Not only are all of these unique experiences possible, but they are taken advantage of. Hundreds of students take classes off campus each semester. Extra-curricular groups, like an entrepreneurial club, a Koinina church, and a literary journal have been started that explicitly involve members of all five colleges. Special funds are available to help groups put on five-college events. And a free bus runs every half hour at peak times connecting students throughout the region with one another!
The Five Colleges are located in a unique area of natural beauty near the Connecticut River and the Holyoke mountain range. In their territory are the towns of Amherst (a typical college town) and Northampton (a small city full of art film, cultural activities, and independent shops). Just a short ride away is the city of Springfield, farms, state parks, malls, great nightlife, the Yankee Candle factory and museum, and the basketball and volleyball halls of fame.
The Claremont Colleges, located in 35 miles east of Los Angeles (http://www.claremont.edu)This consortium brings together Pomona College (http://www.pomona.edu), a coeducational college emphasizing liberal arts and pre-professional training; the Claremont Graduate University (http://www.cgu.edu), a graduate-only institution offering master's and doctoral degrees in liberal arts, sciences, fine arts, business, information science, and education; Scripps College (http://www.scrippscol.edu), a small women's college with a clustered curriculum; Claremont McKenna College (http://www.mckenna.edu), a coeducational liberal arts college emphasizing research through its special institutes; Harvey Mudd College (http://www.hmc.edu), a coeducational college of science and engineering; Pitzer College (http://www.pitzer.edu), a innovative and flexible coeducational college with a strong commitment to residential life and strengths in the social sciences; and the Keck Institute (http://www.kgi.edu), a graduate school focusing only on applied life sciences. A botanic garden, theological seminary, and policy institute are also affiliated with the consortium.
Claremont University Center is a special institution established specifically to manage cooperation between the Claremont Colleges. It manages the combined library systems, provides efficient services for the administration of the colleges, and helps provide for unified student services and activities. Since all of the colleges are located on the same 350-acre plot of land, interactions between students at the different schools are almost guaranteed. The fact that many of the colleges have specific specializations also encourages students to take classes outside their own college.
Since it is located so close to Los Angeles, students have many resources beyond their one square mile of academic territory. They also have a unique cooperation with the Claremont, CA community, including the local high school, which gives students a chance to get involved with all that is around them.
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