economic downturn, with a number of improvements phased-in instead. Improvements were also made to Josselyn in 2011. Academics Vassar confers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in more than 50 majors, including the independent major, in which a student may design a course of study, as well as various interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields of study. Students also participate in such programs as the self-instructional language program (SILP) which offers courses in Hindi, Irish/Gaelic, Korean, Portuguese, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, and Yiddish. Vassar has a flexible curriculum intended to promote breadth in studies. While each field of study has specific requirements for majors, the only universal requirements for graduation are proficiency in a foreign language, a quantitative course, and a freshman writing course. Students are also encouraged to study abroad, which they typically do during one or two semesters of their junior year. Students (usually juniors) may apply for a year or a semester away either in the U.S. or abroad. Vassar sponsors programs in China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, and Russia; students may also join pre-approved programs offered by other colleges. Students may also apply for approved programs at various U.S. institutions, including the historically Black colleges and members of the Twelve College Exchange. All classes are taught by members of the faculty, and there are no graduate students or teachers' assistants. Vassar also offers a variety of correlate sequences, or minors, for intensive study in many disciplines. The most popular undergraduate majors, based on 2021 graduates, were: Biology/Biological Sciences (40) Economics (37) Political Science and Government (36) English Language and Literature (33) Biochemistry (25) Neuroscience (25) Computer and Information Sciences (23) Admissions For the class of 2026 (enrolling fall 2022), Vassar received 11.412 applications and accepted 18.7%. For the class of 2025 (enrolling fall 2021), Vassar received 10,884 applications, a 25% increase over the previous year, and accepted 2,068 (19%). For the class of 2023 (enrolling fall 2019), Vassar received 8,961 applications and accepted 2,127 (23.7%), with 691 enrolling. For the class of 2025 (enrolling fall 2021),the middle 50% range of SAT scores for enrolling freshmen was 710-760 for evidence-based reading and writing, 710-780 for math, and 1420-1520 for the composite. The middle 50% ACT score range was 28-33 for math, 32-34 for English, and 32-34 for the composite. Students of color (including non-citizens) made up 45.5% of the incoming class; international students were