BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Pitzer College

Claremont, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·pitzer.edu
6-yr Graduation
83%
-4.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
1,242
peer median 1,798
Avg net price
$31,663
+$480 vs Baccalaureate
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About

Pitzer College is a private liberal arts and sciences college located in Claremont, California. It was founded in 1963 and has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students, focusing on environmental studies, interdisciplinary learning, and social justice.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
3,438
3,438 candidates competed
Admitted
865
25.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
310
35.8% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
83%-4.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
58%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
83%
Full-time retention
94%

Pell equity

0.0pp gap
Pell recipients
89%
Non-Pell
89%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 43 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 41 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
43
Passing
2
4.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

43programs
  • Passing2 · 4.7%
  • No Data41 · 95.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
2
No data
41

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

2
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+90.8%
$68,831 vs $36,082
Human Resources Management and Services
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+148.4%
$89,636 vs $36,082

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1965Next review Jun 2027

Action history · 2

  1. Jun 2025Grant Substantive Change: Final Branch Approval
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Jun 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$9,284
$30–48k$16,361
$48–75k$17,911
$75–110k$22,791
$110k+$49,894

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$31,663
+$480vs Baccalaureate median $31,183
Federal loans
21.7%
In-state tuition
$62,692
Out-of-state
$62,692

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 156 students received $922K in Pell grants, alongside $2.8M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
156
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$922K
$921,921 total
Direct Loans
$2.8M
297 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$765K
180 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$322K
76 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.7M
41 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 113 borrowers who entered repayment, 1 (0.8%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.8%
-1.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
113
Defaulted
1
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
6.5%
2017
3.5%
2018
1.6%
2019
0.8%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Pitzer College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs72
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

263 total completions
01Social Sciences
7829.7%
02Natural Resources
3312.5%
03Multi/Interdisciplinary
3111.8%
04Psychology
228.4%
05Biological Sciences
228.4%
06Business
186.8%
07History
176.5%
08Area/Ethnic Studies
155.7%
09Communication
145.3%
10Visual/Performing Arts
134.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
1,242
12-mo unduplicated
1,236
Undergraduate
1,236
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
41%507
Women
59%729

Race / ethnicity composition

White
48.6%
Hispanic
12.8%
Asian
11.9%
Two or more
10.0%
Non-resident
8.1%
Black
4.5%
Unknown
3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
516
287 M · 229 W
Women athletes
44.4%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$6.6M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$40K
$36K
Head-coach salaries
$73K
$69K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Track and Field (Outdoor)
57 M · 43 W
$254K
Football
74 M ·
$401K
Swimming and Diving (combined)
33 M · 37 W
$325K
Soccer
39 M · 27 W
$484K
Water Polo
21 M · 23 W
$375K
Cross Country
24 M · 19 W
$188K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
14.03
17 offenses · 1,212 students

3-year trend

16.272 yrs ago20.551 yr ago14.03Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
56
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
7
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
13
Burglary
2
Rape
1
Fondling
1

By location

17total
  • On campus11
  • Non-campus6

Includes 3 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
2
Stalking
3 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Religion1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs03
Liquor09

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
10.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
105

Pitzer College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Pitzer College selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectPitzer College
83%1,242$31,663Baccalaureate
90%13.3%1,760$30,703Baccalaureate
90%20.4%2,128$27,320Baccalaureate
91%9.6%1,393$27,384Baccalaureate
80%42.1%2,314$32,191Baccalaureate
84%28.2%1,808$39,061Baccalaureate
88%14.5%1,788$15,608Baccalaureate
91%13.6%2,031$28,314Baccalaureate
92%12.7%951$32,492Baccalaureate
90%12.4%1,431$25,210Baccalaureate
82%31.0%2,249$29,383Baccalaureate
87%28.5%2,138$29,980Baccalaureate
81%44.2%1,881$39,329Baccalaureate
93%7.1%1,700$19,424Baccalaureate
83%38.3%1,137$38,802Baccalaureate
84%29.2%2,238$35,009Baccalaureate
91%18.6%2,462$38,182Baccalaureate
81%38.1%1,561$35,506Baccalaureate
Peer group median88%20.4%1,798$31,183

Institutions like Pitzer College

Explore the federal data for institutions in Pitzer College's comparison group.

Pitzer College Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Research & Assessment
Email
Leeshawn_CradocMoore [at] pitzer.edu
Phone
909-607-7283
Address
Avery Hall, Room 107, 1050 N. Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711

The Office of Institutional Research & Assessment at Pitzer College functions to provide reliable information and analyses in support of planning, decision-making, and policy formation, and to assist in the development and implementation of a plan for assessing student learning outcomes.

Visit IR office page
Team
5 members
  • Leeshawn Cradoc Moore
    Director of Institutional Research and Assessment
  • Michael Coleman
    Assistant Director of Institutional Research and Assessment
  • Rogelio Garcia
    Research Analyst
  • Afaf Igbaria
    Senior Research Analyst
  • Angel Jauregui
    Data & Analytics Support Specialist

Common Data Set

Pitzer College's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.

Source publications

Reports & documents (3)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni of Pitzer College (10)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Anne Archer
    Arts and letters
  • Max Brooks
    Writing
  • David Bloom
    Journalism
  • Kevin de León
    Government and law
  • Michael Simpson
    Music
  • Debra Wong Yang
    Government and law
  • John Landgraf
    Business
  • Susan Patron
    Writing
  • Steven González
    Government and law
  • Susan Feniger
    Business

Frequently asked questions about Pitzer College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Pitzer College.

What is the graduation rate at Pitzer College?

Pitzer College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 83% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Pitzer College?

Pitzer College reports a total enrollment of 1,242 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Pitzer College?

The average net price at Pitzer College is $31,663 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Pitzer College?

Pitzer College's yield rate is 35.8%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Pitzer College located?

Pitzer College is located in Claremont, California 91711-6101.

Who runs Institutional Research at Pitzer College?

Pitzer College's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment.

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