The Sciences at Occidental

“If you’re a scientist or are thinking about medicine, the professors at Occidental will not only give you a rigorous education, they’ll give you the support you need. You really get something special there.”
(Cullen Taniguchi ’98, Rhodes Scholar, M.D./Ph.D. student, Harvard University)

Our science students pick Occidental for several reasons: a rigorous liberal arts education, close interaction between students and faculty, and superb research opportunities. Our faculty has been nationally recognized for combining top quality research with exceptional teaching. We are in the top 10 percent of private undergraduate institutions whose alumni receive doctorates in the sciences. Our students consistently fare well in competitions for fellowships and scholarships and go on to attend some of the top graduate schools in science and medicine.

Carry Out Your Own Research

Our approach to science is hands-on, inside and outside the classroom. Here at Occidental, you will do science for four years, culminating in a senior research project in which you design and conduct your own experiments or collaborate with your professors on original research.

• Over the past five years, more than 280 students received funding from the Undergraduate Research Center to undertake joint research with faculty—research that often resulted in co-authored publications and presentations at local and national conferences. 
• In recognition of our commitment to undergraduate research, we received one of only 10 National Science Foundation awards for the Integration of Research in Education in 1998. This award spurred significant growth in our undergraduate program and enabled our summer program to provide research opportunities to more than 100 students each year.
• A new $1.5 million, four-year grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will help fund the expansion of our undergraduate research program.

An Extraordinary Research Mentor

Phoebe Dea, Fletcher Jones Professor of Chemistry, exemplifies the kind of interaction science students have with their professors.  Since 1993, she has supervised 116 research students, who have made more than 100 presentations of their work at local, national, and international professional meetings.  In recognition of her “extraordinary contributions to the lives of students as their research mentor,” Professor Dea was named the 2005 recipient of the American Chemical Society’s award for research at an undergraduate institution.

Work in the Field or in a Leading Lab

Whether you’re interested in studying marine life or exploring a career in biomedical research, we provide unique opportunities for field study and internships. Our students regularly take advantage of our proximity to the mountains, coast and desert. Los Angeles is also a prolific source of internships at hospitals, laboratories, museums and research institutes, such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory or the Huntington Medical Research Institutes.

L.A. as Laboratory

“Los Angeles is a tremendous place to study the environment,” says Beth Braker, associate professor of biology, who takes her biodiversity students to a different habitat each week.  “California has one of the highest number of unique species of plants and animals in the United States."

Use Our New Facilities

The Hameetman Science Center is the new home for Occidental’s geology and physics departments. The state-of-the-art center, which opened in 2003, offers the latest in computer and scientific technology in such fields as plasma physics and fluid dynamics.

Be Successful

• Over the past decade, our science students have won 12 NSF Graduate Fellowships, 21 Goldwater Scholarships, and eight Beckman Scholarships.
• Over the past 20 years, we have sent 570 graduates to medical or dental school.
• Our alumni now attend graduate programs at Caltech, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, USC, and Stanford.