Carleton College
100 South College St.
Northfield, MN 55057
507-646-4190
email admissions
ENROLLMENT
Undergraduates:
Full-time:
1,725
Freshman retention rate:
95%
COSTS:
Tuition:
$34,460
Room and Board:
$8,818
Fees, books, misc.:
$1,200
FINANCIAL AID:
Freshmen receiving aid:
82%
Average financial aid package:
$15,110
FACULTY:
Full-time:
180
Part-time:
30
Ph.D. (or prof. degree):
97%
Student-faculty ratio:
10:1
Carleton College
Northfield, Minnesoata
Overview / College Video
Since its inception in 1866, Carleton College has been a coeducational, residential, liberal arts college. Sponsored initially by the Congregationalists, Carleton opened its doors in September 1867 as Northfield College. Four years later, William Carleton of Charlestown, Massachusetts, donated $50,000 to the fledgling college, the result of which was the change of name from Northfield to Carleton. Binding church ties were dropped long ago, and the College continues to welcome students from a kaleidoscope of races, religions, and cultures.
Today, first-year classes number about 475 to 500, and the student body is approximately 50 percent men and 50 percent women. The on-campus enrollment of about 1,725 includes students from virtually every state and about twenty-five other countries. About a quarter are from Minnesota, and the next most represented states are Illinois, California, Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington. About 18 percent are students of color, and 10 percent are the first generation of their families to attend college.
Northfield is about 35 miles from the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport and 40 miles from the downtown Twin Cities. Once a traditional small agrarian community, Northfield is also the home of St. Olaf College and several multinational businesses, and a number of its residents now commute to the Twin Cities. Most of the buildings in downtown Northfield look much as they did at the turn of the century. A revitalized river bank and a core of downtown businesses and shops make for pleasant afternoon and evening strolls.
Most first-year students choose to take a first-year seminar, some of which deal with contemporary problems or concerns, others with more esoteric material. Many upperclass students do at least some independent study in their major, and a significant number of students take advantage of internship and work experience.
Normally, 95 percent of Carleton first-year students return for their sophomore year. The most recent figures available show that 85 percent of first-year students graduated in four years or less, and 87 percent graduated within five years.
Academic Life
Carleton's avowed purpose is to provide a liberal arts education of the highest quality. The College teaches the basic skills upon which all higher achievements rest: to read perceptively, to write and speak clearly, and to think analytically. The Carleton education aims to nurture a sense of curiosity and intellectual adventure, an awareness of method and purpose in a variety of fields, and an affinity for quality and integrity wherever they may be found. These values prepare Carleton graduates to lead fully realized lives in a diverse and changing world.
To this end, the Carleton curriculum balances a traditional emphasis upon classic fields of study, or disciplines, with a complementary offering of distribution courses, electives, and interdisciplinary programs. To be awarded the Bachelor of Arts degree, a student must take at least thirty-five courses, two of which must come from arts and literature, two from the humanities, three from the social sciences, and three from mathematics and the natural sciences. In addition, everyone must take at least one course that is centrally concerned with a culture different from his or her own. All students must also satisfy two proficiency requirements: the writing of English and the learning of a second language.
Carleton students normally choose a major during the spring term of their sophomore year. In any given year, 12–15 students graduate with double majors, and about 15 graduate with special majors. All students must complete an integrative exercise, which could include a comprehensive examination, an extensive research project, a major paper, or a public lecture, in their major field, usually in the senior year. Carleton's academic year is composed of three 10-week-long terms: fall, winter, and spring.
All Carleton classes are taught by faculty members rather than graduate students or teaching assistants. Of the 207 faculty members, 184 are full-time, resulting in a student-faculty ratio of 9:1. Of those full-time faculty members, 95 percent hold the highest degree in their academic field. The average class size is about 18, and the average lab size is 15. Most faculty members also serve as academic advisers.
Majors Offered
Carleton grants only one undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Arts. Majors offered are African/African-American studies, American studies, art history, biology, chemistry, classical languages, classical studies, computer science, economics, English, French, French and Francophone studies, geology, German, Greek, history, international relations, Latin, Latin American studies, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, Romance languages, Russian, sociology and anthropology, Spanish, studio art, and women's studies. Students may also self-design their own majors.
In addition to a major, students may elect to study one of sixteen concentrations, integrated interdisciplinary programs that cut across traditional boundaries of academic disciplines and serve to both strengthen and complement the major: African/African-American studies, archaeology, biochemistry, cognitive studies, cross-cultural studies, East Asian studies, educational studies, environmental and technology studies, French and Francophone studies, Latin American studies, media studies, medieval and Renaissance studies, political economy, Russian studies, South Asian studies, and women's studies.
Special programs are available in biochemistry, educational studies, environmental and technology studies, Hebrew/Judaic studies, integrated general studies, linguistics, literary studies, media studies, studies in dance, and theater arts. Carleton offers a teacher education program leading to a secondary teaching license in art, English, French, German, mathematics, Russian, science, the social studies, or Spanish. Elementary licensure is available only in art. The joint liberal arts–engineering program, commonly known as the 3-2 program, is offered in conjunction with either Columbia University or Washington University (St. Louis).
Off-Campus and Study Abroad
Two thirds of Carleton students spend at least one term completing an off-campus program. During any one academic year, more than 350 students are involved in off-campus study in locations such as Australia, Japan, China, England, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Superior National Forest, and Washington, D.C. Each year the College sponsors as many as ten faculty-led off-campus seminars for Carleton students. Through membership in a number of consortia, Carleton students may participate in more than twenty additional international programs lasting from a semester to a full year. Students may also select from a list of programs sponsored by other institutions, consortia, and agencies that Carleton has evaluated and approved for academic credit, or they can request approval of a program that they and their academic advisers believe will further their educational goals.
Campus Life
Carleton students are actively involved in nearly 100 organizations, clubs, and other activities, ranging from the Carleton Singers and the improvisational comedy troupe Cujokra to Ultimate Frisbee (Carleton's women's team won the national intercollegiate championship in 2000, and the men's team won in 2001) and one of the top Model United Nations teams in the country. Musicians can play in the orchestra or smaller ensembles or sing in the choir, the Carleton Singers, or the a cappella Knights or Knightengales.
Facilities and Resources
The Carleton campus consists of more than 900 acres of land, about 450 of which are the Cowling Arboretum, a game and nature preserve used regularly as an outdoor laboratory for biology, chemistry, and geology as well as a recreational area. Twenty miles of running and skiing trails crisscross the "arb," which Runner's World has named the best place to run in the state of Minnesota.
Approximately forty buildings are found on the College's main campus of nearly 100 acres. Nine are student residence halls ranging in capacity from 110 to 205. A new $12-million, 80,000-square-foot field house/recreation center opened in April 2000. The Music and Drama Center offers a concert hall seating 500 and a theater seating 460, joined by a gallery, ensemble rooms, practice rooms, dressing rooms, and scenery and costume storage rooms. Recent construction has doubled the amount of art studio and gallery space and expanded the library to twice its original size and capacity. Three buildings are devoted to the sciences: Olin (physics and psychology), Mudd (chemistry and geology), and the newest, Hulings (biology), a $15-million, four-level building completed in 1995. Goodsell Observatory houses a 16-inch visual refractor telescope and an 8-inch photographic refractor telescope. The four-story Center for Mathematics and Computing (CMC) opened in 1993 and offers microcomputing labs open around the clock, with lab assistants available 16 hours a day. Along with six other labs distributed around campus, they provide easy access to a wide range of applications, free printing, and specialized multimedia equipment. The campus has more than 600 advanced workstations and personal computers, all of which are linked to the high-speed campus network. In the residence halls, every room provides Ethernet connections, allowing students to plug in their own computers for access to the campus network and a wide range of other information sources.
Sports / Varsity Athletics
Athletes can participate in one of ten varsity sports for men or eleven for women, one of eighteen competitive club teams, or any of fifteen intramural sports.
Financial Aid / Scholarships
Carleton meets the full demonstrated financial need of every student admitted to the College and continues meeting each student's need for four years or until graduation. An on-campus job of 8 to 10 hours per week and a loan opportunity are included in nearly every financial aid package. About 80 percent of Carleton students received a total of more than $21 million in financial aid or scholarships from all sources. Fifty-eight percent received grant assistance; the average need-based grant was $16,997. The only non-need scholarships the College offers are sixty-five to seventy-five Carleton-sponsored National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholarships.
Admission Requirements / Application
Carleton normally receives about 4,700 applications for the approximately 500 places available in the first-year class. Admission is based on several considerations: superior academic achievement, personal qualities and interests, participation in extracurricular activities, and potential for development as a student and a graduate of the College. The Admissions Committee weighs all factors to ensure that those students offered admission are not only adequately prepared for the academic work but also will benefit from their total experience at Carleton and will add significantly to the College through their individual talents and personal qualities.
Students interested in applying for admission should contact the Office of Admissions to request an application. Interviews, with either a staff member or an alumni admissions representative, are recommended but not required. A visit to the campus is strongly encouraged. During the academic year, overnight stays, interviews, and class visits are usually available but must be scheduled in advance.
Students who decide that Carleton is their first-choice college are encouraged to apply for early decision by November 15, first round, or by January 15, second round. The application deadline for regular decision is January 15. Regular decision candidates are notified before April 15, and the candidate's reply date is May 1.
