<p>I think if you start with the Film Dept, it may explain a lot about Wesleyan’s academic reputation in general. It’s both well-known and well-respected for a number of reasons. The first and foremost, is that it is grounded in the liberal arts. When it was started over thirty years ago, it was team taught by members of the English Dept., the Arts Dept., and the History Dept. Only an LAC with a significant overflow of talent and self-confidence could have undertaken such a risky and expensive venture as founding a brand new department, one not widely recognized as a legitimate subject of study, and found the money to house it in state-of-the-art facilities.</p>
<p>So, as implied above, I would say English, and History certainly. Economics is right up there. Government is popular, too.</p>
<p>Over in the sciences, pretty much all the Life Sciences bio, MBBC, plus neuroscience. Like most LACs, Wesleyan has a high med school placement rate.</p>
<p>But, there’s also Astronomy which for a small department seems to produce a lot of interesting research. The Van Vleck Observatory is a campus landmark.</p>
<p>I mean, I could go through a long list of departments and find solid reasons why they would be considered either popular or distinguished. It would almost be simpler to ask which departments aren’t wildly popular?</p>