Occidental College

A place of intimate scale and infinite scope.For more than 125 years, our tight-knit community of students and scholars has come together in the heart of Los Angeles, one of the most stimulating and creative cities in the world.

One of the original campuses where Upward Bound got its start and home of one of the first West Coast chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, Oxy boasts a firmly rooted tradition of academic achievement and dedicated community service.Our students go on to become leaders in their fields—pursuing graduate degrees and careers in politics, diving headfirst into the Hollywood hustle and breaking new ground in medical research.

When we speak, our leadership listens. Professors don’t pontificate; they discuss, debate and engage. With only 2,100 undergraduates, everyone is face to face with faculty, staff and other students. We seize the opportunity to create and sustain conversations around the issues that matter most to us.

We respect and encourage one another’s ideas, interests and creative impulses. We root for our own and celebrate our successes—big and small—as a community. This campus and this culture inspire love and loyalty, and make us proud to call Oxy home.

The mission of Occidental College is to provide a gifted and diverse group of students with a total educational experience of the highest quality—one that prepares them for leadership in an increasingly complex, interdependent and pluralistic world.

The distinctive interdisciplinary and multicultural focus of the College’s academic program seeks to foster both the fulfillment of individual aspirations and a deeply rooted commitment to the public good.This mission is anchored by four cornerstones: excellence, equity, community and service. These building blocks, in one form or another, have long been the basis for the College’s commitment to providing responsible leaders and citizens for our democratic society. Choosing them to support the future helps to ensure that the College remains true to its mission while adapting to a changing world.

At Oxy, students don't limit themselves to the classroom experience or their major. Read how students are exploring the world around them and building their life's resume.

Los Angeles is one of the most dynamic metropolitan environments in the world and an unparalleled location for today’s top scholars. It’s a place where environmental, cultural, economic, political, scientific and social issues remain at the forefront of progress and prosperity. The immense creativity, diversity, and complexity of this urban area allow students and faculty to see the world's opportunities and various social issues played out on a daily basis.

Oxy translates and shapes that engagement by bridging classroom learning with lived experiences. Three offices are dedicated to connecting campus and community through collaborative partnerships, research and programs, highly invested faculty and staff, and curriculum-based experiential learning opportunities. These offices are: the Center for Community Based Learning, Office of Community Engagement, and Urban & Environmental Policy Institute.

By conventional measures, Occidental is one of the most diverse colleges in the United States. Our student body, faculty, and staff represent a broad spectrum of races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs.

But that's just the starting point for a conversation—sometimes intense, always thought-provoking—that has helped shape the Oxy community in fundamental ways. Can—should—diversity be measured by numbers alone? Is Oxy diverse? It depends on who you ask.As a school where critical thinking is ingrained in the curriculum, we don't always agree on everything. But the culture of open discussion on campus pushes the conversation forward, whether it's an easy one or not.From academic initiatives such as the Intergroup Dialogue Program to the many awareness initiatives promoted by the Intercultural Affairsoffice and a thriving network of student clubs and multicultural living communities, Oxy is a place for nuanced, sophisticated discussions about our differences, our similarities, and where we should go from here.

Occidental offers 34 majors across 40 departments and programs as well as countless opportunities for independent research and experiential learning.Major in economics and intern at a downtown L.A. community organization, or in physics and build a dark matter detector. Study diplomacy and world affairs and spend a summer in Spain investigating globalization and the multimedia revolution. As a music major, work at the Grammy Museum or compose a score for a student film or theatrical production. Or break the mold and design your own major.

As esteemed scholars and teachers, our professors open doors and champion student work. They drive an approach to the liberal arts at Oxy that encourages students to venture outside of their comfort zones.Don’t confine yourself to a classroom or a stack of books. Explore ideas, take risks, and look past the easy answers. If you need help, there’s support along the way.

In 1887, the year a group of knowledge-thirsty Presbyterians founded "The Occidental University of Los Angeles, California," a Kansas prohibitionist named Harvey Wilcox purchased a ranch just west of the city, naming it Hollywood.
Tuition in 1888, the year Oxy opened its doors, was $50. The new college wasn't exactly swamped with applicants: 40 students enrolled that fall.Southern California's oldest football rivalry? Not UCLA-USC. Oxy and Pomona first squared off in 1895—preceding those other guys by more than 30 years.