Claremont Colleges - Majors

If I was accepted to one of the 5 colleges, and a major in another college interested me, would I be able to major in that? And if I was, which college name would be written on my degree - the one which I was initially accepted into, or the one from which I chose my major?

If the college is Pomona, then no. For the other 4 colleges yes, (I believe there is a stipulation if “as long as that college doesn’t offer that major”).

The name on the degree would be the school you were accepted to. Also remember that is the school whose general (or core) requirements you will need to fulfill.

Thank you so much!

You can also not do engineering at Mudd (besides a 3-2 program, where you get one degree from Scripps/Pitzer/CMC and the other from Mudd), and Public Policy Analysis at Pomona is currently closed to off-campus majors.

Sometimes students end up doing this, but generally they decide partway through their degree instead of gong in with that intention.

I don’t know about that…It would be interesting to learn the stats. I think CS is a perfect example of someone who goes in knowing they will be majoring on another campus. I can definitely see someone preferring (or only getting admitted to) one of the other campuses but still wanting to major in CS (at Mudd or Pomona).

I suspect there might be a decent number of Scripps students might know going in they want to major on another campus. A woman may like everything about a woman’s college but want a major not offered at Scripps. Similarly someone might like the focus of Pitzer or CMC but want a major found elsewhere.

On the flip side, my guess is there probably aren’t too many that go to Mudd with the intention of majoring elsewhere.

Can someone please help me with a related question? My daughter is accepted to CMC. She is considering CMC and an east coast LAC. She doesn’t know what she wants to major in. So it is important that if she goes to CMC she has the flexibility to take courses at the other colleges. I know there have to be restrictions, either explicit (like you can only take 1 course at another college per semester) or implicit (like if you want to major in engineering at Harvey Mudd you have to be approved for the major and no one outside Mudd ever gets approved). Can someone either direct me to a web site or explain what these restrictions are? All I’ve seen so far is you can take courses and major at other schools. As I said, I can’t believe this is the full story.

It is surprisingly flexible. My kid cross registered for at least one course every semester except her first, I think (kid was a Mudder with a passion for TS Eliot, and managed to take 3 different courses focused on his work around the Claremonts while completing her Mudd secondary concentration in literature). The CMC website is probably the most instructive on whether they have restrictions, since that is where she would be enrolled.

Actually, you can major in Engineering at CMC (sort of). They have a 3-2 program, which allows the student to major in Economics at CMC, and then transfer to an engineering school (Harvey Mudd, or other affiliated schools, like Columbia, WUSL, or Stanford) for engineering. After 5 years, you earn a B.A. in Econ from CMC, and a B.S in engineering from the transfer school.

The thing with CMC is you’re not forced to declare your major early on. Many students experience many different disciplines before finding what they want. Others know right away.

Now, as far as taking courses at the other 5C’s, it really is unlimited, as long as you know what you need to fulfill core requirements and major requirements, take all you want elsewhere. The truth is there are classes any 5C student will want to take at another school, or have to take because it’s not offered at their home school. But don’t take my word for it, call the admissions office. They’ll give you the 411.

@AR1130 - Taking classes off campus is very easy…MOST of the time. There are a few classes here and there that have a limited number of seats for off campus students or don’t allow them at all. But if your student is actually majoring off campus, I believe she will be treated (and given priority) like anyone else in that major.

My D (Scrippsie) had 1 or 2 classes at another campus almost every semester. My S has also taken classes off campus. Never been a problem (beyond the typical…“I can’t get into that popular class because my registration is too late”—but that would be true of an on campus class as well). Neither of them actually majored off campus so I can’t speak directly to that.

I found this:
http://catalog.claremontmckenna.edu/content.php?catoid=17&navoid=1512#Major_Requirements

And this link specifies the majors offered at CMC (including the 3/2, that 84stag mentioned)

http://catalog.claremontmckenna.edu/content.php?catoid=17&navoid=1500

Here is a blog about one CMC student that majors at Pitzer:

https://online.cmc.edu/student-spotlight-off-campus-majors

Thanks for the help, everyone! It sounds like there is alot of flexibility…