At Macalester, we work to cultivate a respectful and affirming learning environment, creating access and inclusion for our students and community. Macalester lives its values through connection, collective action, and shared visioning. Students can foster their growth, sense of belonging, and purpose through a range of programs and student organizations.
Shweta ’26 shares how she holds multiple identities and has found Macalester to be a place where she can grow and explore her talents, interests, and culture. [VIDEO]
Shweta ’26 shares how she holds multiple identities and has found Macalester to be a place where she can grow and explore her talents, interests, and culture. [VIDEO]
Macalester’s student experience is richer, with deeper meaning, when our student body reflects our mission and values. Diverse perspectives from varied backgrounds bring new questions and energizing conversations to everything from classroom discussions to late night chats.
U.S. STUDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS PEOPLE OF COLOR
STUDENTS WHO ARE FIRST GENERATION TO COLLEGE
U.S. STUDENTS WHO ARE PELL GRANT RECIPIENTS
SPOKEN LANGUAGES
COUNTRIES OF REPRESENTATION
ARE STUDENT ATHLETES
There are many ways to engage in conversation, programming, and community around identities and culture. You belong AND you can find belonging, among staff and classmates who are vested in your success and well-being. These campus resources are open without judgment, welcoming students and ready to support them in their college journey.
At Macalester, Juan ’24 found opportunities around the world to further his passion for Neuroscience. As a first generation student he collaborated with mentors and professors to connect to ground-breaking research that led to a role at the Broad Institute in Massachusetts after graduation. [VIDEO]
At Macalester, Juan ’24 found opportunities around the world to further his passion for Neuroscience. As a first generation student he collaborated with mentors and professors to connect to ground-breaking research that led to a role at the Broad Institute in Massachusetts after graduation. [VIDEO]
These examples represent just a fraction of the funding opportunities awarded to Macalester students. Students seek out scholarships and grants through the Academic and Advising Office, Institute for Global Citizenship, and Career Exploration, while professors are consistently connecting their students to opportunities based on their interests and career pursuits.
Every year, student leaders from around the world are each awarded a $10,000 grant to implement a “Project for Peace,” typically over summer break. Macalester students who have received this award have led and participated in projects around health, education, and female empowerment, just to name a few.
Live It Fund supports students in activating the change they wish to see in the world. Students are provided funding and hands-on support in developing, testing, and piloting innovative solutions to complex problems they have identified on campus, in community, and across the globe.
The Racial Justice Project Fund was started specifically for programs, projects, and events that advance racial justice at Macalester. Projects may include speakers and events, art exhibits and installations, performances, partner programs with community organizations, and reading and dialogue groups.
Once enrolled at Macalester, eligible students are invited to participate in programs centered around community engagement and collaboration. Each program is unique in its goals and commitment level. Ametrica, Lives of Commitment, MentorUp, and Bonner start with an application and lead to incredible opportunities to grow and develop alongside classmates.
At any time in your college journey, student organizations are a top way to connect with classmates around shared identities and interests. Outdoor adventure, dance, languages, and community action are just some of the activities that bring students together.
We believe more speech—not less—is vital to learning. We treat differences of opinion as opportunities to learn and grow. We foster an environment that encourages students to remain curious, listen deeply, practice discernment, and maintain a learning stance as they encounter ideas that are unfamiliar or even in conflict with their worldviews, inviting students to engage courageously. Take a look at the ways we come together to grow our understanding and create positive change.
Interested in learning more? Feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] and an Admissions representative will be in touch with you.
Macalester College occupies land in Mni Sota Makoce located less than five miles away from Bdote—the sacred creation site of the Dakota people. Despite the persistent and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism and forcible exile, this very land we are on is cultivated, cared for, and honored since time immemorial by the Dakota, Anishinaabe, and Ho-Chunk peoples.
Macalester engages in ongoing work toward repair and partnership with Dakota people, land, and water, as well as to support Native and Indigenous members of our campus community. We participate in these ongoing efforts by uplifting the work and care of our campus and community members, including the Macalester Native and Indigenous Initiative, and by thinking critically about how we take responsibility for and educate about the land we are on.
We must examine our relationship to the land to understand that recognition of Native and Indigenous land, water, and peoples is not just an acknowledgement of the past. You can take action by visiting Macalester’s Institutional Equity website as well as the virtual Bdote Memory Map to guide us in learning about next steps in this work. These actions are necessary for our current and future legacies.
“At Macalester, we build connections across differences through a deep appreciation for celebrating the variety of lived experiences within the human family.”Dr. Suzanne Rivera Macalester President
