Claremont McKenna College

What Claremont McKenna College does

Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a private, nonprofit liberal arts college founded in 1946 and headquartered at 888 Columbia Avenue in Claremont, California, approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The college serves undergraduate students through a residential educational model focused on preparing graduates for leadership in business, government, and the professions, with curricular emphasis on economics, government, and interdisciplinary sciences. CMC operates within the seven-institution Claremont Colleges consortium, which gives students cross-registration access to shared libraries, facilities, and faculty resources that extend well beyond CMC's standalone footprint.

The college's product portfolio centers on undergraduate academic programs across roughly a dozen departments (Government, History, Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences, Literature, Mathematical Sciences, Philosophy, Psychological Science, Religious Studies, Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, and others), supplemented by eleven research institutes and centers (including the Kravis Leadership Institute, Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies, Rose Institute of State and Local Government, and the Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom). Signature programs include the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum speaker series, The Open Academy initiative promoting viewpoint diversity, the Washington Program for study in the policy arena, study-abroad offerings, the Summer Research Program, and the ITAB Silicon Valley Networking Trek for technology career exposure. The institution does not offer software products or public APIs and operates no consumer-facing technology platform.

CMC's revenue model rests on three streams: recurring tuition and fees charged on an annual subscription basis to a residential undergraduate population; philanthropic donations from foundations and alumni (anchored by the landmark $40 million W.M. Keck Foundation gift in December 2021 for the Robert Day Sciences Center); and sponsored research funding from government agencies and private foundations supporting faculty research. The college employs 251-500 staff and faculty and is governed by an independent Board of Trustees with Hiram E. Chodosh serving as President. Distribution is direct on-campus, with prospective students acquired through a structured funnel of campus visits, information sessions, admission interviews, and digital channels including the official website, social media, and the CMC Conversations podcast.

Name

Claremont McKenna College

Legal name

Claremont McKenna College

Website

https://cmc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Claremont McKenna College is a private, nonprofit liberal arts college founded in 1946 in Claremont, California, delivering residential undergraduate education focused on leadership in business, government, and the professions. It operates within the seven-institution Claremont Colleges consortium and funds itself through tuition, philanthropic donations, and sponsored research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Liberal Arts College)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH)

Keywords

• Liberal arts education
• Undergraduate college programs
• Higher education research
• Residential college education
• Leadership development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Claremont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from student tuition and fees for undergraduate liberal arts education
2. Philanthropic Donations: Major donations from foundations and alumni, such as the $40 million W.M. Keck Foundation donation for the Robert Day Sciences Center
3. Sponsored Research and Grants: Funding from government agencies and private foundations to support faculty research programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Claremont McKenna College is a private, nonprofit residential liberal arts college that delivers undergraduate education across departments such as Government, the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, the Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences, Philosophy, and Psychological Science, supplemented by 11 research institutes and centers, signature intellectual programs (Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, The Open Academy), and experiential learning through the Washington Program, study abroad, and the Summer Research Program. The college also provides career services through the Soll Center for Student Opportunity and operates within The Claremont Colleges consortium.

Product overview

Claremont McKenna College is a liberal arts college offering undergraduate education with a focus on economics, government, and responsible leadership. The institution operates a multi-product educational portfolio comprising academic departments (Government, History, Integrated Sciences, Literature, Mathematical Sciences, Philosophy, Psychological Science, Religious Studies, Robert Day School of Economics and Finance), eleven research institutes and centers, signature programs like the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum and The Open Academy, the ITAB Silicon Valley Networking Trek for technology career exposure, and extensive campus facilities. The college does not operate as a technology product company and does not offer software products or public APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Academic Programs Residential undergraduate liberal arts education across departments including Government, History, Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences, Literature, Mathematical Sciences, Philosophy, Psychological Science, Religious Studies, and the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, leading to a bachelor's degree for full-time enrolled students.
• Research Institutes and Centers Eleven specialized research institutes and centers at CMC, including the Berger Institute for Individual and Social Development, Financial Economics Institute, Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies, Kravis Leadership Institute, Lowe Institute of Political Economy, Mgrublian Center for Human Rights, Randall Lewis Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Roberts Environmental Center, Rose Institute of State and Local Government, and Salvatori Center for Individual Freedom, supporting faculty and student research across disciplines.
• Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum Signature CMC venue and program that brings scholars, public figures, and speakers to campus for cultural, social, and academic exchange of ideas over shared meals, hosting lectures, debates, and fellowship programs for the CMC community.
• The Open Academy CMC initiative committing the college to freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement, providing students with programming and curricular models for developing common understanding of critical issues across ideological differences.
• Summer Research Program (SRP) Program offering CMC students funded opportunities to participate in faculty-led research projects during the summer months, with financial support provided to participating student researchers.
• Center for Global Education (Study Abroad and Washington Program) CMC's Center for Global Education coordinates study abroad placements and the Washington Program, providing students with international academic experiences and semester-long policy and government placements in Washington, D.C.
• ITAB Silicon Valley Networking Trek Annual program run through CMC's Information Technology Advisory Board that takes students to Silicon Valley to establish relationships with alumni working in technology and to gain exposure to technology career opportunities through company visits and networking events.

Quantifiable outcome

• CMS Athletics finished ninth in the Learfield Directors' Cup (top ten ranking)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Amherst College: Highly selective private residential liberal arts college in Massachusetts. Competes with CMC for the same high-achieving undergraduate applicants and alumni donor base, with a similar tuition-driven, endowment-supported model.
• Swarthmore College: Highly selective private liberal arts college with an honors-focused curriculum. Directly comparable on selectivity, undergraduate residential model, and reliance on tuition plus endowment income.
• Davidson College: Selective private residential liberal arts college in North Carolina with a leadership-focused identity. Comparable mission emphasis on preparing students for responsible leadership, similar residential model, and tuition-driven revenue.
• Bowdoin College: Highly selective private residential liberal arts college in Maine. Comparable on mission, size, tuition model, and focus on preparing students for leadership and public service, competing for similar applicants.
• Wellesley College: Highly selective private residential liberal arts college. Overlaps with CMC in selectivity, tuition-based economics, residential delivery, and the same competitive applicant pool for top liberal arts-bound high schoolers.
• Pomona College: Claremont Colleges consortium sibling and fellow elite residential liberal arts college. Directly comparable on curriculum breadth, selectivity, residential model, and applicant pool, with cross-registration available to CMC students.
• Williams College: Top-tier private residential liberal arts college. Closely comparable on selectivity, residential education model, endowment scale, and applicant demographics, making it a primary benchmark for CMC.
• Middlebury College: Elite private residential liberal arts college with strong international and language programs. Overlaps with CMC in selectivity, residential delivery, and tuition-driven economics, competing for similar applicants.
• Harvey Mudd College: Claremont Colleges consortium sibling focused on STEM and engineering within a liberal arts framework. Shares the same campus-adjacent geography, shared resources, and overlapping applicant pool as CMC.
• Scripps College: Claremont Colleges consortium sibling and fellow residential liberal arts college. Shares geography, shared facilities, cross-registration, and the same Claremont applicant pool as CMC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cmcnews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ClaremontMcKenna1
• Facebookfacebook.com/ClaremontMcKennaCollege
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/claremont-mckenna-college
• Instagraminstagram.com/claremontmckennacollege

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Claremont McKenna College