Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has a beautiful campus on the suburban west side of LA, with views of the sea from many dorm rooms, and also many studying spaces in the library. They were setting up for graduation on the lawn outside the chapel during my visit, and it was a beautiful setting.

The School of Film & Television is LMU’s most selective program, followed by their College of Business Administration, with the main business school classroom building named after Conrad Hilton. Some interesting points to note about majors are that students can come in “undeclared” in sciences, and also in engineering, and decide during their first year, through courses that expose them to the variety of options within each area of study, what specific department they want to choose as a major.

There are many new buildings around campus, including a brand new science building, with state of the art lab facilities. U-Hall, where the college of liberal arts is, was built as Howard Hughes’ airplane hangar, before being purchased by the university, so it’s a unique structure.

 

LMU is a Jesuit school, where about 50% of students identify as Catholic – my tour guide said that religion is “present, not pressured” on campus. The location within the LA city limits means it’s a close bus ride, bike ride, or Uber ride to downtown LA, and students do sometimes take advantage of this, although there are lots of activities and events happening on campus every day of the week.