Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana has announced it will eliminate several academic majors — including mathematics, philosophy, and French — as part of a restructuring plan to cut $18 million from operations over four years. The cuts aim to eliminate a $15 million annual deficit that has persisted for more than a decade. Current students who have already declared affected majors can still complete their degrees.

A Liberal Arts College Cutting Liberal Arts Majors

Earlham College has been running at a $15 million annual deficit for more than a decade. This was not a sudden crisis. But in spring 2026, the college reached the point where leadership concluded it could no longer sustain its full academic offering.

In March 2026, President Paul Sniegowski notified the campus community by email that Earlham would sunset several degree programs. The confirmed cuts include majors in mathematics, philosophy, and French — subjects that have anchored liberal arts colleges for generations.1

This is part of a broader restructuring initiated in October 2025, when Earlham announced it would cut $18 million from operating expenses over four years. The plan included reducing staffing costs by 35 percent through hiring freezes, voluntary separations, and position eliminations. By early 2026, 109 roles had been affected, with expected personnel savings of $9.9 million.2

The stated goal is to eliminate the structural deficit by 2030.

Why Earlham Is in This Position

Earlham is a small private liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 800 students. Small liberal arts colleges operate with high fixed costs — faculty salaries, residential infrastructure, library and lab maintenance — relative to the revenue they take in from tuition.

When enrollment falls, that math breaks down quickly. Earlham's situation reflects a structural pattern visible at dozens of similar institutions this spring: declining enrollment, rising costs, reduced international student numbers, and limited endowment cushion.

The college's president wrote that the major elimination process was driven by enrollment, graduation numbers, and sustained student interest in each subject area. Programs with insufficient ongoing enrollment were identified for elimination.

Sniegowski also wrote that Earlham would remain a college "grounded in the liberal arts tradition, including the sciences," and described a commitment to strengthening interdisciplinary connections across remaining programs.

— Per year for more than a decade, per campus leadership

What This Means If You're a Current Student

If you have already declared a major that is being cut: Earlham has confirmed that students who declared these majors before the announcement can still complete their degree requirements. You will not lose your degree path.

If you are early in your Earlham career and planned to major in an affected area, you face a harder choice: pursue a related major that the college still offers, or transfer to an institution that retains your intended field.

If you learn that your college has cut your major after enrollment, act quickly:

  1. Get written confirmation from your registrar or dean that you can complete your original declared major
  2. Identify which courses still satisfy your requirements — some may now need substitutions
  3. Meet with your advisor immediately to map out your remaining path to graduation
  4. Assess transfer options if the program change significantly alters your educational plan

If your college cuts your major, your existing coursework may still transfer. Request official transcripts and a course-by-course equivalency evaluation from any institution you're considering transferring to. Many schools that are actively recruiting students from closing or restructuring programs will expedite this process.

Questions Prospective Students Should Ask Before Choosing Any Small College

Earlham's situation raises questions every student should be asking — not just about Earlham, but about any small private college they are considering.

The financial warning signs are rarely announced upfront. They tend to be visible in publicly available data if you know where to look:

Enrollment trend: Has the college's total enrollment grown or fallen over the last five years? Sustained decline is a red flag. Most institutions report this data through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Program cuts in recent history: Has the school eliminated any departments or majors in the past three years? A pattern of cuts suggests more are possible.

Endowment per student: A larger endowment per enrolled student gives the college more financial cushion to weather enrollment dips. Smaller endowments mean the college is more exposed to revenue fluctuations.

Accreditation status: Has accreditation been reaffirmed recently? Schools in financial distress sometimes face accreditor scrutiny. Check your regional accreditor's public records.

For a broader look at which schools are financially stressed, see private colleges at risk of closing and our review of the wave of college budget cuts happening now.

The Tradeoff at Small Colleges

Small colleges offer real educational advantages: small class sizes, direct faculty access, tight-knit communities, and often stronger undergraduate research opportunities than larger schools. These benefits are real and documented. See what is a liberal arts college and our small college vs. large university comparison for an honest accounting of the tradeoffs.

The financial fragility of some small colleges is the risk on the other side of that equation.

A school that runs chronic deficits, holds limited endowment reserves, and has declining enrollment is not just at risk of cutting programs — it is at risk of the kind of financial failure that leads to sudden closure, as students at multiple institutions have experienced.

Colleges rarely announce financial trouble proactively. Watch for signals: shrinking course offerings, faculty departures, deferred maintenance, declining enrollment news, and any reports of accreditation reviews or financial watch status.

If You Are Choosing a Major and a College

Your major choice and your college choice interact. If you are committed to studying mathematics, philosophy, or French — Earlham is no longer a reliable option for those programs. Stronger options in those fields will be institutions with stable enrollment, a committed faculty in the department, and a demonstrated track record of graduating students in those areas.

Before committing to any institution, understand how much college costs and factor institutional stability into that calculation. A degree from a financially stressed school carries risk — not just of program disruption, but of reputational and transfer complications if closure follows.

Review best majors for long-term value if you're still deciding on a field of study.

Next Steps

  • Research any small college's IPEDS enrollment data before applying
  • Ask admissions offices directly about program stability and any recent academic restructuring
  • Confirm your intended major is not under review or at risk of elimination
  • Review small college vs. large university to weigh your options honestly

Footnotes

  1. Western Wayne News. (2026). Earlham ends some majors to cut costs. Western Wayne News. https://westernwaynenews.com/earlham-ends-some-majors-to-cut-costs/ ↩

  2. Western Wayne News. (2026). Earlham's staffing reductions affect 109 positions. Western Wayne News. https://westernwaynenews.com/earlham-staffing-reductions-109-positions/ ↩