Palomar College is a public 2-year community college that was approved to be a “Junior College” on January 15, 1946, and was opened to students for indoor classrooms on September 23, 1946, with having only 100 students enrolled.

Dr. Daniel C. McNaughton was the very first person to be hired for the position of President of the college.

Science, Mathematics, English, Physical Education, etc. were some of the open classes Palomar offered for its very first students. However, today Palomar College is one of the biggest Community Colleges located in San Diego County with approximately 25,000 full-time and part-time students enrolled, and with also over 150 associate degrees and certificates that students can choose from, with the price of $46 per unit.

Palomar has five academic divisions, the first one is Arts, Media, and Business Administration, the second one is Career, Technical, and Extended Education, the third one is Languages and Literature, the fourth one is Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, lastly the fifth one includes Social and Behavioral Science.

At Palomar College, all students have the opportunity to participate in Arts and Cinemas productions, 34 academic and social campus organizations, 21 competitive intercollegiate sports teams for men and women, and lots of free music, theatre, and dance performances.

Back in the November 2006 General Election, voters decided to approve Proposition M, which was funding for the Colleges $1 million construction and remodel plan.

All the funding went directly to the completion of the Natural Science building that was completed and open by the Fall semester of 2007.

Palomar College now has 4 campuses available for students to attend. The main campus is located in San Marcos, CA., the second campus is located in Escondido CA., the third campus is located in Camp Pendleton CA., the fifth campus is located at Fallbrook CA., and lastly, the fourth campus is located in Rancho Bernardo CA.