Scripps College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

. It was founded as a member of the

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private university, private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)� ...

in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist

Ellen Browning Scripps Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836 – August 3, 1932) was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps, E.W. Scripps creat ...

provided its initial endowment. Scripps is a four-year

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

institution and enrolled 958 students . It offers instruction in the

with an emphasis on the humanities, and is known for its extensive interdisciplinary core curriculum. Its campus was designed by Gordon Kaufmann in the

Spanish Colonial Revival style The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of Revivalism (architecture), revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish archi ...

and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Scripps is regarded as the premier women's college in the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

. It is a top producer of Fulbright students. Its athletes compete on the

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags (men) and Athenas (women) is the joint intercollegiate sports program of Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, and Scripps College, all located in Claremont, California. The teams participate in the N ...

joint team in the SCIAC, a Division III conference.

History

Founding era

In November 1908, Ellen Browning Scripps, a philanthropist and prominent figure in the worlds of education, publishing, and women's rights based in La Jolla, Calif., first visited Pomona College in Claremont for its Dedication Day. She met many notable members of the young college, including James A. Blaisdell, its new president. Scripps continued to stay involved with Pomona College's community and kept in touch with Blaisdell in the years following the event, funding some of the college's lecture series. Following an increase in enrollment of female students at Pomona College in 1919, Blaisdell turned to Scripps for the possibility of funding a "Woman's Campus." Scripps was willing to invest money into creating a college campus that would preserve her values of education. Over the next several years, she bought surrounding lots of land in Claremont and funded the construction of a new set of dormitories in what became "Scripps College for Women." According to Scripps, "The paramount obligation of a college is to develop in its students the ability to think clearly and independently, and the ability to live confidently, courageously, and hopefully." This motto is inscribed on the college's Honnold Gate. To provide a liberal arts experience with both an all-women's education and co-education, she wanted the college "to stress the essentials, reduce the size of the curriculum instead of increasing it." Scripps initially did not want the college to be named after her, but Blaisdell convinced her that her name would help grow and publicize the college. The development of Scripps College marked the start of Claremont's "group-college" system, similar to that of the

Oxford Colleges The University of Oxford has 36 colleges within universities in the United Kingdom#Traditional collegiate universities, colleges, three societies, and four permanent private halls (PPHs) of religious foundation. The colleges and PPHs are autonom ...

, for which Scripps received much publicity. Scripps was featured on the cover of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine for establishing this new consortium of colleges, which became known as the

Eleanor Joy Toll Hall construction at Scripps College

Scripps College was founded in 1926, following the coeducational

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

and

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...

. Soon after, the first dormitory, created in 1927, was dedicated in memory of trustee Eleanor Joy Toll. Ernest J. Jaqua was inaugurated as the first president of Scripps College in the same dedication ceremony of Toll Hall. The second dormitory, established as a "sister building" to Toll Hall, was dedicated to Grace Scripps Clark, the niece of Ellen Browning Scripps and daughter of James E. Scripps, in November 1928. Balch Academic Hall and Browning Residence Hall, named for trustee Janet Jacks Balch and founder Ellen Browning Scripps, respectively, were dedicated in a joint ceremony in September 1929. Despite being designed by different architects, both halls adopted a "'Mediterranean' motif" unique to the campus. At age 89, Scripps founded the college as one of the first institutions in the West dedicated to educating women for both professional careers and personal growth. Scripps's "experiment in education" called for a setting with an artistic connection between buildings and garden landscape on an intimate scale.

Postwar era

Scripps College Edwards Humanities Building courtyard

Over time, the college has moved away from its

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects the fact that it follows ordinary school and is intended to complete a young woman's ...

–esque origins. In 1968, students occupied a grove of

olive tree The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

s to save them from being cut down to make space for construction of the humanities building.

21st century

In 2000, the college opened a centralized dining facility, Malott Commons, ending the practice of serving meals in the residence halls. In 2014, the college began admitting transgender women.

Campus

Scripps College Rose Garden and Toll Hall

Scripps College is frequently described as one of America's most beautiful college campuses and has been listed in the

since 1984. In its 2017 edition of The Best 379 Colleges, the

Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

cited the campus as the 12th-most beautiful in the United States, as has been corroborated by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

, U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, and others. Scripps College was the first recipient of the Getty Campus Heritage Initiative Program, which documented aspects of the college that were deemed historically significant and at risk of change. The original historic precinct was recorded and the history of each site (such as residence hall or garden) was given, an original appearance was described, and a recording of changes over time was taken. Different courtyards on site, such as the Sicilian Court, Iris Court, and Margaret Fowler Garden were surveyed and adjusted to resemble their initial designs wherever possible. Scripps College for Women-9

Scripps is in the center of the Claremont Colleges, with

Harvey Mudd College Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, focused on science and engineering. It is part of the Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds and resources. The college enrolled 902 undergra ...

to the north,

Pitzer College Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was founded in 1963 as a women's college in the Claremont Colleges consortium and became coeducational in 1970. Pitzer enrolls approximately 1000 students. Pitzer off ...

to the east,

Claremont McKenna College Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and internat ...

and

to the south, and

to the west. The original campus was designed by Gordon Kaufmann in the

, featuring extensive use of domestic spaces that catered to a 1920s conception of femininity. In general, his 1926 campus plan has been carefully preserved, with major vistas linking the central areas. The overall planting schemes and landscaping devised by Edward Huntsman-Trout are still followed. With The campus offers a number of interactive landscaping elements, including a rose garden to the north designated for community cutting and fruit trees available for picking. Oranges, grapefruits, pomegranates, kumquats, and loquats are available to students. Scripps also harvests olives from its olive trees and presses it into award-winning olive oil. Several facilities are shared by the members of the Claremont Consortium. Scripps shares the Keck Science Center with

. The consortium also owns the Robert J. Bernard Field Station north of Foothill Boulevard. File:View into Eucalyptus Court in Balch Hall at Scripps College.jpg, Eucalyptus Court in Balch Hall File:Sycamore Court, Balch Hall, Scripps College.jpg, Sycamore Court in Balch Hall File:Scripps College Star Court, facing south.jpg, Star Court in Toll Hall

Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery

Scripps College is home to the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, which maintains the college's permanent art collection of 14,000 objects spanning 3,000 years. Objects are available for use in classes, displayed in campus exhibitions, and loaned to other exhibiting institutions. Among the collection's holdings are works by American artists

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionis ...

, and

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...

, and an extensive collection of paintings by the California artist and Scripps Professor Emeritus

Millard Sheets Millard Owen Sheets (June 24, 1907 – March 31, 1989) was an American artist, teacher, and architectural designer. He was one of the earliest of the California Scene Painting artists and helped define the art movement. Many of his large-scale b ...

. The gallery also holds an extensive collection of Japanese woodblock prints.

Margaret Fowler Garden

Originally designed as a European medieval-style cloister garden east of a proposed (but never built) chapel, the Margaret Fowler Garden is a walled garden on the Scripps College campus. It is laid out in two distinct sections: the western area contains a sculpture by Albert Stewart,
Eternal Primitive
, a central pool, and four walkways extending in the cardinal directions. The eastern end has a Mediterranean-style tiled wall fountain and open flagstone area. Arcades run along the north and south sides of the garden. On the south wall of the Margaret Fowler Garden are murals by Alfredo Ramos Martínez. The college commissioned Martinez in 1945 to paint a mural, "The Flower Vendors", on the south wall of the Fowler garden. Martínez sketched the composition on the plaster wall and began working on several panels before dying unexpectedly on November 8, 1946, at age 72, leaving the mural unfinished. In 1994, a grant from the Getty Endowment allowed the mural to be conserved.

Environmental sustainability

Scripps College has several sustainability initiatives underway, from energy conservation to green building practices. On the conservation front, the college has seen monetary and energy savings through use of a new

energy management system An energy management system (EMS) is a system of computer-aided tools used by operators of electric public utility, utility electric power transmission, grids to monitor, control, and optimize the performance of the electricity generation, gener ...

, and has designed water systems to cut down on waste. Turning "Alumnae Field" into a natural surface also helped in efforts to conserve water. Scripps has also downsized trash bins and made "to-go" containers recyclable, in order to divert more waste from landfills. On the emissions reductions front, maintenance staff use electric blowers and carts (as opposed to gas powered equipment), while a ride-sharing program is available for students, faculty and staff. For its practices regarding sustainability, Scripps earned a B− on the College Sustainability Report Card 2011, published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. This grade reflects a quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of the institution's policies. The college received positive recognition for student involvement, on-campus transportation, its food and recycling programs, water programs, and LEED buildings, but fared poorly on the shareholder involvement evaluation category of the report.

Organization and administration

Scripps is governed as a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

by a

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

responsible for overseeing the college's long-term interests. The college has an endowment of $478 million as of November 2023. The college's motto is "Incipit Vita Nova" ("Here Begins New Life"), from Dante's ''New Life''.

Academics

Scripps is a member of the

, and much of student life revolves around the five colleges, or "5Cs." Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Pomona College, Pitzer College, and Harvey Mudd College not only interact socially, but also share dining halls, libraries, and other facilities spread throughout their campuses. All five colleges, along with

and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, are part of the

Claremont University Consortium The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)—Pomona College, Sc ...

. Scripps students can cross-register for classes at or enroll in the majors of any of the undergraduate schools at The

. Classes average 16 students, with an overall student-to-teacher ratio of 10:1. More than 21% choose to double or dual major by the time they graduate. All courses are taught by faculty. Academics are focused on interdisciplinary humanities, combined with rigorous training in the disciplines. General requirements include classes in mathematics, fine arts, letters, natural sciences, social sciences, foreign language, women's/gender studies, and race/ethnic studies. Scripps also requires first-year students to take a writing course in their first semester. Each graduating student must complete a senior thesis or project. Its most popular majors, by number out of 227 graduates in 2022, were: *Political Science and Government (23) *Research and Experimental Psychology (18) *Biology/Biological Sciences (17) *English Language and Literature (15) *Environmental Science (15) *Neuroscience (13) *Mass Communication/Media Studies (13) *Econometrics and Quantitative Economics (12) A key part of the Scripps experience is the Core Curriculum in Interdisciplinary Studies, a sequence of three classes that encourage students to think critically and challenge ideas. Every first-year student takes Core I in the fall, which introduces students to major ideas. Core II seminars focus on specific ideas introduced in Core I. The seminars are usually team-taught by two professors from different fields, such as physics and art. The concluding Core III classes culminate in individual projects that often lead to students' senior thesis or project.

Reputation and rankings

Scripps is regarded as the premier women's college in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

.: "Scripps is easily the premier women's college on the West Coast" The 2025 annual ranking by '' U.S. News & World Report'' categorizes Scripps as 'more selective', and ranks it 44th best liberal arts college in the nation, 80th for "Best Value, tied for 144th in "Top Performers on Social Mobility", and the fifth best women's college after

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

and

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

. ''

'' in 2019 rated it 60th in its "America's Top Colleges" ranking of 650 schools, which include military academies, national universities, and liberal arts colleges. ''

Kiplinger's Personal Finance ''Kiplinger Personal Finance'' ( ) is an American personal finance magazine published by Kiplinger since 1947. It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It off ...

'' places Scripps at 39th in its 2019 ranking of 149 best value liberal arts colleges in the United States. ''

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...

'' ranked Scripps 83rd in 2024 among 194 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.

Admissions

For the Class of 2023 (enrolling fall 2019), Scripps accepted 967 of the 3,022 applicants (32.0%). Scripps College does not require the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

or ACT exams for students applying for admission. For the Class of 2023, of the 62.2% of enrolled freshmen submitting SAT scores the middle 50% range was 673–740 for evidence-based reading and writing, 660–750 for math, while the ACT Composite middle 50% range was 30–33 for the 50.9% who submitted scores. The average high school

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

of incoming freshmen was 4.20.

Study abroad

Scripps College also maintains a robust study abroad program. The program, which more than 60% of students take advantage of, offers access to more than 120 approved programs in 86 cities in 47 countries (including domestic exchanges with

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

and internships in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.).

Student life

The Scripps student body consists of 1109 students as of 2019. Roughly half of students are white, and nearly all are female. The median family income of Scripps students is $160,700, with 49% of students coming from the top 10% highest-earning families and 15% from the bottom 60%.

Residential life

Scripps is a residential campus, with nine halls and on-campus apartments providing living arrangements for all four years of undergraduate study. In 2017,

The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...

included Scripps in several of their rankings, such as "Best College Dorms" (#5), "Most Beautiful Campus" (#12), and "Best Campus Food" (#13). All residence halls are mixed-class halls; first-year students, sophomores, juniors, and seniors live in one shared community. The number of residents in each hall ranges from 70 to 120. In October 2014, an anonymous donor gave $10 million to support the construction of a tenth residence hall, named Nan Elizabeth Walsh Schow Hall.

Student organizations

There are a number of registered clubs and organizations (abbreviated CLORGs) at Scripps. Scripps students also frequently participate in 5C clubs alongside students from the other Claremont Colleges. In total, there are nearly 300 clubs and organizations across the 5Cs. A student-run feminist coffeehouse known as The Motley is a popular hangout spot and focal point for social life at the college.

Athletics

Scripps varsity athletes compete alongside athletes from

and

(other consortium members) as the

.
Retrieved 21 January 2017. The teams participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division III in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Athletics history

According to the Division III Fall Learfield Director's Cup Standings for the 2023–2024 year, CMS ranks 19th among all Division III programs, and first among SCIAC colleges. In 2016–17, the CMS golf team ranked first among NCAA Division III teams according to Golf Digest, and 17th overall (including Division 1 schools). The rankings are based on the "Balanced" category which is "for students who place equal emphasis on school and sports".

Sports

Female Scripps athletes compete on the 11 CMS women's teams: *Basketball *Cross Country *Golf *Lacrosse *Soccer *Softball *Swimming and Diving *Tennis *Track and Field *Volleyball *Water Polo There are also 10 CMS men's teams, but these have few if any Scripps athletes.

Rivals

The other sports combination of the Claremont Colleges, and CMS' primary rival, is the team made up of

and

known as the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens (P-P).

Notable alumni

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Website of ''The Student Life''
the Claremont Colleges newspaper * {{authority control Claremont Colleges Universities and colleges in Los Angeles County, California Women's universities and colleges in the United States Claremont, California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California Universities and colleges established in 1926 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges San Gabriel Valley Women in California Mediterranean Revival architecture in California Mission Revival architecture in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California Spanish Revival architecture in California 1926 establishments in California Liberal arts colleges in California Private universities and colleges in California