2016-17 Pomona College Catalog 
    
    Mar 19, 2024  
2016-17 Pomona College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG] Use the dropdown above to select the current 2023-24 catalog.

Majors and Minors


Degree Requirements & Academic Regulations

 


 

Majors and Minors 

Majors

Africana Studies 
American Studies 
Anthropology 
Art 
Art History  
Asian American Studies 
Asian Studies 
Biology 
Chemistry 
Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies 
Chinese 
Classics  
Cognitive Science  
Computer Science  
Dance 
Economics 
English 
Environmental Analysis 
French 
Geology 
Gender and Women’s Studies 
German Studies 
History 
International Relations 
Japanese 
Late Antique-Medieval Studies 

 

Latin American Studies  
Linguistics  
Mathematics 
Media Studies 
Middle Eastern Studies 
Molecular Biology 
Music 
Neuroscience 
Philosophy 
Philosophy, Politics and Economics 
Physics 
Politics 
Pre-Engineering* 
Psychology 
Public Policy Analysis 
Religious Studies 
Romance Languages and Literatures 
Russian 
Russian and Eastern European Studies 
Science, Technology and Society 
Sociology 
Spanish 
Theatre 

*See Cooperative Academic Programs 

 

Special Majors

When possible, students are expected to accomplish their academic goals by completing an existing major and/or minor, along with their electives, since much of academic life at Pomona—such as lectures, social gatherings, prizes—is organized around existing majors. However, the College provides a process for students to propose a unique course of major study that is not formally offered among its 48 approved majors. To be successful, a proposed special major curriculum must possess the qualities of depth, breadth and coherence that characterize existing majors in established disciplines and there must be sufficient faculty expertise and ongoing curricular support to sustain the program of study.

Students wishing to complete a special major must ask three permanent faculty members of The Claremont Colleges (at least two must be from Pomona College) with significant expertise in the area of the proposed special major to be members of a special major committee. One of the Pomona members must agree to act as chair of the committee. The committee then develops the rationale and structure for the proposal during meetings scheduled by the student with all three members of the committee. The special major application form lists a number of specific criteria to be considered.

When the student’s committee has settled on a curriculum (at least 50% of which must be from course work offered by permanent Pomona faculty; the rest can be taken at the other Claremont Colleges and/or through an approved abroad program), the chair schedules a meeting with the Curriculum Committee to discuss the proposal. The discussion will concern feasibility, cohesion, suitability for an undergraduate liberal arts college; options available for a comparable course of study within existing majors and minors; and faculty expertise and availability.

If the Curriculum Committee believes the proposal is viable and appropriate, the student and special major committee members finalize the proposed curriculum, often with revisions requested by the Curriculum Committee. The fully detailed application must be submitted to the Curriculum Committee no later than March 1 of the student’s sophomore year, unless the student plans to study abroad in the first semester of the junior year, in which case the proposal should be submitted by November 1 of the sophomore year.

Senior Exercise

Each student’s major will culminate in a senior exercise designed to deepen understanding and integrate the content and method of his or her field of study. Although the exercise will differ from field to field, each requires the student to demonstrate mastery of the methodology, principles and practices of the chosen field. Descriptions of senior exercises for the College’s majors are available in departmental offices. In some cases, portions of the senior exercise are not given course credit but nevertheless must be enrolled in for transcript notation.

The following regulations apply to students who have completed the final semester at the College but have not completed the senior exercise.

  1. Seniors who fail to complete a senior exercise course numbered 190–199 (Seminar, 190; Thesis, 191; Project, 192; Comprehensive Exam, 193; Activity, 195; Reading and Research, 198/199) in their final semester receive F or NC in the course.
  2. In any semester within the following two years, a student may re -enroll for that exercise for a nominal fee.
  3. After two years, the student will be considered withdrawn from the College and may re-enroll for the senior exercise only with the approval of the student’s major department and the Academic Procedures Committee. In this case, the type of senior exercise required is of the department’s choosing and might not be of the sort failed earlier.

Double Majors

Students may complete two majors as part of their undergraduate studies at Pomona College, subject to the approval of both majors’ department chairs and the Academic Procedures Committee. Students pursuing two majors are required to complete all the requirements of each major, including the senior exercises. Some departments may require students to complete additional courses or may otherwise restrict options for a double major when requirements for the two majors overlap.

Minors

The College offers the option of an academic minor. Students may complete one or two minors, in addition to the major. If a double major is pursued, only one minor may be completed. A student may not minor in a department that constitutes a significant component of his or her major. Minors are offered in:

Africana Studies 
American Studies 
Anthropology 
Art 
Art History 
Asian Studies 
Asian American Studies 
Astronomy 
Biology 
Chemistry 
Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies 
Chinese 
Classics 
Cognitive Science 
Computer Science 
Dance 
Economics 
English 
French 
Gender and Women’s Studies 
Geology 

 

German Studies 
History 
Italian  
Italian Studies  
Japanese 
Latin American Studies  
Linguistics 
Mathematics 
Media Studies 
Middle Eastern Studies 
Music 
Philosophy 
Physics 
Politics 
Psychology 
Religious Studies 
Russian 
Science, Technology and Society 
Sociology 
Spanish 
Theatre