Campus

Report

Notre Dame Marriage Pact · 2025 ·

Notre Dame. It’s nice to see you. We come bearing gifts.

We thought we’d share a bit about Notre Dame’s romantic playing field——just so you know what you’re up against.

And this time, we’re trying something new. See exactly how you and your friends compare to everyone at Notre Dame. Don’t let the power get to your head.

Our analysis is built upon anonymized and aggregated data from the Notre Dame Marriage Pact. It will never be sold or shared for commercial purposes. You can read more about our principles and practices here.

Maybe it is a

You Problem

For the first time in Notre Dame Marriage Pact history, see how you stack up against your ~~romantic prospects~~ fellow classmates. Maybe it really is you, after all. Much to think about.

Major

breakdown

Your major, your concentration, your greatest disappointment to your parents. Sit back and enjoy judging all the majors that aren’t your own.

Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies majors would rather fail a test than cheat

Gold star! Here’s how different majors answered the question: “I would rather fail an exam than cheat on it”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies	0.03	0.11	0.08	0.06	0.19	0.11	0.42	x̄=5.28	n=36
Physics	0.03	0.09	0.18	0.06	0.18	0.29	0.18	x̄=4.85	n=34
English Language and Literature	0.05	0.05	0.22	0.05	0.24	0.22	0.16	x̄=4.68	n=37
Biology/Biological Sciences	0.04	0.15	0.22	0.12	0.16	0.15	0.16	x̄=4.30	n=162
Neuroscience	0.04	0.17	0.21	0.09	0.20	0.15	0.14	x̄=4.24	n=220
Mechanical Engineering	0.09	0.09	0.25	0.08	0.16	0.18	0.14	x̄=4.22	n=165
Political Science and Government	0.07	0.16	0.20	0.12	0.17	0.17	0.10	x̄=4.11	n=195
Marketing/Marketing Management	0.07	0.17	0.25	0.20	0.16	0.10	0.05	x̄=3.73	n=92
Finance	0.13	0.15	0.22	0.15	0.15	0.11	0.09	x̄=3.73	n=469
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics	0.11	0.15	0.30	0.10	0.12	0.12	0.09	x̄=3.69	n=185

Is AI a net good for society?

Only time will tell. Here’s how that question breaks down by field of study. Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies majors, hopefully our future overlords don’t hear about this.

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies	2.72	n=36
English Language and Literature	2.84	n=37
Architecture	3.16	n=69
Political Science and Government	3.50	n=195
Neuroscience	3.88	n=220
Mechanical Engineering	3.88	n=165
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics	4.22	n=185
Business Administration and Management	4.28	n=150
Finance	4.46	n=469

Smartest majors (self-reported)

These are the majors with the highest average response to the question “Are you smarter than most people at Notre Dame?”

Physics
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Computational Science
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer and Information Sciences
Chemical Engineering
Finance
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics

Machiavellian majors

Majors ranked by their Machiavellian tendencies (revenge, getting ahead, ruthless ambition, etc.) Maybe keep one eye open when you nap in lecture.

Finance
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
Marketing/Marketing Management
Business Administration and Management
Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies
Applied Math
Accounting

English Language and Literature
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies

Note: majors with 30 or fewer respondents are omitted to protect their privacy in this analysis.

It’s your world

We’re all just living in it, no? Here’s how power-hungry we are at Notre Dame. Don’t forget about us when you reach the top.

Republicans want to be part of the 1%, socialists don’t

Gold diggers, pay attention: Here’s how we answered “I want to be part of the 1%.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Republican	0.02	0.03	0.05	0.13	0.23	0.22	0.31	x̄=5.42	n=769
Conservative	0.02	0.06	0.09	0.13	0.22	0.22	0.25	x̄=5.14	n=486
Apolitical	0.01	0.07	0.14	0.13	0.28	0.10	0.27	x̄=4.98	n=86
Independent	0.05	0.08	0.10	0.15	0.23	0.17	0.23	x̄=4.83	n=644
Democrat	0.07	0.07	0.14	0.18	0.24	0.15	0.15	x̄=4.52	n=801
Liberal	0.11	0.11	0.16	0.16	0.20	0.14	0.12	x̄=4.10	n=269
Socialist	0.39	0.16	0.13	0.03	0.13	0.06	0.10	x̄=2.94	n=31

Yet, socialists believe they can change the world

To everyone else——keep up. Here’s how we answered, “I believe I can truly change the world.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Socialist	0.06	0.00	0.03	0.00	0.35	0.19	0.35	x̄=5.58	n=31
Democrat	0.01	0.03	0.09	0.19	0.34	0.21	0.13	x̄=4.98	n=801
Liberal	0.01	0.04	0.10	0.17	0.32	0.21	0.14	x̄=4.95	n=269
Independent	0.01	0.04	0.11	0.16	0.32	0.22	0.13	x̄=4.94	n=644
Conservative	0.01	0.03	0.11	0.17	0.33	0.21	0.12	x̄=4.92	n=486
Apolitical	0.01	0.03	0.09	0.24	0.29	0.16	0.16	x̄=4.91	n=86
Republican	0.01	0.06	0.12	0.22	0.33	0.15	0.11	x̄=4.68	n=769

Atheist students are the most important people in their own lives

Don’t tell the big man upstairs. Here’s how we answered “I’m the most important person in my life.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Protestant	3.09	n=143
Catholic	3.39	n=2467
Christian	3.45	n=236
Agnostic	4.19	n=159
Spiritual	4.29	n=59
Atheist	4.50	n=56

Only children have only-child syndrome

Same question as above——this time by birth order.

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Middle	3.42	n=729
Oldest	3.44	n=1136
Youngest	3.54	n=1110
Only	3.69	n=229

Topics to avoid

at the dinner table

Time to get political. Dare you to keep these in your back pocket for your next first date.

71% of socialists wouldn’t date a Republican

Each box indicates the percentage of the political identity listed to the left who reported they don’t want their partner to have the political identity listed above.

	Socialist	Liberal	Democrat	Apolitical	Independent	Conservative	Republican
Socialist	0.03	0.03	0.10	0.32	0.13	0.65	0.71
Liberal	0.07	0.02	0.01	0.07	0.01	0.24	0.35
Democrat	0.04	0.03	0.04	0.12	0.05	0.28	0.34
Apolitical	0.02	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.00	0.01
Independent	0.07	0.02	0.02	0.04	0.01	0.04	0.07
Conservative	0.33	0.25	0.26	0.11	0.05	0.02	0.02
Republican	0.39	0.31	0.38	0.15	0.09	0.02	0.03

You’ve changed, Notre Dame

At least a little. We’ve run the Notre Dame Marriage Pact six times since spring 2021——here’s how our political beliefs have evolved over the years.

Note: in fall 2023, we added several new political identities to the options.

Let’s Talk

About Sex

Going out with a bang. Here’s a look at what Notre Dame students are getting up to in the bedroom.

Bringing politics into the bedroom

...is always a good idea! Here’s how students with different political identities answered the question “I generally like to take control during sex.”

	I’d rather not 🥺 Give me the reins 😈
Democrat	3.44	n=801
Liberal	3.51	n=269
Independent	3.73	n=644
Republican	3.75	n=769
Conservative	3.91	n=486
Apolitical	3.92	n=86
Socialist	4.77	n=31

What’s the easiest major?

No, not that kind of easy. Here’s how the different majors at Notre Dame answered the question “How long do you think it’s appropriate to wait before sex?”

	Zero wait Until marriage
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Finance	0.04	0.10	0.28	0.27	0.16	0.07	0.09	x̄=3.97	n=469
Marketing/Marketing Management	0.00	0.16	0.21	0.24	0.17	0.14	0.08	x̄=4.15	n=92
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics	0.03	0.08	0.22	0.30	0.17	0.08	0.12	x̄=4.21	n=185
Political Science and Government	0.02	0.09	0.19	0.24	0.17	0.11	0.17	x̄=4.50	n=195
Biology/Biological Sciences	0.01	0.05	0.22	0.26	0.22	0.11	0.14	x̄=4.53	n=162
Mechanical Engineering	0.01	0.05	0.19	0.21	0.25	0.11	0.18	x̄=4.67	n=165
Neuroscience	0.01	0.06	0.17	0.24	0.17	0.15	0.20	x̄=4.73	n=220
Biochemistry	0.02	0.06	0.08	0.17	0.25	0.13	0.29	x̄=5.10	n=48
Physics	0.00	0.06	0.15	0.12	0.24	0.12	0.32	x̄=5.18	n=34
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies	0.00	0.00	0.08	0.14	0.19	0.06	0.53	x̄=5.81	n=36

Agnostic students would bring a hookup home to an unmade bed

Chaotic AND sexy. Here’s how each religion answered, “I would never bring a hookup home to an unmade bed.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Agnostic	4.19	n=159
Atheist	4.21	n=56
Spiritual	4.41	n=59
Christian	4.49	n=236
Catholic	4.59	n=2467
Protestant	4.96	n=143

Join our team ·

Had fun this year? Help us spread the good word.

Help launch next year’s Notre Dame Marriage Pact, or help launch Marriage Pacts across the country.

apply.marriagepact.com

Applications close Wed 5/06 at 11:59pm