Founded in 1880, the University of Southern California is located five miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles and is situated between the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the famed Shrine Auditorium. The school employs nearly 3,200 faculty members and has an enrollment of more than 35,000 students. USC offers 4,259 undergraduate degrees and 6,191 advanced degrees from its academic units which include 17 professional schools, a graduate school and the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. For the 2010-11 academic year, USC charges $41,022 for tuition, has received $2.9 billion in endowment funding and has received $560 million in sponsored research funding.
Located seven miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, Occidental College is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast. This private college was founded in 1887 by a group of Presbyterian clergymen, and, as of 2011, has a student enrollment of 2,102 and employs 169 faculty members. For the 2010-11 academic year, OC charges $39,870 for tuition and $1,069 in required fees. The school offers 33 degree programs in several areas, including arts and humanities, social sciences and science.
Loyola Marymount University was founded in 1911, is situated on 142 acres 21 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles and is the largest Catholic university on the West Coast. As of 2011, LMU offers 56 undergraduate, 38 graduate degrees and has a student enrollment of 9,070. Tuition and fees for the 2010-11 academic year are $36,404. LMU employs 507 full-time faculty and has awarded $6.6 million in faculty research grants.
Mount St. Mary's College is a small college located three miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles near USC. As of 2011, MSMC has an enrollment of 2,480 undergraduate and graduate students. Founded in 1925, MSMC is the only Catholic primarily all-women's college in the western U.S. The college offers 24 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in several areas, including child development, humanities and religious studies. Tuition for the 2010-11 academic year at MSMC is $29,232 plus $450 in required fees.