Monterey Peninsula College


Monterey Peninsula College is a public community college in Monterey, California. Established in 1947, it is a part of the California Community Colleges system. There are two additional MPC campuses located in Marina, and Seaside.

Academics

In 2009, MPC established a Great Books program, one of only two such programs available in the California Community Colleges system. The certificate can be completed through online study. In 2013, the MPC entered into an articulation agreement with Chicago's Shimer College, allowing students who have completed the MPC Great Books certificate to continue their studies at Shimer.
In 2010, the MPC English Department began offering a Certificate Program in Creative Writing. The program requires that five courses be satisfactorily completed, either all 5 in Creative Writing disciplines or 4 in Creative Writing and 1 Literature course. Creative Writing courses include the multi-genre Introductory Creative Writing and Creative Writing II; Fiction Writing; Creative Nonfiction Writing; Poetry Writing; Novel Writing; and Screenwriting courses offered by the MPC Performing Arts program. All courses must be taken at MPC; many of the college's literature courses are offered online and can be counted toward the certificate. No Creative Writing courses are presently offered in the online format.
The Creative Writing Program also publishes Scheherazade, the MPC literary magazine. The magazine is student-run and publishes exclusively the original creative work of MPC students. Works published include poetry, short fiction, narrative nonfiction, novel excerpts, photography, and graphic art. The magazine is distributed on campus and at local libraries, bookstores, and other establishments.
The MPC Guest Authors Program brings accomplished writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to campus each semester to discuss writing with students and to share their work and thoughts with the public at an evening event. Guest Authors at MPC have included novelists Joyce Carol Oates, Christopher Moore, Craig Johnson, Benjamin Percy, Jane Smiley, Jennifer Gilmore, Laurie R. King, Micah Perks, and Okey Ndibe; short story master and novelist Aimee Bender; nonfiction and fiction author Peter Chilson; narrative journalist Jeff Maysh; and poets Ada Limon, Brenda Hillman, Tami Haaland, and Tess Taylor. The Series hosts an annual reading in April by area poets. The event is called "Bridging the Bay: Poets of the Monterey Region"; participants have included George Lober; Jennifer Lagier; Brandi Kary; Joshua Converse; Simon Hunt; Marc Zegans; Marie Boucher; Kent Leatham.
In addition to English and Writing, the college has Departments and courses in Mathematics, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, Health, Hospitality, Physical Education, and Fire and Police Academy.

Athletics

Monterey Peninsula College competes in the Coast Conference as a Junior College. Its athletic teams are known as the "Lobos", which is derived from lobo.

Notable people