Claremont McKenna College
- Academics

Everything You Want

If you want to study Econ, Gov, or International Relations but also want to get a liberal arts education there is nowhere better to go for undergrad. The professors are incredibly smart and at the same time care about your learning. My biggest class so far has had 25 students and the professor knew all of our names. No TAs. Actual learning from actual PHDs.

Being a Government Major ROCKS!

I have the best professors in the country, I have internship opportunities at my finger tips, and the classes are actually interesting. Being a Government major at CMC definitely has its benefits. There are always guest lectures coming in to speak to us about what is going on in the country/world. Also, the professors usually have a completely different life outside of the classroom, which allows for really interesting stories. The workload is difficult, so be prepared. Gov professors at CMC, along with the Econ professors, are the most respected, but are also the most difficult. Expect to write about 20 pages every 2 weeks and also learn to love the library. I wouldn't change being a gov major for anything!

Not the Place to Find Intense, Hard Academic Learning. Great for Any Othe Priority!

You don't ever walk into a classroom full of nerds at CMC. On the downside, this means not too many enthusiastically technical academic conversations. Nerds exist only in small pockets. On the upside, CMC has a wonderful networking atmosphere. You take classes to get the degree, but you go to CMC to learn how to make connections. It's probably the most useful skill for life. The level of academics reflects this dynamic: classes demand enough that you learn the standard things but give you room for parties, friends, sports, and sleeping in. CMC has a strong business slant. It's unusual for such a small school to have a major specifically for Accounting and a sequence (basically, a minor) for Finance. I took a lot of Accounting classes before I decided on another major, but there are truly several strong professors teaching Accounting. That being said, the overlooked Literature department is my favorite. The overall quality of the Literature professors is very high. The Math department is quite bad but has two very good professors. Also, CMC launched online registration in 2008, and it has made the registration process incredibly easy. I never had difficulty registering for classes I wanted to take, though it helped to be open to one or two alternative classes until second semester junior year. Most Science, Math, and Economics majors seem happy with registration. Some Philosophy and Psychology majors I knew had some difficulty getting courses they needed.