Colleges Carleton College

Carleton College www.carleton.edu

Carleton College was founded in 1866. It is a private liberal arts college with a campus size of 955 acres located in the historic river town of Northfield, Minnesota, 40 miles south of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Carleton is one of the “International 50,” a group of four-year institutions commended for long-term commitments to international affairs and excellence in education for future leaders. Carleton offers more than 200 student organizations, including the Carleton Juggling F.I.S.H., the One Knight Stands cabaret troupe, and the Knightingales a cappella group. All freshmen are required to live on campus, and about 90 percent of students choose to remain on campus in one of the residence halls, shared interest houses, or campus townhouses. The Goodsell Observatory on Carleton’s campus houses three historic telescopes as well as several modern telescopes available for classes and open houses.

Academics

Carleton is a small, liberal arts college offering 33 different majors and 37 minors. Students also have the option to design their own major. Carleton is one of the few liberal arts colleges to run on the trimester system in which students usually take three classes per 10-week term. Degree students are required to take an Argument & Inquiry Seminar in their first year, a writing-rich course, three quantitative reasoning encounters (courses in which students work with quantitative data and arguments), language, international studies, intercultural domestic studies, humanistic inquiry, literary/artistic analysis, arts practice, science, formal or statistical reasoning, social inquiry, and physical education. The student-faculty ratio at Carleton College is 8:1, and the school has 70% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. Popular majors include Biology, Computer Science, and International Relations and Affairs.

Special Highlights

Critical Conversations at Carleton. The goal of the Critical Conversations (CC) Program is to encourage honest discussions and self-reflection about issues related to diversity and community at Carleton. These conversations are led by trained student facilitators, supported by faculty/staff coaches, and informed by a curriculum of readings and writing assignments. The program integrates theory and personal experience, and explores future possibilities for transformation. The program offers two courses: Community and Diversity, and Talking about Diversity. Students participate in workshops to develop and improve facilitation skills. Readings are complemented by experiential exercises that invite self-reflection on social identity and reactions to difference, diversity, and conflict.

Extracurricular Organizations. The school’s nearly 240 active student organizations include three theater boards (coordinating as many as ten productions every term), long-form and short-form improv groups and a sketch comedy troupe, six a cappella groups, four choirs, seven specialized instrumental ensembles, five dance interest groups, two auditioned dance companies, a successful Mock Trial team, a nationally competitive debate program, and the student-run 24-hour KRLX radio station, which employs more than 200 volunteers each term. The Carletonian is the school’s weekly newspaper; The Cow Print is a satire magazine, published and distributed fortnightly. In five of the last twelve years, Carleton College students received the Best Delegation award at the World Model United Nations competition.

School Mission & Unique Qualities

Carleton College is committed to providing a true liberal arts education—a curriculum that challenges our students to learn broadly and think deeply. Instead of training for one narrow career path, Carleton students develop the knowledge and skills to succeed in any walk of life. The most important thing our students gain is how to learn for a lifetime. Critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and effective communication: these are the tools that transform a collection of facts and figures into a way of understanding the world. Every course at Carleton is taught by a professor – not a teaching assistant – in classes small enough to offer individual attention for our students. When people visit Carleton, they’re often surprised by the warmth and closeness of the campus community. Carleton is a place where students are likelier to cooperate than compete, and where working hard doesn’t mean forgetting how to play.

Student Reviews…

“Professors are personable, and I am comfortable approaching them during office hours to seek assistance. The school’s resources are well-equipped to help students deal with the strenuous courseload of an intellectual school. I feel both challenged and supported here, and I’m extremely confident in my college choice.”