Oberlin College Course Catalog

Institutional Requirements

Students are responsible for compliance with the institutional graduation requirements stated in the Oberlin College Course Catalog in effect when they first matriculate at Oberlin, unless action by an appropriate faculty body specifically directs otherwise.

The Bachelor of Arts degree is conferred upon students who have successfully completed:

1. A major.

2. Three Winter Term credits.

3. At least 112 credit hours, subject to the following distribution rules:

a. No more than 56 hours from a single department or program may be applied toward graduation; thus at least 56 hours must be from outside any single department or program. For purposes of this requirement only, course work in two different languages in the same department or program will be counted as though in two different departments or programs in the Humanities.

b. No more than 84 hours within a single division (i.e., Arts and Humanities; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Natural Sciences and Mathematics) may be applied toward graduation; thus, at least 28 of the 112 hours required for graduation must be taken outside the division with the highest number of credits. Of these, no more than five credit hours in Experimental College courses may be applied toward graduation. Students in the Combined Liberal Arts and Engineering Program may apply no more than 63 hours in a single division towards graduation. Students in this program have different graduation requirements; these are described in the Engineering section of this catalog. For students in the College of Arts and Sciences who are not in the Double Degree program, courses in the Conservatory will be counted toward the Humanities (HU) distribution requirement.

c. Double-degree candidates must complete at least 62 hours of non-music liberal arts credit in addition to the music credits required for the Bachelor of Music degree. For more details, see the section on the Double-Degree Program.

d. At least nine credit hours are required in each of the three divisions of the College of Arts and Sciences, taken from at least two departments or programs within each of these divisions. For the purposes of this requirement, course work in two different languages in the same department or program will be counted as though in two different departments or programs in the Humanities.

e. At least nine credit hours in courses dealing with cultural diversity, including foreign languages, are required. These must be taken in at least two departments or programs and may also count toward the nine hours required in each division.

4. Writing Proficiency. This requirement also applies to all transfer and double-degree students. Students changing divisions from Conservatory of Music to College of Arts and Sciences or becoming double-degree candidates are also subject to the requirement. Proficiency may be demonstrated in any of the following ways:

a. by a score of 710 or better on the SAT II: Writing Test, or by a score of 5 on the Advanced Placement Examination in English Literature and Composition;

b. by satisfactory performance on an exemption examination given on campus each semester by the Expository Writing Program;

c. by certification of writing proficiency by two Oberlin College instructors who have taught the student in courses designated for writing proficiency (WR or WRi) in two different departments or programs. For further details please see "Expository Writing Program."

5. Quantitative Proficiency. This may be demonstrated in any of the following ways:

a. by earning credit in one of the courses designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification -Full";

b. by certification of quantitative proficiency by the instructors of any two courses designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification-Half";

c. by the following scores on Advanced Placement Examinations: 4 or 5 on the AB or BC exam in Calculus or 4 or 5 on the AB subscore of the BC exam in Calculus; 4 or 5 on the Chemistry exam; 4 or 5 on the Physics B or C exam; 3, 4, or 5 on the Computer Science AB exam or 3 or higher on the Computer Science A exam; 4 or 5 on the Statistics exam. For further details please see the "Quantitative Proficiency" section of the course listings.

Residence Requirement. Students must complete at least 56 hours of Oberlin College work. Students must also spend at least 4 semesters in residence at Oberlin or enrolled in Oberlin programs. Ordinarily the last semester must be spent in residence at Oberlin.

Marching at Graduation. Students must be registered for work sufficient to complete, by the end of the last semester in residence, all requirements for the degree(s) sought, in order to be eligible to participate in the annual Commencement exercises. Students who have permission to finish their work away from Oberlin may participate in Commencement exercises only after all requirements have been completed and the degree awarded.

Finish Away. A student who lacks at the end of the spring semester not more than eight credit hours or at the end of the fall semester four credit hours required for graduation may apply through the Registrar for permission to complete these hours away from Oberlin. The work may be done at another institution or through Oberlin courses on an Enrolled-Not-in-Residence registration. Permission to complete more than four hours at the end of the fall semester or more than eight hours at the end of the spring semester away from Oberlin will be granted only after careful consideration of educational or personal reasons by the Office of Student Academic Affairs.

In rare cases, a student who has spent at least six semesters in residence or on Oberlin programs and has completed a major, may request a waiver of the last semester-in-residence requirement with a program of up to 15 hours of off-campus study (either Enrolled-Not-In-Residence or study at another institution. Such a request must be justified by a clear educational rationale.