Santa Monica College

About

Type: Public, 4-year
Location: Santa Monica, California
Website: www.smc.edu
Undergraduates: 23,453
Student-faculty ratio: 27 : 1

This collegeRanked colleges nearby

Setting: Small city
Nearest major city: In Los Angeles
Nearest international airport: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), about 6 mi

Santa Monica, California

Also known as: SMC
Academic calendar: Semester
Religious affiliation: Not applicable
President: Kathryn Jeffery (Superintendent/President)
Phone: 3104344000
City: Santa Monica, California
Address: 1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405-1628

Degrees & Majors

Graduates in 2025 (first major)

Associate6,648712 international (10.7%)

Bachelor's180 international (0.0%)

Top 1 Bachelor's majors by graduates

Visual and Performing Arts, Other

18

U.S. studentsInternational

All majors, graduates and earnings IPEDS · College Scorecard

*Depends on whether majors have graduates in 2025 or not, Yes / No
**Move mouse on can check deitaled graudates number, click for major detailed information
***Due to privacy policy, graduate salaries are not shown for some majors that has few gradautes

Liberal arts has 2875 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies.	-
Humanities/Humanistic Studies.	-

Multi/inerdisciplinary studies has 1279 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Biological and Physical Sciences.	-

Social sciencehas 536 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Anthropology, General.	-
Economics, General.	-
Geography.	-
International Relations and Affairs.	-
Political Science and Government, General.	-
Sociology, General.	-

Businesshas 454 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Business Administration and Management, General.	-
Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management.	-
Office Management and Supervision.	-
Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping.	-
Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General.	-
Insurance.	-
Selling Skills and Sales Operations.	-

Visual and Performing artshas 454 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Visual and Performing Arts, General.	-
Dance, General.	-
Fashion/Apparel Design.	-
Interior Design.	-
Graphic Design.	-
Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General.	-
Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology.	-
Film/Cinema/Media Studies.	-
Cinematography and Film/Video Production.	-
Art/Art Studies, General.	-
Music, General.	-
Visual and Performing Arts, Other.	-

Communication has 207 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Speech Communication and Rhetoric.	-
Journalism.	-
Radio and Television.	-
Advertising.	-

Psychology has 202 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Psychology, General.	-

Computer and information sciencehas 111 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Computer Programming/Programmer, General.	-
Data Entry/Microcomputer Applications, General.	-
Computer Science.	-
Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration.	-

Health professionshas 92 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary.	-
Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist.	-
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse.	-

Mathmatics and statistics has 86 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Mathematics, General.	-

Human science has 86 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies, General.	-
Child Care Provider/Assistant.	-
Apparel and Textile Marketing Management.	-

History has 58 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
History, General.	-

Homeland security has 44 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration.	-

Educationhas 41 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs.	-

Communications technologies has 41 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician.	-
Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design.	-
Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects.	-

Parks, recreation, leisure has 24 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Sport and Fitness Administration/Management.	-
Exercise Science and Kinesiology.	-

Engineeringhas 17 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Pre-Engineering.	-

Cultural has 15 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Ethnic Studies.	-
Women's Studies.	-

Culinary has 13 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General.	-

Architecture has 12 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Architectural Technology/Technician.	-

Foreign languages has 6 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Spanish Language and Literature.	-

Natural resources has 6 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Environmental Studies.	-

Engineering technologieshas 5 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/Technician.	-

Legal professionshas 2 graduates in 2025
Major	Graduate Salary	Associate	Under
Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary.	-

Students

23,453 students in 2025 · Undergraduate men to women 45:55

Continuing undergraduates 14,615
First-year undergraduates 3,351
Transfers and others 5,487

Undergraduate race and ethnicity (23,453)

Hispanic

9,459 · 40.3%

White

6,321 · 27.0%

Black

2,171 · 9.3%

Asian

1,887 · 8.0%

International

1,739 · 7.4%

Two or more races

1,243 · 5.3%

Unknown

579 · 2.5%

Age distribution

Bachelor's

Under 18

5.3%

18–19

27.4%

20–21

18.2%

22–24

14.7%

25 and over

34.4%

International Students

International share over the last 10 years · gray line: median of all 908 public associate's colleges in the U.S.

Undergraduates7.4%

1,739 in 2025 · 10.9% in 2016

2016Peer median 0.6%2025

Cost

2025 cost per year (out-of-state)

$36,616

Undergrad tuition (out-of-state): $10,708
Undergraduate tuition (in-state): $1,156
Room and board: $25,908

Out-of-state tuition and room and board over time

19.6K 2016

19.6K 2017

20.1K 2018

20.5K 2019

20.5K 2020

20.6K 2021

20.6K 2022

20.7K 2023

20.9K 2024

36.6K 2025

Peer median tuition + room and board $19,938 · all 908 public associate's colleges in the U.S.

Tuition rose 33% from 2016 to 2025; room and board rose 124%.

Finances · fiscal year 2024

Revenue$386M

Government grants and contracts

$256M66.3%

Tuition and fees

$47.0M12.2%

Investment return

$18.4M4.7%

Auxiliary enterprises

$2.0M0.5%

Gifts and private grants

$1.7M0.4%

Other

$61.3M15.9%

Expenses$404M

Instruction

$147M36.4%

Student services

$80.7M20.0%

Institutional support

$62.1M15.4%

Scholarships

$42.7M10.6%

Academic support

$21.0M5.2%

Auxiliary enterprises

$15.8M3.9%

Other

$34.5M8.5%

Average faculty salary · 2025 (9-month equivalent)

Dark gray ticks: median pay for the same rank at all 908 public associate's colleges in the U.S.

All faculty

$128,190peers $68,588

Instructor

$128,190peers $61,593

Campus Life

Athletics and varsity athletes NCAA · EADA

2025
CCCAA	MEN	WOMEN
Football	96	-
Soccer	37	27
Track and Field (Outdoor)	31	17
Water Polo	25	12
Volleyball	17	15
Basketball	16	12
Cross Country	20	7
Beach Volleyball	-	17
Softball	-	16
Swimming and Diving (combined)	-	15
Tennis	-	14
Swimming	13	-

2024
CCCAA	MEN	WOMEN
Football	85	-
Soccer	30	26
Track and Field (Outdoor)	27	11
Basketball	20	12
Volleyball	15	17
Water Polo	19	13
Swimming and Diving (combined)	15	15
Softball	-	17
Cross Country	11	5
Beach Volleyball	-	14
Tennis	-	11

2023
CCCAA	MEN	WOMEN
Football	77	-
Soccer	26	28
Water Polo	23	13
Volleyball	14	19
Swimming and Diving (combined)	17	15
Basketball	18	12
Track and Field (Outdoor)	19	6
Cross Country	10	4
Beach Volleyball	-	14
Softball	-	11
Tennis	-	9

Nearby & Safety

Ranked colleges nearby

Campus safety · incidents per 1,000 students

0.6 2016

1.1 2017

1.1 2018

0.9 2019

1.4 2020

0.5 2021

0.5 2022

0.8 2023

0.4 2024

1.0 2025

Peer median 0.4 · all 908 public associate's colleges in the U.S.

Incidents, 2023–2025

Aggravated assault

18

Motor vehicle theft

6

Fondling

5

Burglary

3

Arson

3

Drug arrests

3

From the Clery Act campus safety reports schools file, covering on-campus, non-campus and public property.

Notable Alumni

All 25

Notable alumni of Santa Monica College include Muhammad Ali (Legendary heavyweight boxing champion), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Actor and 38th governor of California) and James Dean (Influential 1950s Hollywood actor).

Muhammad Ali 1942–2016

Legendary heavyweight boxing champion

Spouse: Veronica Porché Ali (University of Southern California)
Arnold Schwarzenegger 1947–

Actor and 38th governor of California

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, University of Wisconsin-Superior

Spouse: Maria Shriver (Georgetown University, Manhattanville University)
James Dean 1931–1955

Influential 1950s Hollywood actor

Pre-law

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles
Dustin Hoffman 1937–

Actor and filmmaker

Also attended: Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater

Spouse: Lisa Hoffman (University of Colorado Boulder)
Sean Penn 1960–

Actor and filmmaker

Spouse: Madonna (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor)
Hilary Swank 1974–

Actress and two-time Academy Award winner
Monica Lewinsky 1973–

Activist and former White House intern

Also attended: Lewis & Clark College

Father: Bernard Lewinsky (University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Irvine)
Tessa Thompson 1983–

Actress with BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations

Cultural anthropology
Paul Thomas Anderson 1970–

Filmmaker and three-time Academy Award winner

Also attended: Emerson College, New York University

Father: Ernie Anderson (Suffolk University)

See all 25 notable alumni of Santa Monica College →

Recent News at Santa Monica College

Summarized daily from the school's official news. Click "Source" for the original story.

2Updates in the past 12 months

Oct 28Latest update

LeadershipMost common topic

Oct 28 Leadership

Santa Monica College's Board of Trustees appointed Candace D. Jones as superintendent/president on Oct. 28, succeeding Kathryn E. Jeffery, who retires in December 2026.
Source: smc.edu
Sep 25 New program

Santa Monica College will accept junior-entry applications for its Bachelor of Science in Cloud Computing from Oct. 1, 2026; classes start fall 2027, and the four-year degree is estimated at $10,000 for California residents.
Source: smc.edu

Related News

References and Data Sources

Data from IPEDS (U.S. Department of Education), U.S. News, THE, QS, ARWU and Clery Act campus safety reports. Data insights are written by the Forward Pathway data team from public data.