On declaration day last Friday, the scorching 84 degrees meant sweater weather for sophomore students. In accordance with tradition, members of the Class of 2025 swarmed north campus, donning USG-subsidized class sweaters.
The festivities came shortly before the deadline for sophomores pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree to declare their major via TigerHub, Monday, April 17 at 5 p.m. Students pursuing degrees in Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) students declare in April of their first year.
With numbers of concentrators yet to be publicly available, questions remain as to whether the trends visible last year will continue, for example increasing numbers of student majoring in engineering disciplines. The Class of 2025 was the first class to be admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic and thus may strike a unique profile. A group of six independent concentrators pursuing linguistics, not currently offered as a major, signified significant interest in the field.
Students celebrating were invited to take photos with their chosen department’s banner on Cannon Green. The festivities were coupled with Rita’s Italian Ice truck and professional photographers.
Aarushi Adlakha / The Daily Princetonian
For many students, declaration day was a mix of emotions. Sibetter Vasquez ’25, declaring in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), shared her nerves around making such a decision with lasting impact, telling The Daily Princetonian that she was both excited and “a bit nervous.”
“I think after declaring you’re kind of like, is this the right path for me,” she said.
Ariana Di Landro ’25, majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), added to this sentiment of mixed emotions. “It feels like it was definitely something that we were waiting for, but at the same time … it feels too fast, too soon.”
The process of electing a major is complicated for some, with many students choosing a different major from their original plans during their first year.
Kok Wei Pua ’25, majoring in Computer Science (COS), originally thought he would major in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, but after exploring and taking classes in the COS department spring of his first year he could “see [himself] doing that for the next three to four years.”
Pua is a business associate for The Daily Princetonian.
Venezia Garza ’25, majoring in Anthropology via the medical anthropology track, shared a similar experience with a class that drew her into her future major. Not even knowing what medical anthropology was when entering Princeton, Garza said her medical anthropology class in her first year spring made her fall in love with the framework, as it “[allows] me to think about medicine and patients and patient care,” something she says will prepare her for her future in medical school.
Aarushi Adlakha / The Daily Princetonian
Others shared internal battles — often between two majors of interest. Kimberly Cross ’25 said she was deciding between African American Studies (AAS) and Politics throughout her time at Princeton before ultimately deciding to major in AAS only a few days before declaration day celebrations. Her decision came after she realized that she “wanted to do race and public policy.” The AAS department “gave [her] the freedom to do that and pursue race as a focal point rather than just an afterthought,” she said.
The AAS department has recently seen one of the largest rises in declarations, with declarations between the class of 2023 and 2024 increasing by 58.1 percent.
Nicholas Urbati ’25, who like many was debating between Politics and SPIA, chose Politics because of its more flexible course requirements, saying SPIA has “far too many requirements.”
Vasquez had a larger jump, switching from aspirations to major in a STEM field to majoring in SPIA. She cited her aspirations of “helping others in a more community-based way” as the reason for the switch.
For those in larger major, such as COS and SPIA, declaring their major comes with both caution and unique opportunity.
Pua shared optimism for the “flexibility and resources” of COS, saying he feels “very supported.” Still, he recommends that prospective COS majors be proactive due to the department’s size, saying that he reaches out to his advisors every semester.
Vasquez is excited by SPIA’s size as it evokes collaboration, saying that she’s excited to meet other students in her major, “getting to know their paths and their interests and just getting together to hopefully make the world a better place.”
A new wave of independent majors has also emerged with six sophomores declaring independent study in linguistics. While linguistics is currently offered as a certificate, it is not an official major, though the new wave of interest might signify that it could become a major in the future.
Gillian Rosenberg ’25 shared the process she underwent to declare, saying she had to meet with a faculty advisor who would “oversee and talk through” her plan. She then had to list her “reasons for pursuing independent study, why [she] believed this course of study could not be fulfilled in a different department, and what classes [she] plan[s] to take” which was then sent to and approved by the dean of her college.
She said this process was far simpler than other independent declarations, saying the “Linguistics program at Princeton feels like a [major] in a department,” and that linguistics even had a banner on Declaration Day.
Allison Thomas ’25, who also declared her independent study in Linguistics, added that the process was “surprisingly pretty easy” with the only difference from typical majors being an early declaration date, as linguistic majors had to submit their proposal in the fall of sophomore year to get necessary approvals from advisors and department administrators.
Bridget O’Neill is an assistant News editor at the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Correction: A previous version of this article said AAS has declined in majors, it has actually increased. The ‘Prince’ regrets this error.
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