Concentrations

Concentrations are interdisciplinary programs that connect your academics to the world beyond Smith. These programs include dedicated gateway and capstone courses, four electives from across the curriculum, and two practical experiences. You can apply to a concentration after declaring a major, typically in the sophomore year. Each concentration accepts up to 15 students each year. Application information and deadlines are on each concentration’s website.

Fall 2024 Dates & Deadlines

Presentation of the Concentration

Friday, October 4 at 12:15 p.m., Campus Center Carroll Room
Meet with faculty and staff representing the 11 concentrations to find the one that is right for you.

Application Deadline: October 16

See individual concentration pages to access the application.

Expand Your Interests

Archives

Explore archives of all kinds—for classroom assignments, hands on experience, and public history projects.

Student working with papers at a table in the college archives

Book Studies

Survey the history, art, and technology of the book and connect to the unusual richness of book-related resources in the Five College area.

Smith College Letterpress Typography

Collaborative Innovation

Build your capacities of collaboration and system thinking needed to understand and address complex challenges.

Two students writing on the whiteboard

Environmental

Delve into issues related to the environment, ecological design, and sustainability through disciplines across the college.

Student and professor conducting research on the pond

Global Finance

Learn about global financial markets and their effects on inclusive economic development and growth.

Conway Center Financial Education

Interdisciplinary Making

Practice making across the curriculum, deepen your knowledge through experimentation, and collaborate with community partners.

Journalism

Explore the fundamental role of writing for the public that leverages in-depth research, clear-headed analysis, and different points of view.

Museums

Learn about institutions that shape knowledge and understanding through collection, preservation, interpretation, and display of material culture.

Poetry

Delve deep into the craft of poetry and explore what it means to be an engaged literary citizen.

A group of students studying poetry

Translation Studies

Encounter a space where language, culture, history, politics, and incommensurable difference collide—and sometimes cohere—to make sense.

Students looking at books in the Mortimer Rare Book Room

Frequently Asked Questions

Concentrations offer you the chance to understand complex issues through interdisciplinary perspectives. You’ll have opportunities for hands-on projects and internships, which will enhance your learning, help you discover your passions, and prepare you for a unique career path.

There are three main differences: 

  1. Majors and minors often have a single disciplinary focus, while concentrations are all interdisciplinary.
  2. Concentrations require two practical experiences, at least one of which must be an off-campus summer internship.
  3. Concentrations have dedicated gateway and capstone experiences.

Yes! Concentrations are a great way to add a third credential to your transcript. Learn more.

The college allows up to three major courses to count towards fulfillment of your concentration. See individual concentration websites for further restrictions.

Your concentration adviser can help you identify practical experiences, including internships. The Lazarus Center for Career Development also offers career-specific advisers who can help you explore possibilities.

Yes! You have the option of earning 0.25 S/U credit for each qualifying internship. Learn more.

No, it doesn’t need to, but it can! For example, you might be an art student who pursues a museums concentration to gain insight into museum work and associated professional roles.

In Practice

Concentrations connect students to opportunities across the curriculum and beyond campus. Check out a few recent examples.

Adrie Rose AC’22 brought an idea to the director of the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center in her senior year: Smith College should have its own chapbook press, to publish historically excluded voices, especially women, LGBTQIA++, and BIPOC poets. Nine Syllables Press publishes one chapbook a year, affording a multitude of professional practice opportunities to Poetry Concentration and Book Studies students, ranging from hands-on editorial experience with submitted manuscripts, to designing a cover for the collection that's chosen for our annual contest. Our first contest winner, Desire//Halves by Jai Hamid Bashir, will be available October 2024.

Collaborative Innovation

After learning about equity-centered design through an internship with the Creative Reaction Lab, Vanessa Nicole Burgos-Ramos ‘24, GOV major and CIX concentrator, applied that design methodology in a capstone project with Valley Venture Mentors to propose a framework for collaboration across funders, coaches, support organizations, and entrepreneurs to envision more equitable approaches to entrepreneurship ecosystem building in Western Massachusetts.

Additional Resources

From logistics like forms to guidance on securing an internship to help you complete or reinforce your concentration, check out these valuable resources.

Program of Study Declaration Form Lazarus Center for Career Development Celebrating Collaborations