Santa Monica College is a two-year public community college located in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California.

Santa Monica College was first opened in 1929. Current enrollment is 32,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The college also has one of the largest international student populations of any community college in the US, with approximately 3,000 from more than 100 countries.

Santa Monica College has a well-regarded academic reputation, and is a popular choice for students to complete lower-division college requirements for oft-times overcrowded universities: It is ranked number one among California's community colleges in transfers to the University of California, and is one of the leaders for the University of Southern California and other four-year campuses. Transfer courses are offered in such fields as business administration, journalism, fine arts, health sciences, and the liberal arts.

The Santa Monica College Arts Mentor Program provides extremely gifted students in the fine and applied arts with graduate-level training by professionals in their specialized fields. The program was designed for select individuals whose talents exceed the scope of the traditional curriculum at the College.

Santa Monica College also offers a variety of occupational certificate programs, including Accounting, Fashion Design, Office Information Systems, and its Academy of Entertainment Technology (which offers certificates in Interactive Media and in Animation).

Santa Monica College is also the home of KCRW (89.9 FM), a leading public radio station in the US which broadcasts throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties to an estimated 450,000 listeners. The station is the broadcast home of Morning Becomes Eclectic and Harry Shearer's Le Show.

Santa Monica College is often called "Harvard by the Sea", UCSMC, or Pico Tech. The college was voted the best two-year college in California and in the top five of the best two-year colleges in the nation.

Santa Monica College is known to be a meeting place for students from diverse backgrounds and different areas in the country and in the world.

Notable alumni

• Isaac Bruce, Professional NFL (football) player
• Walter Cunningham, Astronaut (A.S. 1958) (B.S. 1960 at the University of California, Los Angeles)
• James Dean, Actor
• Dustin Hoffman, Actor
• Rickie Lee Jones, Musician
• Lenny Krayzelburg, Swimmer (A.A. 1996) (B.A. 1998 at the University of Southern California)
• Monica Lewinsky, White House intern
• Nathan Myhrvold, former Microsoft chief technology officer
• Nick Sagan, Novelist and screenwriter
• Kentaro Sato, Composer
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, 38th Governor of California (A.A. 1977) (B.A. 1979 at the University of Wisconsin-Superior). Schwarzenegger gave the commencement address in 2005.
• Steve Smith - Carolina Panthers wide receiver
• Chad Johnson - Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver
• Gloria Stuart, Actress
• Hillary Swank, Actress
• Rivers Cuomo, Musician (Weezer)
• Mike Muir, Musician (Suicidal Tendencies)
• Alison Lohman, Actress
• Robby Krieger, Musician (The Doors)

See also

• Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

External links

• Official webpage.
• KCRW radio
• Le Show

California Community Colleges system | Los Angeles area colleges and universities | Santa Monica, California