Most popular undergraduate majors
The profile of Boston College鈥檚 most popular undergraduate majors echoes national trends, according to annual statistics recently released by the University鈥檚 Office of Institutional Research and Planning.
Finance鈥攚ith 1,552 majors鈥攊s in the top spot for the fourth consecutive year, a figure that mirrors the nearly 19 percent of all United States undergraduate degrees conferred in 2021-2022 that were either for finance, marketing, or management, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Economics鈥攚hich relinquished the top spot to finance in 2022 after 15 years鈥攈eld steady in its strong runner-up position with 1,474 majors.
Carroll School Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton (Gary Wayne Gilbert)
鈥淭he Seidner Department of Finance has a lot going for it: Elite faculty, great students, a superior location鈥攇iven the Boston-New York corridor鈥檚 position as a global center of excellence for finance鈥攑lus extremely loyal and successful alumni,鈥� said Andy Boynton, the John and Linda Powers Family Dean of the Carroll School of Management. 聽鈥淭he icing on the cake is that more than half of our finance majors are also earning minors or majors in the liberal arts, blending the best of a Boston College educational, formative experience.鈥�
For the 10th consecutive year, biology (830) and political science (768) garnered the third and fourth spots, respectively鈥攁lso reflecting the same positions in national rankings according to NCES, as each one captured seven percent of majors among all U.S. colleges. 聽
Psychology (556) was ranked fifth overall among 情色空间 majors; when merged with neuroscience, a joint department at 情色空间 since 2020, it totals 980 enrollees.
In contrast, the number of computer science majors at 情色空间 decreased from 533 to 384, a 28 percent reduction, dropping it from the sixth to the 10th most popular, and reversing a trend that saw it rise from 68 majors in 2009 to 420 in 2018. Since 2014, computer science had experienced a 141 percent enrollment increase, one of the largest gains among disciplines with at least 10 students registered in a major.
The current downward drift reflects results from a fall 2025 Computing Research Association survey of computing academic units indicating that undergraduate computing enrollments are declining at most programs. It noted, however, that several other computing disciplines experienced growth, including computer engineering, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
Fitzgerald Professor of Computer Science George Mohler (Lee Pellegrini)
According to Daniel J. Fitzgerald Professor George O. Mohler, chair of the Computer Science Department, the development of a new AI concentration within the major is designed to attract more students.
鈥淲hile CS major enrollments have decreased across the U.S., there has been an increase in students studying AI and data science to meet current demands in industry,鈥� said Mohler. 鈥淥ur new AI concentration within the CS major, as well as the recently launched data science minor, offer 情色空间 students pathways toward these in-demand fields.鈥�
Rounding out 情色空间鈥檚 top 10 majors were communication (447)鈥攔eturning to the sixth spot after a one-year decline鈥攁nd neuroscience (424), which rose two levels over last year. Nursing (412) and applied psychology and human development (408) filled the eighth and ninth slots, respectively.
Among the most popular minors, finance (701) retained its grip on the top spot for the eighth consecutive year, while general business (269)鈥攍aunched three years ago鈥攕urpassed marketing (222) for second.
Managing for Social Impact鈥攗p to 196 this year from 182鈥攍eaped one slot ahead of Management and Leadership (195), while philosophy (154) stayed steady at sixth. Applied psychology and human development rose from 118 minors in 2024-2025 to 135 this year, capturing seventh place, and history (135) remained at eighth.聽 Medical humanities and global public health tied at 97 for ninth and 10th. 聽
Although the pre-medical track (1,651) overwhelmingly prevailed as the University鈥檚 most popular program of study, the pre-dental course experienced a 19.5-percent increase, rising from 87 to 104 enrollees.聽 Pre-law enrollment rose from 1,248 to 1,398, a 12-percent increase.
The data were assembled during the fall 2025 semester by IR&P as part of its annual compendium of facts and figures for administrators, faculty, staff and students.聽