffith Observatory • Hollywood Bowl
• In-N-Out Burger • Old Pasadena • San Gabriel Mountains • Staples Center • Walt Disney Concert Hall
Oxy is eight miles north of downtown L.A. in the residential community of Eagle Rock.
he Urban & Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) functions both as an academic center with strong community ties and as a community based organization with a solid research and policy development capacity. UEPI works to achieve a just, livable, and democratic society, with a primary focus on the Los Angeles region, by paying special attention to issues of food, pollution, land, water, migration, housing, and transportation. Students assist with an array of UEPI projects, including California Farm to School programs, Global Trade and Freight Transport, Land Use and Zoning, and Sustainable Oxy.
HIGHLAND PARK “L.A.’s Coolest Street,” York Boulevard, is teeming with local eateries, art galleries, and vintage shops— all just a short walk from campus.
7
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERNATIONAL
OR DUAL CITIZENS:
12%
LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY THE FIRST-YEAR CLASS
STUDENTS FROM
OUTSIDE OF
CALIFORNIA:
46%
LIVING &
LIFE AT
LEARNING
Residence life is the heart of the student experience at Oxy. Three-quarters of all students live on campus in one of 13 coed residence halls, including four reserved for first-year students.
RESIDENCE HALLS INCLUDE: • BERKUS, Oxy’s newest and largest, features a 24-hour fitness center, underground parking, and a late-night coffee cart. The building also features a gender-inclusive housing option. • PAULEY, our multicultural hall, is a tight-knit community of residents from all class years. • NORRIS features apartment-style living clusters where students can create their own themed-living areas based on common interests.
8
xy students thrive in their extracurricular pursuits, having founded over 100 clubs and organizations. About 20% participate in the Greek system, more than 25% are varsity NCAA Division III athletes, and hundreds more compete in club and intramural sports—including our newest one, Wiffle ball. Dance Production, one of the oldest and most popular Oxy traditions, showcases hundreds of student performers and choreographers and sells out Thorne Hall for each show. Other not-to-be-missed annual events include Apollo Night, A Taste of Oxy, and Springfest. Glee Club, mainstage productions at Keck Theater, and all Oxy music and theater organizations are open to any student regardless of major.
WOMEN’S VARSITY SPORTS
A SAMPLING OF
• Basketball • Cross Country • Golf • Lacrosse • Soccer • Softball
• Asian American Tutorial Project • Black Student Alliance • Boxing Club • Economics Student Association • Fantastiprov • Folk & Historical Dance Troupe • Hiking Club • Hillel • Interfaith Council • La Raza Coalition • Law Society • Oxypreneurship • Queer Student Alliance • Spoken Word Club • Sustainable Recycle • Yoga Club
• Swimming & Diving • Tennis • Track & Field • Volleyball • Water Polo
MEN’S VARSITY SPORTS • Baseball • Basketball • Cross Country • Football • Golf
• Soccer • Swimming & Diving • Tennis • Track & Field • Water Polo
STUDENT CLUBS &
ORGANIZATIONS
EATING AT OXY
tudents consistently give Oxy’s on-campus dining high marks. Not only is the food delicious, but Oxy’s Dining Services is also environmentally friendly, taking part in the Real Food Challenge by providing local, organic food in the dining facilities. • T HE MARKETPLACE is students’ main
gathering spot. It offers a variety of madeto-order food stations including a salad bar, stir fry, and pizza or pasta. • THE TIGER COOLER is the spot for a
quick lunch, those late-night munchies, or hanging out between classes. • T HE GREEN BEAN COFFEE LOUNGE is
a student-run, sustainably minded coffee shop. It often features performances and artwork by students.
9
STUDENTS
APPLIED FOR THE
CLASS OF
2021
ADMISSION & AID
to qualities such as motivation, intellectual curiosity, leadership ability, and distinctive talents. Your personal statement, short answer responses, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation offer us valuable insight into these areas.
APPLYING TO OCCIDENTAL
ccidental is committed to admitting and enrolling a highly qualified and diverse student body. To that end, the admission committee evaluates each applicant individually and holistically. Academic preparation is paramount, so we will closely examine your high school transcript, focusing on your performance and course rigor. We also give serious consideration
10
Whether you are applying as a first-year or transfer student, the following materials must be submitted by the appropriate application deadline with a non-refundable application processing fee of $65 or a fee waiver: • High school transcript • Personal statement • S tandardized test scores • Short answer responses (SAT or ACT) • Letters of recommendation • Extracurricular activities To learn more about the application process, visit oxy.edu/admission-aid/apply.
median scores of admitted first-year students
1350 31 ACT:
6,775
3.8 MEDIAN UNWEIGHTED GPA
SAT:
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
TRANSFER CANDIDATES are welcome to apply for either the fall or spring semester. In addition to submitting the Common Application, they must have: • graduated from high school or earned a high school equivalency diploma • completed at least 16 units of academic, collegelevel coursework by the time of application • completed at least 32 units by the time of enrollment. Our most competitive applicants carried a full academic course load and maintained a 3.7 GPA or better.
FINANCING YOUR OXY EDUCATION Occidental has broader socioeconomic diversity than most selective liberal arts colleges. While aid packages vary, the average award was more than $40,000 last year. The Financial Aid Office is committed to meeting the demonstrated need of every enrolled student. Occidental also offers merit scholarships to approximately 15% of the applicant pool ranging between $5,000 and $25,000 annually. Occidental also participates in the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs Yellow Ribbon Program. To begin exploring your financing options, visit oxy.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid.
APPROXIMATE COSTS
Occidental meets
100%
CONSIDER
EARLY DECISION
of students’ demonstrated financial need based on the FAFSA and CSS Profile
if you’re ready to make a commitment to Occidental.
2 0 1 7 -2 0 1 8
Tuition and fees
$52,838
Room and board
$14,968
Total
$67,806
Required Applications Common Application
Transfer Deadlines
Early Decision I: November 15
Fall Semester: April 1 Spring Semester: November 1
Early Decision II: January 1
Approximately
71%
First-Year Deadlines
OF STUDENTS receive some form of financial aid
FAFSA
Regular Decision: January 15
CSS Profile
11
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
TOR MYHREN ’94 is vice president of marketing communications for Apple and an awardwinning “Mad Man.”
ife after
Former NYC Transportation Commissioner JANETTE SADIK-KHAN ’82 is a principal at Bloomberg Associates and one of the world’s foremost authorities on transportation and urban transformation.
12
U.S. Court of Appeals Judge
On his way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ’83 began his undergraduate studies at 1600 Campus Road.
JACQUELINE NGUYEN ’87 was an English major at Oxy.
Los Angeles City Council member MONICA RODRIQUEZ ‘96 studied politics at Oxy.
Occidental alumni pursue career paths as diverse as their passions. More than 800 graduates pursued medicine and the allied health professions, with acceptances coming from schools such as Dartmouth, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Tufts, Tulane, and UCLA. Oxy ranks 23rd among liberal arts colleges whose graduates earned
a Ph.D. Our students and alumni are regularly named recipients of national awards including Fulbright, Goldwater, Luce, and National Science Foundation fellowships. Whether it be in business, education, film, law, medicine, research, or politics, our graduates are leaders in their fields—and appreciative of their Oxy experience. GEORGE ALCORN ’62 created the imaging X-ray spectrometer and was named NASA’s Inventor of the Year.
JACK KEMP ’57 went from being a professional quarterback to nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
86% One Year After Graduation:
EMPLOYED
11% 3%
OTHER
BANK OF AMERICA GOOGLE. KAISER PERMANENTE L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOLS MICROSOFT MORGAN STANLEY NASA/JET PROPULSION LABORATORY NORTHROP GRUMMAN SOCAL EDISON U.S. DEPT. OF STATE
FOLLOW OXY /occidental @occidental • Campus tours: Student-led walking tours are available Monday through Friday at 10:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. From September through early December and in April, Saturday tours are available at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. •O ffice hours: The Office of Admission is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday mornings from September through early December and again in April. • I nformation sessions: Admission staff meet with students and families following each tour.
• Interviews: While not required, interviews are recommended. Appointments are available from June until the appropriate application deadline and should be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.
oxyoswald @occidentalcollege /occidentalcollege
• Class visits: During the academic year, visiting high school seniors are welcome to attend a class. • Overnight visits: High school seniors are invited to spend a night in the residence halls with a current student. A minimum twoweek advance notice is required.
Go to oxy.edu/ admission-aid/visitcampus to request your appointment.
ACADEMIC MAJORS, MINORS & PROGRAMS American Studies Art and Art History Emphases: • Art History • Studio Art Biochemistry Biology Emphases: • Cell & Molecular Biology • Environmental Science • Marine Biology Chemistry Chinese Classical Studies (minor only) Cognitive Science
Comparative Studies in Literature & Culture Computer Science Critical Theory & Social Justice
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies (minor only) German (minor only) Group Language
Emphases: • Critical Race Studies
History
Philosophy Physics Politics Pre-health Advising Pre-law Advising Psychology
• Feminist & Queer Studies
Interdisciplinary Writing (minor only)
• Postcolonial Theory
Japanese
Religious Studies
Diplomacy & World Affairs
Kinesiology
Russian
East Asian Studies
Latino/a & Latin American Studies
Sociology
Economics Education (minor only)
Linguistics (minor only)
Theater
English
Mathematics
Urban & Environmental Policy
French
Media Arts & Culture
Geology
Music
3-2 Combined Degree Program in Engineering
Emphasis: • Environmental Science
Neuroscience (minor only)
Public Health (minor only)
Spanish
OFFICE OF ADMISSION 1600 Campus Road • Los Angeles, CA 90041-3314 Phone: (323) 259-2700 • Toll-free: (800) 825-5262 • Fax: (323) 341-4875 admission@oxy.edu • oxy.edu/admission-aid