The University of La Verne is located in the city of La Verne, 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles and on the east side of Los Angeles County, California. The 38-acre main campus is situated in the Old Town of La Verne. The Church of the Brethren founded the university in 1891 as Lordsburg College. It was renamed La Verne College in 1917.
In 1930, teacher education was the university’s main programme, with three-quarters of the student population studying for degrees in this field. By the 1960s, La Verne’s academic facilities had increased and the university was able to award its first master’s level degree, followed by its first doctorate degree in 1979.
In 1970, La Verne opened its College of Law and then became the University of La Verne in 1977. Since then, the university has built a number of new regional campuses, including campuses at Orange County, San Fernando Valley, Ventura and San Bernardino. In 2000, the College of Law moved to a new campus in Ontario, California. The College of Law has produced 34 judges and 25 per cent of school superintendents in California studied for their Ed.D. at La Verne.
The university is made up of four colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Management, the LaFetra College of Education and the College of Law. The College of Arts and Sciences offers a choice of 50 undergraduate majors and is also well known for its doctoral degree programme in clinical psychology.
Outside the classroom, the University of La Verne is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III and approximately 30 per cent of the undergraduate student population take part in intercollegiate athletics. The University of La Verne also fields 18 teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
