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A single “Integrated Sciences” major is replacing other science majors at Claremont McKenna College, leaving some students frustrated. (Anjali Rao • The Student Life)
Beginning with this year’s freshman class, students at Claremont McKenna College will not be able to pursue majors in specific STEM fields including chemistry, neuroscience or biology. Instead, the majors have been replaced by a single “Integrated Sciences” major. The change, which follows CMC’s decision to pull out of the joint W.M. Keck Science Department, has prompted concern and frustration among first-years on campus.
According to Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences (KDIS) webpage, the new major is centered around human health, the brain and the planet.
“The program is designed to offer CMC students an exceptionally strong background in the sciences using innovative pedagogies and curricular design,” the page reads. “It leverages both experimentation and computation as powerful approaches for discovery.”
For some first-years like Gabe Gardner CM ’28, the change came as a surprise. When he committed to CMC in December 2023 through the college’s binding Early Decision program, he was under the impression that he would be able to pursue a major in Environment, Economics, and Politics (EEP) — formerly one of the college’s most popular science majors, along with Science Management.
Gardner realized this was not the case last spring — several months after he’d committed to CMC — when he received an email saying that the major he initially applied for would no longer be offered.
“It was a big shock for me,” he said. “CMC was my dream school because of the major.”
Before this change, Gardner prepared for the major he thought he could pursue, even meeting with current students in the major and talking to professors about it.
“I decided [at] the beginning of my [high school] junior year that CMC was my dream school, so I’d known about the major for a while,” he said. “I researched EEP for a year.”
William Wales CM ’28, who also applied to CMC as an EEP major, described how he was “rolled over” into the Integrated Sciences major upon arriving.
“I wish I had this information sooner because I didn’t really come to terms with this change until 48 hours before class registration,” he said.
Wales mentioned how he heard rumors that KDIS was considering reinstating the EEP and Science Management majors through sessions on the new Integrated Sciences department and discussions with faculty members.
“I wish there were some kind of official policy on whether these majors are coming back next year,” Wales said. “I’m taking chemistry right now to keep a major that might not even be an option later on.”
While students can recreate the Science Management or EEP major by dualling in Integrated Sciences and a humanities subject, doing so would prevent them from pursuing a specific track within Integrated Sciences.
“There isn’t really a dual major you can do that can fulfill what EEP promised to people,” Gardner said. “It’s imperative to look into bringing [it] back.”
Gardner is now pursuing a Government and Classical Studies major at CMC, although he still wants to combine environmental and political studies in his academics.
“I think I can still go on the same route, it’s just less of a direct [one],” he said. “I have to take electives and other classes to fulfill the education I would have received in EEP.”
The KDIS website elaborates on options for CMC students who are still seeking a pure science major.
“As a member of The Claremont Colleges, CMC students wishing to major in a science field other than Integrated Sciences can request a major at the W.M. Keck Science Department, Harvey Mudd College, or Pomona College,” the site reads. “Acceptance into those majors is determined by those programs and is not guaranteed.”
Unlike those in the class of 2028, Leo Sundstrom CM ’25, who declared his major before this year’s change, can continue pursuing the Science Management major. Though initially thrown off by its elimination, Sundstrom feels optimistic about the change,
“I was kind of surprised and bummed,” Sundstrom said. “But the more that I’ve thought about it, CMC is differentiating themselves and pushing the envelope in a lot of different aspects of what it means to be a university.”
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