Cypress College

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Cypress College is a community college located in Cypress, California. Opened on September 12, 1966 , the southern California college offers a variety of general education (48 associates degrees), transfer courses (58 transfer majors), and 122 vocational programs leading to Associate's degrees and certificates.

Cypress College's student population is roughly 14,000 per semester, though that number has fluctuated (peaking at about 16,500 and going as low as 12,500) in recent years based on the level of state funding provided. The college features a strong mix of ethnic diversity in its student population: 33% are Caucasian, 27% are Latinos, 19% are Asian/Pacific Islander, 8% are Filipino, 6% are African American, and 5% are from other ethnicities or their ethnicity is unidentified.

Fees at Cypress College are established by the California State Legislature. Currently, in-state enrollment fees are $20 per unit (credit hour), with the average class costing $60. The college administers more than $12 million in financial aid annually.

Cypress College operates with a decentralized approach of separate academic "divisions," allowing the benefits of both a small and large college campus. Each of the campus' instructional buildings was designed with a commons area where students with similar majors could meet and study.

The campus, covering an area of 440,000 square meters, was designed by architect Frank Lawyer of the Austin, Texas-based firm Caudill Rowlett Scott. It features several futuristic looking buildings set around a central lake. The college is noteworthy in that it has never completely abandoned the style of buildings it was initially created with. The school's new library, which opened on January 30, 2006, still bears heavy resemblance to the school's original buildings, though the use of concrete is de-emphasized in favor of glass.

Cypress College Registered Nursing program graduates scored a 97.26% pass-rate in the 2004/2005 test years, and a 95.38% pass-rate for 2005/2006 test years on the State of California Board of Registered Nursing NCLEX state licensure examination CBRN. Cypress College nursing program graduates are (arguably) some of the most prepared and highly recruited nurses in Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside Counties.

Cypress College is home to the only Mortuary science program in the greater Orange County and Greater Los Angeles areas and is one of only two such public programs in the state of California. Two fictitious characters on the hit HBO program Six Feet Under were written in as graduates of the Cypress College program because of its stature in the industry.

Cypress College is located in the shadow of major tourist attractions such as Disney's theme parks and Downtown Disney (about six miles), Knotts' Berry Farm (less than five miles), and The Block entertainment complex (about 10 miles). The campus is 12 miles from the beach and is proximus to Long Beach, California and Los Angeles. The campus is located at 9200 Valley View Street in the city of Cypress.

The college is a part of the North Orange County Community College District. The campus is also part of the California Community College System.