Learn More About Marymount : History

In 1932, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary established Marymount Junior College on Sunset Boulevard in Westwood. Marymount was the first Catholic junior college in California and began as a liberal arts college for women. Later on in 1947, the College received accreditation as a four-year college.

In 1960, the College moved to a site on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The new campus included dormitories for on-campus residential living, an auditorium, dining facility, a library and a chapel.

The year 1967 found the College preparing for a merger with Loyola University of Los Angeles in Westchester. Marymount separated its two-year program, which remained on the Palos Verdes campus, from the four-year program, and in 1968 the four-year portion moved to the Loyola campus. The Marymount two-year program remained incorporated as a separate institution and received accreditation as such in 1971. The College also became co-educational. In 1973, the Marymount-Loyola merger was finalized and became a new entity: Loyola Marymount University (LMU). Today, Marymount College and Loyola Marymount University stand as strong, independent institutions in their own right, though they are proud of their shared histories.

Marymount College moved to its present site in 1975 and added the Weekend College component to the College in 1983.