Claremont Graduate University

We came to visit Claremont and the staff there gave us a wonderful tour. The campus is beautiful and quiet, a perfect place to study. The facilities on campus are modern and provide students with excellent learning resources.

One of the worst departments, highly dysfunctional, lacks integrity is the CGU Graduate Teacher Education Department! The program lacks structure, innovation and transparency. The passive-​aggressive, ambivalent coordinators of the program who lack honesty and integrity are indicative of an over priced private institution that lives off its name but demonstrates no contributing outcomes. Would not waste any dollars on this over priced program with very weak administrators!

I come here to study and it’s perfect for anyone that needs to get a lot of work done. Very fast wifi and white boards galore!

CGU has the most conscientious faculty and staff ever! If you are a true scholar, that is interested in everything all the time, you would find CGU an excellent place to satisfy your intellectual curiosity. The Interdisciplinary focus on academics is refreshing.

I visited the graduate art studios because my painting instructor is an alumnus. Non-​painters get cubicles. Painters have the second floor with studios about the size of my bedroom. Student work currently on display at city hall looks good. They have a cargo elevator and a small wood shop downstairs.

By enrolling at CGU, I realized I was breaking a vow not to enter back into academia after my previous experience. I originally entered the Master’s program for a degree is classical guitar performance. Before the end of my first semester, I was offered a direct route into their Ph.D. program. I took them up on their offer and have no regret whatsoever.
It took only a few weeks in the Master’s program to realize that it their program was a great fit for me. The teachers, all of whom were personable and highly knowledgeable in their respective fields of expertise, were excellent insofar as they left it up to the student to forge his or her own path; they were not going to hold your hand, however, if you needed guidance, they were there to help.
Some may find such a thing to be disconcerting. As far as I am concerned, it is a matter of having the student realize that, once you are out vying for a teaching position (or any other position for that matter), no one is going to coddle you. It is your responsibility to take initiative.
Another attractive feature is the student-​teacher ratio. The classes were never larger than 12 students. The average was about 6 – 8 per class. I much prefer this than being one of 100+ students in a lecture hall where interaction and discussion is minimal at best.
The campus is lovely, which can pretty much be said of the surrounding campuses as well. The consortium works very well, particularly when it comes to accessing other libraries. The library resources are exceptionally good and this, of course, includes the librarians who have an encyclopedic knowledge and a amicable disposition.
I cannot speak for the other departments save for saying that students I have come to know and befriend in other fields of study have had far more positive to say about CGU than negative.