Harvey Mudd College
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Overview:
Harvey Mudd College is an elite science and engineering undergraduate institution, hosting a student body of around 700.
Location:
Harvey Mudd College is located just east of Los Angelos in Claremont, CA. Situated to on the north end of the Claremont Colleges, it and it's sister institutions attract many bright students seeking higher education. The other Claremont Colleges are Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKinna, and Pitzer Colleges.
Emphasis:
Harvey Mudd College empasizes a breadth of learning not often found in science and engineering students. One third of the undergraduate curriculum is in the humanities and social sciences, one third in the "core" classes in the sciences, and one third in major. The core classes include at least one semester in each discipline, including biology and engineering, and up to four semesters in other disciplines, such as mathematics.
Student Body:
The small student body of Harvey Mudd College is characterized by intelligence and eccentricity. This close-knit bunch will do things like riding unicycles eight miles to Donutman (still called Foster's by the students, even though none of the current students were in the area when it was actually Foster's) the morning of the spring time change. Spending free time discussing relativity is not unheard of, and sleep deprivation is almost a necessary part of the education process. A common pastime is complaining about the food.
Campus:
The campus of Harvey Mudd College is 4 blocks long by 1 block wide, divided into two sections, the residential side and the academic side. Most students live on-campus, preferring the social life to having real food. There are seven dorms on the residential side, the four closest being named after the compass directions. Mostly, they follow the direction for which they are named, although South Dorm is the one in the Northwest. The adademic side is characterized mostly by the basement; it is possible to go between 5 of the 7 academic buildings without reaching the surface level. This is also a source of great pride and mockery, for it is possible to go days without seeing the sun.
Faculty:
The faculty at Harvey Mudd College is very student oriented. Most professors are very approachable, having office hours frequent and by appointment, as well as having an open door policy, whereby if they are in the office, they are willing to talk to the students, and even non-students. Student input is treasured, and many professors survey the class twice during the semester to see what could be done better. Some departments go so far as to have a student representative at the department meetings.
In sumation, Harvey Mudd is a good school, although the intensity and emphasis are not for all people.
Harvey Mudd College is an elite science and engineering undergraduate institution, hosting a student body of around 700.
Location:
Harvey Mudd College is located just east of Los Angelos in Claremont, CA. Situated to on the north end of the Claremont Colleges, it and it's sister institutions attract many bright students seeking higher education. The other Claremont Colleges are Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKinna, and Pitzer Colleges.
Emphasis:
Harvey Mudd College empasizes a breadth of learning not often found in science and engineering students. One third of the undergraduate curriculum is in the humanities and social sciences, one third in the "core" classes in the sciences, and one third in major. The core classes include at least one semester in each discipline, including biology and engineering, and up to four semesters in other disciplines, such as mathematics.
Student Body:
The small student body of Harvey Mudd College is characterized by intelligence and eccentricity. This close-knit bunch will do things like riding unicycles eight miles to Donutman (still called Foster's by the students, even though none of the current students were in the area when it was actually Foster's) the morning of the spring time change. Spending free time discussing relativity is not unheard of, and sleep deprivation is almost a necessary part of the education process. A common pastime is complaining about the food.
Campus:
The campus of Harvey Mudd College is 4 blocks long by 1 block wide, divided into two sections, the residential side and the academic side. Most students live on-campus, preferring the social life to having real food. There are seven dorms on the residential side, the four closest being named after the compass directions. Mostly, they follow the direction for which they are named, although South Dorm is the one in the Northwest. The adademic side is characterized mostly by the basement; it is possible to go between 5 of the 7 academic buildings without reaching the surface level. This is also a source of great pride and mockery, for it is possible to go days without seeing the sun.
Faculty:
The faculty at Harvey Mudd College is very student oriented. Most professors are very approachable, having office hours frequent and by appointment, as well as having an open door policy, whereby if they are in the office, they are willing to talk to the students, and even non-students. Student input is treasured, and many professors survey the class twice during the semester to see what could be done better. Some departments go so far as to have a student representative at the department meetings.
In sumation, Harvey Mudd is a good school, although the intensity and emphasis are not for all people.
