Carleton College, private coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher learning in Northfield, Minnesota, U.S., about 40 miles (65 km) south of Minneapolis. In 1866 the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches founded Northfield College, and in 1870 the first college class was held. The next year the college was renamed for William Carleton, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, who gave the school $50,000, then the largest donation ever given to a college in the West. Coeducational from its inception, Carleton College graduated its first class, a man and a woman, in 1874. Total current enrollment is about 1,900.
A liberal arts college, Carleton awards the Bachelor of Arts degree and includes instruction in arts and literature, social sciences, mathematics and natural sciences, and humanities; apart from courses in each of these fields, students are also required to learn a second language and to study a different culture. In addition to more than 30 major courses of study, the college offers interdisciplinary concentrations, including African/African American, Asian, educational, and women’s and gender studies; special programs, including environmental and technology studies, Hebrew studies, and cinema and media studies are also offered. Most Carleton students participate in off-campus programs overseas or at other U.S. locations.