How to Apply to Economics at Claremont McKenna College: A Major in the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, Not Admitted by Major, With Economics-Accounting and 3+2 Engineering Dual Degree Options, for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is in Claremont, California, one of seven colleges in the Claremont Colleges consortium. The economics major belongs to the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance (RDS). CMC’s departments page says every undergraduate must complete at least one major; you apply to the college, and the pages we read do not describe admission by major or ask you to choose a major at application. This guide covers fall 2027 entry according to CMC’s official information. Business and computer science have their own guides on this site, so they are not covered here.

A note on sources: CMC’s detailed economics major requirements, AP/IB credit rules and conditions for entering the major are in its online course catalog, a third-party catalog system that this guide did not read under its sourcing rules. Those items are therefore marked “not stated on the pages we read”; check the “Catalog” links on the college’s departments page.

1. Degrees and tracks

• Economics major: the departments page says it is part of the Robert Day School, emphasizes understanding economic behavior and institutions and developing analytical skills, and suits careers in business, accounting, law, government or teaching. Requirements are described as flexible: students choose courses to fit their interests, requirements can be modified with the approval of the chair of the faculty, and electives come from an extensive list of special-interest courses.
• Economics-Accounting major: also in RDS; it teaches accounting in a liberal arts setting, stresses analytical, communication and interpersonal skills, and encourages pairing with another area as a dual or double major to prepare for public accounting, consulting and financial management.
• Financial Economics Sequence: not a major but a sequence completed under the Financial Economics Institute (FEI) and noted on the transcript. CMC describes it as rigorously quantitative and designed to complement majors in economics, economics-accounting or mathematics and dual majors with an economics component. The thesis seminar ECON 180 is required for it.
• 3+2 Dual Degree (Economics pathway): three years at CMC and two at a partner engineering program, leading to a BA from CMC and a BS in engineering from the partner. The program has Economics and Integrated Sciences pathways; the partner schools and conditions are in the catalog and are not stated on the pages we read.
• Related programs: the departments page also lists the intercollegiate Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) major, and RDS offers a BA/MA with the Master’s in Finance and a 4+1 BA/MBA (below). The RDS page says the Economics and Economics-Accounting majors totaled about 360 majors in recent years.
• Degree name: the economics major page does not say BA or BS (the 3+2 description says “BA from CMC”). STEM designation: not stated on the pages we read; ask admission or the registrar. Minor: CMC uses “sequences”, similar to minors, made of courses from CMC departments or the other Claremont Colleges.
• Honors and thesis: the RDS thesis FAQ says ECON 180 is a 0.5-unit pass/no-pass seminar taken in the semester you submit your thesis, required for the Financial Economics Sequence, the BA/MA and Honors in Economics, and highly recommended for others. The thesis is a one-unit course graded by your reader.

2. How admission works

• At application: the Common App, Coalition App or QuestBridge, with no preference among them, and only one application per cycle. Admission is holistic, weighing academic and leadership achievement, commitment to CMC’s values, and potential to benefit from and contribute to CMC’s mission.
• Conditions for entering the economics major: when to declare, any GPA minimum, required course grades and whether places are limited are not stated on the pages we read; check the catalog and the registrar.
• Internal transfer: the departments page notes that admission to off-campus majors in the consortium is decided by those programs and is not guaranteed; whether CMC’s own economics major has an internal-transfer threshold is not stated on the pages we read.

3. Prerequisites

• Minimum recommended high school program (first-year instructions): three years of mathematics (preferably four), at least through precalculus, with calculus recommended; at least three years of a foreign language; at least one year of history; at least two years of science. CMC says there is no minimum GPA, that competitive candidates take the most demanding coursework available with strong grades, and that honors and AP courses are strongly recommended. Economics is not listed as a separate high school prerequisite.
• College course sequence: the course numbers and order for calculus, statistics, principles, intermediate micro/macro and econometrics are not stated on the pages we read; see the catalog. The only course numbers we could confirm are ECON 86 (Accounting for Decision Making), ECON 134 (Corporate Finance) and ECON 180 (the thesis seminar), mentioned on the Robert Day Scholars and thesis pages.
• AP / IB credit: not stated on the pages we read; check the catalog or the registrar.

4. Honors, thesis, research and programs

• Thesis: the thesis FAQ says a topic should lend itself to a research question that can be tested empirically with archival data or addressed theoretically with a mathematical model; empirical theses typically examine an outcome and an explanatory variable while controlling for other factors, supported by economic theory. A thesis has at least an introduction, literature review and hypotheses, methods, results and conclusion. Contact possible readers ideally the semester before you write.
• Research institutes: the RDS page says students have many opportunities to research with faculty through RDS research institutes; the departments page lists the Financial Economics Institute and the Lowe Institute of Political Economy.
• Robert Day Scholars: a selective, pre-professional, co-curricular program; the BA track is open to students of all five Claremont undergraduate colleges and selection happens only in the fall of sophomore year. It requires coursework in economics, finance, accounting and leadership: finance is satisfied by ECON 134, accounting by ECON 86 plus a second high-level Economics-Accounting course, plus two leadership courses. Scholars can use up to $10,000 of experiential funding over the program for approved development needs. CMC says the program has about 700 alumni and a 98 to 100 percent placement rate into jobs or further study (the program’s own figure).
• BA/MA in Finance: open only to CMC students; 36 credits, an approved summer finance internship, FIN 300, 301A, 301B and a thesis defense in finance. Because of the demanding requirements, students who study abroad or take courses at the other Claremont Colleges need written approval from the graduate programs director.
• 4+1 BA/MBA: with the Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University; MBA courses begin in senior year with the fifth year full time at CGU and two summer internships. You apply by the end of January of junior year with college transcripts and GMAT scores, and should meet the program director no later than the start of junior year to plan coursework.

5. Rounds, deadlines and materials (the pages do not print a year, so confirm the dates are for fall 2027 entry)

• Early Decision I: 1 November; decisions by 15 December; reply in early January; CSS Profile and FAFSA due 8 November.
• Early Decision II: 10 January; decisions by 15 February; reply in late February; CSS Profile and FAFSA due 17 January.
• Regular Decision: 10 January; decisions by 1 April; reply by 1 May; CSS Profile and FAFSA due 17 January.
• Early Decision is binding: admitted candidates must enroll, withdraw other applications and sign an Early Decision agreement.
• Application fee: $70, with waivers through the Common App and Coalition App systems.
• Materials: school report and counselor recommendation, one teacher recommendation (ideally from English, math, foreign language, science or social science), official transcripts from all secondary schools (reflecting work completed through the end of junior year, the U.S. 11th grade), CMC’s supplemental essays, and FAFSA and CSS Profile if applying for aid. A seventh-semester or tenth-trimester transcript is sent once those grades are available.
• Interview and video: interviews are not required but highly recommended and are evaluative; they last about 30 minutes, are offered from May to mid-December for first-year applicants, and ED I applicants should plan to interview by mid-November. There is also an optional two-minute video after you apply.
• Testing: SAT or ACT is optional for applicants through the fall 2027 entry term; CMC says it will return to test-required for the fall 2028 application cycle. Applicants who do not submit scores are not disadvantaged, but enrolled students are asked to submit scores after enrollment for institutional research only. Self-reported scores are accepted, official scores are required before classes start, and ACT and SAT are superscored by section.
• Merit scholarships: priority consideration for applications submitted by 1 December, with all supporting credentials by 10 January; there is no separate scholarship application.

6. By reader

1. U.S. applicants

• Admission, courses and testing are as above. The pages we read list a single tuition figure and do not mention in-state rates or a home-state preference.
• The Coalition page says all Coalition private institutions, including CMC, meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for domestic and permanent resident admitted students. The QuestBridge National College Match is open only to students who meet CMC’s citizenship or eligible U.S. status requirements, and international students are not eligible.
• CMC states a six-year graduation rate of 93%.

2. International applicants

• CMC says international students are nearly 15% of the student body. International applicants are those without U.S. citizenship (dual citizens, permanent residents and certain others are not included); they follow the standard first-year requirements plus additional ones.
• English: required if your first language is not English or you have not attended a school where English is the primary language of instruction for at least three years. Recommended minimums: TOEFL iBT 100 for tests taken before 21 January 2026 and 5.5 on the new scale afterward (TOEFL Essentials is not accepted); IELTS 7.5; Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency 190; Duolingo 130. Duolingo scores must be sent electronically by Duolingo; for other tests official scores are preferred, but if that is a financial burden you can self-report through the applicant portal with a PDF score report. Scores self-reported in the Common App or Coalition App are not accepted. If you qualify for an exemption that is not applied automatically, request a waiver in the portal.
• Interview: InitialView is the preferred interview for international applicants, and Vericant is also accepted; you can ask them about fee waivers, and CMC has a limited number of waivers. The optional two-minute video does not replace it.
• Financial aid: CMC is need-aware for all international applicants (financial need may be considered in admission), but if admitted it commits to meeting demonstrated need. Apply for aid when you apply for admission, using the CMC Financial Aid Application for International Students in your applicant portal; CMC does not accept the IFSAA or CSS Profile from international applicants, and your admission application will not be reviewed without the completed form. Packages are based entirely on the self-reported information, your family contribution stays fixed for four years, and there is no appeals process. If you do not apply, or are not awarded aid, at admission you cannot apply for aid later.
• Scholarships: merit scholarships are available to all first-year applicants and are decided by the Office of Admission during review, with priority for applications submitted by 1 December; no separate application.
• Credential evaluation and proof of funds: the first-year international page does not mention external credential evaluation, transcript language requirements or specific proof-of-funds documents; the international transfer page says non-English transcripts, score reports, recommendations and other materials need an official English translation.

3. Applicants from China

• CMC’s first-year application and international pages have no separate statement on whether the gaokao is considered, on huikao records, or on Chinese applicants.
• The international page lists regional admission officers, including one whose territory is “Asia (China only)” and Sub-Saharan Africa; contact details are on that page. Ask the Office of Admission about gaokao and transcript requirements.
• The process, optional testing, English requirements, interview and aid rules are the same as in the international section above.

7. Costs

• 2026-27 cost of attendance (USD): tuition $75,300; student activity fee $420; housing (single/double) $12,490; food (19 meals a week plus a $200 flex plan per semester) $10,780; estimated indirect costs (books, transportation, miscellaneous) $3,000; total $101,990.
• First-year students pay a one-time $500 orientation fee. CMC requires health insurance; students who do not submit proof of insurance are enrolled in the Claremont Colleges plan at $3,312 for the year.
• No separate surcharge for the economics major is listed, and none is mentioned on the pages we read.

8. Transfer

• Deadlines: fall entry 15 February, decisions by 4 May, reply by 1 June; spring entry 15 October, decisions by 3 December, reply by 17 December; applications open 1 September. There is no transfer application fee. Aid forms: CSS Profile and FAFSA by 22 October for spring and 22 February for fall.
• Who is a transfer applicant: anyone who has enrolled in a U.S. or international college after high school, regardless of courses or credits. Applicants who already hold a bachelor’s degree are not considered.
• GPA and courses: there is no minimum GPA and no GPA that guarantees admission; CMC says you should have at least a 3.3 to receive serious consideration and that most successful applicants have 3.5 or higher. It prefers full-time enrollment and no unexplained withdrawals. Precalculus is required; calculus is highly recommended, particularly for likely junior standing; there are no other required courses.
• Materials: the Common App for transfers, official transcripts from all colleges, the final high school transcript or proof of equivalency, a College Report from the current or most recent institution, one academic recommendation from a college instructor, and aid forms. The mid-term report is encouraged, not required. Testing is optional.
• Credit: a grade lower than C does not earn transfer credit; the registrar’s page has the policy. Which courses count toward the economics major, and any transfer-specific major rules, are not stated on the pages we read.
• Aid: transfer admission is need-aware. International transfer applicants receive no need-based aid and no merit scholarships, and CMC says not to apply if you need institutional aid. International transfer English requirements match those for first-year international applicants. The transfer page’s own interview note still describes May 2025 to March 2026 for the 2026 cycles, so confirm the 2027 interview schedule.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Apply by 1 November (ED I) or 10 January (ED II, RD); $70 fee; one teacher recommendation; testing optional through fall 2027 entry
• Aim for math through precalculus or beyond; check the catalog for the economics major courses

International applicants:

• Same deadlines; English scores as above (TOEFL 5.5 new scale, IELTS 7.5, Duolingo 130, Cambridge 190); InitialView or Vericant interview recommended
• If you need aid, submit the CMC international aid form with your application; CSS Profile is not accepted; admission is need-aware

Applicants from China:

• Gaokao and huikao requirements are not published on the pages we read; ask the Office of Admission. Otherwise as for international applicants

Transfer students:

• 15 February (fall) or 15 October (spring); precalculus required; a 3.3 GPA is the stated floor for serious consideration
• International transfer applicants get no need-based aid or merit scholarships

Sources: Claremont McKenna College, Departments, majors, programs; Robert Day School of Economics and Finance; About the Robert Day School; Robert Day Scholars Program; RDS Thesis FAQ; Four Plus One; Applying to CMC; First-year application instructions and deadlines; First-year international applicants; Transfer application instructions; International transfer application instructions; 2026-27 costs. Major course requirements sit in the college’s online catalog, which this guide did not read; the deadline pages do not print a year, so confirm the dates are for fall 2027 entry. Check CMC for the latest details.