Members of Carleton’s class of 2026 officially declared their majors during the first week of Spring Term. The declaration process involved filling out a simple form with a dropdown selection of the college’s departments. This week, students had the opportunity to celebrate the milestone with a college-run major declaration event. On Thursday, Apr. 18, sophomores are invited to the Great Hall to pick up department pins and candy and take photos with their peers.
The event has historically been a great way to recognize the accomplishment and get to know other students. In recent years, STEM majors have represented the vast majority of declarations. As of last year, 60% of juniors and seniors studied STEM fields. In order, the most popular majors were: computer science, biology, political science/international relations, economics, chemistry, mathematics, and psychology.
Of the newly declared sophomores, 68 declared computer science, 50 declared biology, 46 declared psychology, 44 declared economics, 40 declared physics, and 36 declared political science/international relations. This is the fourth consecutive year that computer science was the most declared major.
Sophomore Perri Thompson, who is proudly part of the surge in STEM majors, said she “heard [the] biology major got bigger this year. I spoke to someone who was in a COVID-19 class that was only around 40 majors, but I guess we should be up possibly double that this year! I think that is super promising for the department, and I am super excited!” Adriana Wiggins ’26, a statistics major, thought finally declaring is “a huge relief!” and she hopes being officially a member of the department will help her further explore her academic and pre-professional interests.
Miah Francis ’26, a newly declared double major in studio art and sociology/anthropology, remarked on the difficulty of declaring two majors at such an academically intense school. After beginning the double major process, she wishes that “Carleton had more resources to encourage double majoring, considering its population of students with multidisciplinary interests and talents. It often feels like there is a fear that in [by] enabling students’ easier access to this path it will be abused by those who feel pressured to double major just for appearances.” But she finds that worry completely out of touch with the double majors she knows, including herself. She chose to pursue two majors “always due to passions that students refuse to sacrifice in turn for an easier path.”
The event was organized by sophomore student ambassadors Thea Comas and Ronnie Ross. Comas was excited to play a role in the creation of the event. She remarked — and said what many sophomores, including myself, were thinking — that “declaring a major is one of the more anticipated milestones in your college career, but when the time comes all it is is clicking a button on the Hub. No confetti or anything.” So, when she and Ross began their planning, their “goal [was] to make this milestone a little more fun for everyone by hosting a celebration where sophomores can pick up their major and minor pins, take photos with friends and take some candy for the road.”
Coordinating logistics with all the departments was difficult, and the pair “spent the last few months reaching out to the departments to confirm the pin designs and then making the pins — some were sent out to be made by print services, but many were made by your very own student ambassadors!” Comas and Ross said they “hope that other sophomores are as excited as we are to rep our majors with the inaugural collection of the pins during the celebration!”
After students receive their coveted buttons, further festivities are left to individual departments. Departments in the coming weeks host events such as ice cream socials and lunches, and often provide free merchandise. Similarly, minor declaration happens via another form sometime between the end of a student’s sixth term and the beginning of their tenth.
