Admissions
Majors and Minors
Explore Bowdoin
| Class Size | |
|---|---|
| Students/class | of total classes |
| Less than 5: | 6.4% |
| 5 to 9: | 18.2% |
| 10 to 19: | 36.6% |
| 20 to 29: | 16.7% |
| 30 to 49: | 17.2% |
| 50 to 74: | 4.6% |
| 75 to 99: | 0.3% |
| over 99: | 0.0% |
| Student to faculty ratio: 10:1 | |
Academic Resources
Bowdoin offers outstanding resources both on and off campus. The Coastal Studies Center on nearby Orr's Island is a prime example. It features a seawater marine laboratory, a solar-powered terrestrial laboratory, and other facilities that allow for research in archaeology, ornithology, ecology, geology, and history. Its great natural beauty attracts photography students and painters, as well.
The facilities on campus are likewise world-class. The Bowdoin College Library has a collection of nearly one million books, not to mention thousands of periodicals, maps, historical documents, electronic journals, and other resources. On campus there are quiet nooks in ivy-covered brick buildings when it's time for reflection, and state-of-the-art science labs when it's time for research; Steinway grand pianos for student recitals; a large atrium space in the union building where much of the College gathers every Friday noon for Common Hour to hear a lecture by a great artist, business leader, environmentalist, politician, or educator; and many more noteworthy resources.
Academic Life
At Bowdoin you are not signing up for a rigid curriculum that gives you only a few opportunities to take that archeology (or neurobiology, or dance…) class you've always wanted to try. We want you to explore your interests. In fact, we insist on it! We have 42 majors and 38 minors to choose from. If that's not enough, you can design your own major. Last year, the college offered 634 courses.
Bowdoin students do their own decision-making.
College is your experience — not your parents’, your roommate’s, your advisor’s, or your dean’s. At Bowdoin there are many resources and people available to assist and support you, but ultimately, you have the opportunity to structure your education. You will decide what courses to take, what to major in, whether to go abroad or not, whether you will attend graduate school or seek employment, and so on.
—Mark Roberts ’05
It's all about learning.
Academics take center stage at Bowdoin College. Our professors are world class (they have Ph.D.'s, they do research, they publish), and they are vested in their students. The academic atmosphere is one of collaboration and inspiration rather than competition. Our students are smart too — last year, they completed 535 independent study projects.
Bowdoin has about 100 approved off-campus study programs. Over 50% of Bowdoin students study away for a semester, usually in their junior year.
Fall 2002 study locations (percentage of students in each)