Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
Santa Monica College Featured Rankings
About Santa Monica College
According to Wikipedia, Santa Monica College is a public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high school students, the college quickly expanded its enrollment to educate college-age students and non-traditional students with the primary intention to transfer to a four-year university The college has high transfer rates to four-year universities such as the Universities of California or California State Universities.
Santa Monica College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Graduation Rate |
|---|
| 23% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does Santa Monica College Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $1,158 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $1,621 |
| 30K - 48K | $1,036 |
| 48K - 75K | $2,372 |
| 75K - 110K | $5,646 |
| 110K+ | $11,807 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do Santa Monica College Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former Santa Monica College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $46,589 a year, and 84% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
Santa Monica College's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads |
|---|---|
| 33,626 | 33,626 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is Santa Monica College?
Santa Monica College is located at 1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405-1628.
How Safe is Santa Monica College?
Like every college that receives federal student aid, Santa Monica College publishes an annual security report with its campus crime statistics and safety policies. Its figures can also be looked up in the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security database.
Relative to its enrollment, Santa Monica College has a violent crime rate of 0.02% and a property crime rate of 0.01%. Santa Monica has a violent crime rate of 0.75% and a property (including theft) crime rate of 4.86%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is Santa Monica College Known For?
Santa Monica College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Criminal Justice
- Anthropology
- Sociology
- Computer Science
- History
- Psychology
- Communications
- Mathematics
- Medical
- Education
- Political Science
- Biology
- Nursing
- Economics
- Engineering
Santa Monica College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much Santa Monica College's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
Santa Monica College ranks #350 in the U.S. and #624 worldwide for influence in Criminal Justice.
criminal-justice DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #385 in the U.S. and #1183 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #397 in the U.S. and #1393 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #437 in the U.S. and #2056 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #461 in the U.S. and #1319 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #479 in the U.S. and #1228 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #539 in the U.S. and #1986 worldwide for influence in Communications.
communications DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #540 in the U.S. and #2234 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #541 in the U.S. and #2026 worldwide for influence in Medical.
medicine DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #566 in the U.S. and #2501 worldwide for influence in Education.
education DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #598 in the U.S. and #2527 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #671 in the U.S. and #2934 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #683 in the U.S. and #1782 worldwide for influence in Nursing.
nursing DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #800 in the U.S. and #4664 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesSanta Monica College ranks #898 in the U.S. and #4894 worldwide for influence in Engineering.
engineering DegreesWho Are Santa Monica College's Most Influential Alumni?
Santa Monica College's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Anthropology. Here are some of Santa Monica College's most famous alumni:
- Muhammad Ali
- An American boxer, philanthropist, and activist .
- Sean Penn
- An American actor.
- Dustin Hoffman
- An American actor and filmmaker .
- Frank Welker
- An American actor .
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- An American filmmaker.
- Phil Zuckerman
- A Professor of Sociology.
- Kim Gordon
- An American musician and artist, most known as co-founding member of Sonic Youth.
- Phil Hartman
- A Canadian American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic .
- Kenneth Price
- An American ceramic artist and printmaker.
- Kenan Thompson
- An American actor and comedian.
- Teena Marie
- An American R&B and soul singer .
- Tessa Thompson
- An American actress.
