Educational Opportunities
Sun City Palm Desert residents are blessed to have access to world class educational experiences at a multitude of nearby venues. To most people’s surprise we have a University of California, California State University and a community college campus, all located in Palm Desert. All three of these institutes of higher education offer community involvement programs that provide continuing education opportunities to our residents.

University of California Riverside Palm Desert offers the UCR Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, UCR Extension programs in management, photography and more as well as an extensive lecture series.

California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus offers CSUSB Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, lectures and more community education opportunities,

College of The Desert thru its Partnership and Community Education program offers Learning in Retirement whose classes are designed specifically for those ages 50 and above who want to learn for the pure enjoyment of learning.

The nearby Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory offers frequent lectures free and open to all as well as their research grade Observatory which is a teaching and learning tool for all ages, intended to further public understanding of our night skies. Tests were able to measure a seeing value of 1.035 arcseconds (or less than one thousandth of a degree) with their telescope. This shows that the Rancho Mirage Observatory's systems and location can produce phenomenal images for both educational and research purposes.

Desert Town Hall hosted in nearby Indian Wells is one of the pre-eminent speaker series in the nation, providing world-class speakers, intellectual content and youth education to the Coachella Valley. The series offers four programs each year, typically from January to April. The biggest and most influential names in the world have appeared at Desert Town Hall. From President George W. Bush to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to the late Benazir Bhutto, the noted list of speakers in their history is indeed impressive.
World Affairs Council of the Desert in nearby Rancho Mirage provides an engaging, non-partisan dinner, social and speaker experience in a world-class setting. Knowledgeable professionals from across the world address geopolitical, economic, educational and national security issues as well as the accelerating impact of technology on our way of life.

The Palm Desert and other libraries and venues in the area also offer lectures, seminars and educational events throughout the year. Speakers often include celebrities or nationally known personalities. Sun City Palm Desert Residents have free access to the extensive collections of all of the surrounding public libraries including being able to download audiobooks and ebooks at no charge.

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