Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is a private college in Claremont, California, focused on science and engineering. It is part of the Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds and resources. The college enrolls 902 undergraduate students as of 2021, and awards the Bachelor of Science degree. Admission to Harvey Mudd is highly competitive and the college has an intense academic culture.
The college was funded by the friends and family of Harvey Seeley Mudd, one of the initial investors in the Cyprus Mines Corporation. Although involved in planning of the new institution, Mudd died before it opened in 1955. The campus was designed by Edward Durell Stone in a modernist style.
Harvey Mudd College Overview
Harvey Mudd College is a private institution that was founded in 1955. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 905 (fall 2021), its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 33 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Harvey Mudd College’s ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #29. Its tuition and fees are $62,817.
Harvey Mudd College is located in Claremont, Calif., 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Harvey Mudd is one of the country’s top math, science and engineering undergraduate colleges. The school offers a variety of student organizations on campus, from the break-dancing club to the Harvey Wallbangers Climbing Club, among others. The college does not recognize national fraternities or sororities on campus. Harvey Mudd competes in a joint intercollegiate athletics program with Claremont McKenna College and Scripps College, fielding NCAA Division III varsity sports for men and women in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. As a residential college, freshmen are required to live on campus, and 99 percent of students remain on campus in one of the eight dormitories.
Harvey Mudd College offers a Bachelor of Science degree in math, science and engineering majors. The school is part of the Claremont Colleges consortium, which includes Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Pomona College, Pitzer College, Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. The school was founded by Harvey S. Mudd, a successful mining engineer. A well-known annual school tradition is Foster’s Run, organized by the Gonzo Unicycle Madness club, during which unicyclists ride to a local donut shop. Notable alumni include astronauts George Nelson and Stan Love, as well as former U.S. diplomat and current Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Richard H. Jones.
Academics
The Harvey Mudd curriculum integrates vigorous STEM and liberal arts courses to educate talented scientists, engineers, and mathematicians—inspiring them to become passionate problem solvers who understand the impact of their work on society.
The curriculum has three components:
The Common Core: a Broad Foundation in STEM Disciplines
Our educational experience starts with the Common Core, a set of coordinated courses in all the STEM disciplines—biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, math, and physics—as well as classes in academic writing and critical inquiry. The Core gives you a broad scientific background, no matter what your future major, and introduces you to the critical relationships between the STEM disciplines.
Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts: Know Your Impact
Harvey Mudd believes STEM students can only understand their impact on society if they understand society. In addition to the Core, we require one quarter of coursework be in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts (HSA). Students can take classes in Chinese Language and culture, Shakespeare, macroeconomics, jazz improvisation, neuropsychology, photography… HSA is the largest department at Harvey Mudd, but if you don’t find what you are interested in here, you can take courses at any of The Claremont Colleges. Why do we require this? Because we believe technology divorced from humanity is worse than no technology at all.
The Major: Explore Your Field Through Research and Experiential Learning
The major builds depth and technical competence in a chosen field. Majors at Harvey Mudd emphasize a broad-based, interdisciplinary approach to equip our students with problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to any challenge. Coursework comes alive with project-based experiential learning and graduate-level research opportunities. You’ll finish your major working on real-world research or design projects. Throughout the entire curriculum runs an emphasis on developing strong oral and written communications and excellent computational skills.
Harvey Mudd’s Majors
- biology
- chemistry
- computer science
- engineering
- mathematics
- physics
- chemistry and biology
- mathematical and computational biology
- computer science and mathematics
- mathematics and physics
- Off-campus major (OCM)
- Individual program of studies (IPS).
Harvey Mudd Engineering Ranking
Harvey Mudd College ranked No. 2 for undergraduate engineering programs in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2021, maintaining the same spot as last year. Harvey Mudd’s engineering ranking is among colleges that offer a bachelor’s or master’s as the top degree. The College has tied for No. 1 with Rose-Hulman three out of the past six years.
Harvey Mudd’s engineering department was also recognized in the “Best in the Specialties” section, coming in at No. 2 for mechanical engineering, No. 3 for electrical/electronic/communications engineering, No. 4 for civil engineering and No. 4 in computer engineering. Harvey Mudd offers a broad yet deep general engineering degree that emphasizes experiential, hands-on learning and team-based projects with real-world applications.
In a new ranking of computer science programs that included both doctoral and non-doctoral granting institutions, Harvey Mudd came in at No. 20 and was the highest-ranked undergraduate-only college on the list.
Harvey Mudd ranked No. 6 again this year on the list of Most Innovative Schools, this time tied with Bates and Davidson colleges. The ranking highlights colleges making the most innovative improvements in areas such as curriculum and student life.
The College ranked No. 13 for Undergraduate Research and No. 23 for Senior Capstone Programs. Harvey Mudd’s undergraduate research and Clinic Program are both hallmarks of the College’s hands-on educational experience.
The College ranked No. 57 on the Best Undergraduate Teaching list, in a seven-way tie with Barnard, Beloit, Cornell College, Lewis & Clark, New College of Florida and Thomas Aquinas College.
In the overall ranking of national liberal arts colleges, Harvey Mudd came in at No. 25, tied with Colorado College. Last year Harvey Mudd tied for No. 23 with University of Richmond.
In the category of Campus Ethnic Diversity, an unranked list, Harvey Mudd came in second from the top with a score of 0.74, moving up from last year’s score of 0.72. Increasing diversity has been a strategic priority for Harvey Mudd; the 2015–2016 entering class was the most ethnically diverse in the College’s history, and each incoming class since has contributed to building a more diverse community.
On the Best Value Schools list, Harvey Mudd came in at No. 83.
According to U.S. News & World Report, changes to the methodology this year include two new outcome measures pertaining to graduate indebtedness. Less weight was given to SAT/ACT scores, high school class standing and alumni giving rates. This year’s factors included: Graduation and Retention Rates (22%), Social Mobility (5%), Graduate Rate Performance (8%) Undergraduate Academic Reputation (20%), Faculty Resources (20%), Student Selectivity (7%), Financial Resources (10%), Alumni Giving (3%) and Graduate Indebtedness (5%).
HMC CS Graduate School Application Process
If you’re a Mudder (or a student from another college planning on having Mudd faculty write letters of recommendation for you) and plan to apply for graduate school in CS, please read this page. It provides a recommended timeline for the application process and some forms that you’ll need to complete.
For reference, here are the slides from the grad-school colloquium in 2013.
- Summer between junior and senior year
- Get in touch with your academic adviser and/or other professors or mentors to begin discussing your graduate school plans and developing an initial list of some possible schools.
- First week of fall semester
- Deadline! Register for the GRE general test. See the ETS website for details. Register early to keep things as flexible as possible! As of 2013, there is no longer a GRE CS subject test, so don’t worry about that!
- Meet with your adviser to discuss your graduate school plans, work on refining your list of possible schools, and discuss a possible set of people to write your letters of recommendation.
- October 1
- Request letters of recommendation. You don’t need to provide materials for letter-writers yet, but you should ask people to write your letters and know who is going to write for you. See our the letters of recommendation page for details on how to ask and what to provide your letter-writers.
- Begin working on your statement of purpose essay. Write multiple drafts and ask your adviser and other professors for feedback on drafts. Visit the HMC Writing Center. Read Matt Might’s section on the Personal statement in this blog post. You might also take a look at our own guide to writing a good statement of purpose.
- October 28, 2013
- Deadline! Complete the HMC Graduate School Intent Form online. We need this in order to optimize our letters of recommendation for you. The faculty discuss each applicant in order to make sure that we have as much useful and positive information to convey in our letters as possible.
- Show your draft statement of purpose essay to your adviser and/or another faculty member for review.
- If you are applying for a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship or other fellowship or graduate program with a November deadline, provide your letter-writers with the materials listed in the letters of recommendation page.
- November 1
- Deadline! Provide your letter-writers with the materials listed in the letters of recommendation page.
- Winter!
- Deadline! Submit your applications!
- March-ish…
- You’ll probably hear back from graduate schools in March. If some of your friends hear earlier, don’t panic! Graduate admissions often occurs in a distributed asynchronous fashion and we’ve seen lots of folks admitted to school X in March even though some of their friends heard in February.
- Go and visit the schools to which you were admitted. Normally they’ll pay your way. You’ll need to miss class at Mudd to go, but it’s worthwhile! Before you go, talk to your adviser or mentor about the kinds of things you might want to look for and questions to ask.
- Admissions Information
- Tuition & Fees
- Financial Aid
- All Degrees and Programs
- Above data represent first majors only.
- (-) Indicates that Indicates that program is not offered at this award level.
- Undergraduate Majors
- *We do not guarantee the accuracy of information on this page. All information is subject to change. You should confirm all information with a college admissions officer.
Harvey Mudd Admissions Information
| Application Fee College has an application fee: Yes Regular application fee: $55 Online application fee: $55 | Enrollment Rates Percent applicants admitted: 52% Percent students who return sophomore year: 67% |
Harvey Mudd Tuition & Fees
| Estimated Expenses for Academic Year | 2008-’09 | 2009-’10 | 2010-’11 | 2011-’12 | % change 2010-’12 |
| Tuition and fees | $34,891 | $36,635 | $38,467 | $40,390 | +5.00% |
| Books and Supplies | $800 | $800 | $800 | $800 | 0.00% |
| Living Arrangement – On Campus | |||||
| Room and Board | $11,415 | $11,971 | $12,570 | $13,198 | +5.00% |
| Other | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | 0.00% |
| Living Arrangement – Off Campus | |||||
| Room and Board | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total Expenses | 2008-’09 | 2009-’10 | 2010-’11 | 2011-’12 | % change 2010-’12 |
| In-state On Campus | $48,006 | $50,306 | $52,737 | $55,288 | +4.84% |
| In-state Off Campus | $35,691 | $37,435 | $39,267 | $41,190 | +4.90% |
| In-state with Family | $35,691 | $37,435 | $39,267 | $41,190 | +4.90% |
Harvey Mudd Financial Aid
| Full-time Beginning Undergraduate Students | ||||
| Type of Aid | Students | Percent | Amount | Average Per Student |
| All students financial aid | 172 | 85% | ||
| Grant or scholarship aid | 166 | 82% | $3,426,006 | $20,639 |
| • Federal grants | 22 | 11% | $147,367 | $6,699 |
| • Pell grants | 22 | 11% | $85,367 | $3,880 |
| • Other federal grants | 22 | 11% | $62,000 | $2,818 |
| State and local government grant or scholarships | 10 | 5% | $97,080 | $9,708 |
| Institutional scholarships or grants | 166 | 82% | $3,181,559 | $19,166 |
| Student loan financial aid | 76 | 38% | $416,493 | $5,480 |
| • Federal student loans | 73 | 36% | $332,793 | $4,559 |
| • Other student loans | 17 | 8% | $83,700 | $4,924 |
Harvey Mudd All Degrees and Programs
| Program Completions for Most Recent Year | BA/BS | MA/MS | Doctor | AA/AS | CERT |
| Grand Total of All Programs | 176 | – | – | – | – |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences | 13 | – | – | – | – |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Other | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| Biology/Biological Sciences, General | 6 | – | – | – | – |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Other | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Neuroscience | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services | 20 | – | – | – | – |
| Computer Science | 20 | – | – | – | – |
| Engineering | 74 | – | – | – | – |
| Engineering, General | 74 | – | – | – | – |
| Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Comparative Literature | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Mathematics and Statistics | 22 | – | – | – | – |
| Mathematics, General | 22 | – | – | – | – |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General | 8 | – | – | – | – |
| Mathematics and Computer Science | 8 | – | – | – | – |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Environmental Studies | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Physical Sciences | 33 | – | – | – | – |
| Chemistry, General | 11 | – | – | – | – |
| Geology/Earth Science, General | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Physics, General | 21 | – | – | – | – |
| Psychology | – | – | – | – | – |
| Psychology, General | – | – | – | – | – |
| Social Sciences | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| Economics, General | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| Visual and Performing Arts | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| Dance, General | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Fine/Studio Arts, General | 1 | – | – | – | – |
Above data represent first majors only.
(-) Indicates that Indicates that program is not offered at this award level.
Harvey Mudd Undergraduate Majors
| Arts, Visual & PerformingDigital Art and Animation B Digital Audio Technology BEngineeringDigital Arts Engineering B Software Engineering BSecurity & Protective ServicesFire Protection/Safety Technology B Fire Services Administration B | Degree levels for each major are designated by the following letters:A = Associate degree B = Bachelor’s degree C = Certificate or diploma |
*We do not guarantee the accuracy of information on this page. All information is subject to change. You should confirm all information with a college admissions officer.
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