Grinnell College has 28 majors and 13 concentrations, and each student works with a faculty advisor to develop an individually-advised curriculum that explores various areas of study. Grinnell’s Liberal Arts Club band celebrates significant figures in the history of these academic programs as well as other people connected to the life of Grinnell College.
Division of Humanities
- Art — Michelangelo
- Art History — Sister Wendy Beckett
- Chinese — King Tang
- Classics — Aristotle
- English — William Shakespeare
- French and Arabic — Victor Hugo
- German — Otto von Bismarck
- Music — Yo Yo Ma
- Philosophy — René Descartes
- Religious Studies — Martin Luther
- Russian — Peter the Great
- Spanish — Miguel de Cervantes
- Theatre and Dance — Misty Copeland
Division of Science
- Biological Chemistry — Justus von Liebig
- Biology — Rosalind Franklin
- Chemistry — Thomas Cech ’70
- Computer Science — Charles Babbage
- General Science — Robert Noyce ’49
- Mathematics — Hypatia
- Statistics — William Playfair
- Physics — Stephen Hawking
- Psychology — B. F. Skinner
Division of Social Studies
- Anthropology — Margaret Mead
- Economics — Adam Smith
- Education — John Dewey
- History — Herodotus
- Physical Education — Vince Lombardi
- Political Science — Condoleezza Rice
- Sociology — Charles Wright Mills
Interdisciplinary Areas of Study
- American Studies Concentration — Martin Luther King Jr.
- East Asian Studies Concentration — Paul Pelliot
- Environmental Studies Concentration — Rachel Carson
- European Studies Concentration — Charlemagne
- Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies , B.A. — Judith Butler
- Global Development Studies Concentration — Angelina Jolie
- Latin American Studies Concentration — Angel Rama
- Linguistics Concentration — Ferdinand de Saussure
- Neuroscience Concentration — Camillo Golgi
- Peace and Conflict Studies Concentration — Malala Yousafzai
- Policy Studies Concentration — Alyssa Mastromonaco
- Russian, Central, and Eastern European Studies Concentration — Grigori Rasputin
- Statistics Concentration — William Playfair
- Technology Studies Concentration — Bill Gates
