Notable programs
BA Economics (Robert Day School of Economics and Finance)
CMC's flagship and most popular major. Curriculum spans micro, macro, econometrics, financial economics, and applied policy work, with Robert Day Scholars program providing additional finance-track preparation, summer internship support, and alumni mentorship to selected students. Senior thesis required. Strong placement into investment banking, management consulting, and PhD economics programs.
BA Government
Anchored by the Rose Institute of State and Local Government (longest-running California ballot-measure tracking in the state) and the Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom. Strong American constitutional and policy emphasis, with paid student research from freshman year. Reliable placement into law school, federal and state government, and policy think tanks.
BA International Relations (Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies)
Joint major across government, economics, and history, with the Keck Center funding student research, faculty seminars, and policy fellowships. Strong placement into State Department, intelligence community fellowships, foreign policy think tanks, and international consulting. Senior thesis required.
MS Finance (one-year graduate program, launched 2024)
Standalone master's launched in 2024 within the Robert Day School. One-year intensive curriculum covering financial modeling, valuation, derivatives, and corporate finance, with summer internship placement and direct CMC alumni network access. Designed for both CMC graduates extending into a 4+1 model and external applicants seeking a focused finance credential.
BA Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
Interdisciplinary joint major drawing on the Salvatori Center, Lowe Institute, and Government department. Modeled loosely on the Oxford PPE program, the curriculum requires depth in all three disciplines and a senior thesis. Strong placement into law school, policy work, and PhD programs in any of the constituent fields.
Open Academy
Institutional initiative built around viewpoint diversity in classroom discussion and campus discourse. Curricular and co-curricular programming, faculty development, and Athenaeum integration aim to produce graduates capable of engaging substantively across political differences. Mixed student reception reflects genuine institutional commitment to a difficult goal.
Athenaeum Dinner-and-Speaker Series
Roughly four nights per week during the academic year, the Athenaeum hosts dinners with senior external speakers β former cabinet secretaries, Fortune 500 CEOs, foreign policy figures, leading academics β placing students at small tables with the speaker. A defining institutional feature with no peer-LAC equivalent at this frequency or access density.
Kravis Leadership Institute
Founded by Henry Kravis (KKR co-founder, CMC alum) to integrate leadership education across the curriculum. Offers leadership coursework, the Kravis-de Roulet Leadership Conference, summer leadership fellowships, and direct programming for students in any major. The institute is a national reference point for undergraduate leadership education.
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