Student Spotlight: Where Is Your Major?
By Ryan Sung '18
“So what are you majoring in?” is probably the most popular question extended family likes to ask when I come home from school, especially after my first year of college. “I’m majoring in media studies with a focus in digital/electronic media and a computer science sequence,” I answer. “Oh I didn’t know CMC had a media studies major,” they reply. “They do,” I say, “but it’s a 5C major housed at Pitzer.” This answer is usually met with blank stares.
To set the record straight, I am a senior at Claremont McKenna College and I major in media studies through Pitzer College. No, I do not attend Pitzer now. Yes, students attending any of the Consortium schools can take classes and major at any of the 5Cs. And no, not everyone who goes to CMC majors in economics or government. CMC also has creatives!
Even within the CMC community, the understanding of 5C and off-campus majors is pretty spotty. But the reality of these programs is probably one of the best resources that I have been able to take advantage of during my four years of college. During my time here, I’ve taken classes at all five colleges, but I've taken the majority at CMC. On the other hand, it is still easy for a CMC student to take the majority of their classes outside CMC, major off-campus, and still fulfill the requirements to graduate on time.
Imagine you go to your local ice cream parlor. You order an ice cream cone, but instead of receiving the scoop of vanilla you asked for, you get a scoop of vanilla and a surprise scoop of strawberry. My experience as a CMC student and media studies major has been much like ordering ice cream. CMC was the original scoop of vanilla I knew I wanted. After all, I applied ED I here. But after spending two years at CMC, I discovered the second scoop of strawberry that was Pitzer’s Intercollegiate Media Studies Department. It’s a perfect match, and an opportunity unique to the Claremont Consortium. I came to CMC undeclared in major and academic focus, so I knew from the beginning that I didn’t choose this institution for any particular major, but for so many other reasons, including the community and opportunities that it provides.
As an off-campus major, I truly experience the best of both worlds here. CMC is the home that has provided me with the family that I wouldn’t trade for anything, and Pitzer’s media studies major has given me the academic focus that I was looking to gain out of my college education. Although it happened by chance, I find that vanilla and strawberry ice cream go pretty well together.
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