In this Department  No Prerequisites Needed  Prerequisites Needed Catalog  Main Page  General Information   College of Arts and Sciences   Conservatory of Music  Double Degree Program  Other Links  Course Syllabi  Registrar's Office Office/Departmental Directory  Arts and Sciences Main Page Quantitative Proficiency The Oberlin College faculty adopted in 1987 a Quantitative Proficiency Requirement for the B.A. degree. The requirement promotes quantitative proficiency and provides a focus for a College-wide commitment to extend and promote the teaching and application of quantitative skills. The faculty views the Quantitative Proficiency Requirement in terms of its goals, not in terms of a narrowly defined set of mathematical or computational skills. Thus, the requirement is intended to urge students to develop the ability to apply logical thinking to complex problems, to encourage a deeper understanding of numbers, to foster mathematical modeling and incorporating the computer as a potent quantitative tool in many disciplines, and to demonstrate how quantitative practices and techniques are essential to the understanding of important societal issues. Quantitative Proficiency Requirement. All students entering Oberlin College and all students who change divisions from the Conservatory to the College or become double-degree students must earn Quantitative Proficiency Certification for the B.A. degree. The Quantitative Proficiency Committee administers this graduation requirement. Students may satisfy the quantitative proficiency requirement in any of the following three ways: 1. By earning credit in a course designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification - Full," or 2. By certification of quantitative proficiency from the Oberlin College instructors who taught the student in any two of the courses that are designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification - Half." (One of these courses may, by approval of the Quantitative Proficiency Committee, be a private reading course or a Winter Term project), or 3. By a score of 4 or 5 on either the AB or the BC Advanced Placement Calculus Examination, by a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Chemistry Examination, by a score of 4 or 5 on either the B or C (Mechanics) Advanced Placement Examination in Physics, by a score of 5 on the C (Electricity and Magnetism) Advanced Placement Examination in Physics, by a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the A or AB Advanced Placement Computer Science Examination, or by a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Statistics Examination. A passing grade in a course designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification - Full" automatically results in certification of quantitative proficiency. Progress toward certification in a course designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification - Half" depends upon the instructor's appraisal of that proficiency. In any case, students should gain quantitative proficiency certification in their first two years in order to have a wider range of course offerings available to them in subsequent years. Normally, students will satisfy the Quantitative Proficiency Requirement through course work taken at Oberlin or through the Advanced Placement Program. Credit for a specific Oberlin course among those designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification - Full," even if earned by transfer of credit from another institution, will count for purposes of quantitative certification as if the course were taken at Oberlin. Transfer of credit for one or several courses equivalent to Oberlin courses designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification - Half" will not satisfy part or all of the Quantitative Proficiency Requirement under any circumstances. Students may earn Quantitative Proficiency Certification in the courses listed below. In this listing, an asterisk (*) indicates that a course is designated "Quantitative Proficiency Certification - Half." The list is as complete as is possible at the time of publication. Because this list may be incomplete, however, students should check the primary course listings, with the specific department, or with the chair of the Quantitative Proficiency Committee (the committee responsible for making these designations) for more current information.   back to top Courses Without Prerequisites Astronomy 100 Introductory Astronomy* Chemistry 050 Basic Chemistry* Computer Science 150 Principles of Computer Science 221 Object-Oriented Computing Economics 101 Introduction to Political Economy* Geology 111 Glaciology, Ice Ages, and Climate Control* Mathematics 030 Topics in Contemporary Mathematics 050 Dots, Lines, and Coin Flips 080 Lies, Damned Lies, and Decisions 100 Elementary Statistics 113 Statistical Methods for the Social & Behavioral Sciences 114 Statistical Methods for the Biological Sciences 131 Calculus Ia: Limits, Continuity, and Differentiation* 133 Calculus I: Limits, Continuity, Differentiation, Integration, and Applications Physics 052 The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics * 054 Musical Acoustics * 061 The Physics of Sports* 103 Elementary Physics I 110 Mechanics and Relativity Politics 204 Political Inquiry: Investigations into Controversial Issues* Psychology 108 Psychology and the Arts* 119 Colloquium: Applied Psychological Science * back to top Courses With Prerequisites Art 224 The Technology of Greek and Roman Architecture* Biology 318 Evolution* Chemistry 101 Structure and Reactivity* 102 Chemical Principles 103 Topics in General Chemistry 109 Introductory Thermodynamics* 211 Analytical Chemistry 339 Quantum Chemistry and Kinetics 347 Advanced Analytical and Physical Chemistry Lab 349 Chemical and Statistical Thermodynamics 409 Topics in Physical Chemistry Computer Science 151 Principles of Computer Science 210 Computer Organization 235 Computer Application Development 275 Algorithms, Structures and Abstractions 280 Algorithms, Structures and Abstractions 339 Projects in Computer Application Development 342 Computer Networks 383 Theory of Computer Science Economics 206 Financial Management 210 Economic Development in Latin America* 211 Money, Credit and Banking* 219 Labor-Management Relations* 224 Law and Economics* 225 Political Economy of European Integration* 227 International Trade and Finance* 231 Environmental Economics* 251 Intermediate Macroeconomics* 253 Intermediate Microeconomics* 255 Introduction to Econometrics 313 Games and Strategy in Economics* 320 Labor Economics* 326 International Trade* 327 International Finance* 331 Economics of Land, Location, and the Environment* 351 Macroeconomic Theory 353 Microeconomic Theory 355 Advanced Econometrics: Time Series Analysis Environmental Studies 231 Environmental Economics* 331 Economics of Land, Location and Environment* Geology 201 Mineralogy and Optical Crystallography 340 Structural Geology Mathematics 132 Calculus Ib: Integration and Applications 134 Calculus II: Special Functions, Integration Techniques, and Power Series 210 Chaos and Fractals: An Introduction 220 Discrete Mathematics 231 Multivariable Calculus 232 Linear Algebra 234 Differential Equations 301 Advanced Calculus 327 Group Theory 328 Computational Algebra and Algebraic Geometry 329 Rings and Fields 331 Optimization 335 Probability 336 Mathematical Statistics 343 Combinatorics 350 Geometry 356 Complex Analysis 397 Seminar in Mathematical Modeling 399 Seminar in Number Systems Neuroscience 319 Neurophysiology: Neurons to Networks to Behavior* Physics 104 Elementary Physics II 111 Electricity, Magnetism, Optics, Waves 112 Modern Physics 242 Electronics 310 Classical Mechanics 311 Electricity and Magnetism 312 Quantum Mechanics 314 Intermediate Laboratory 410 Statistical Mechanics 412 Applied Quantum Mechanics 414 Advanced Laboratory Psychology 200 Research Methods I 300 Research Methods II 301 Personality/Social Psychology Laboratory 304 Laboratory in Psychological Measurement Sociology 211 Social Research Methods* 235 Gender Stratification*   *Courses designated Quantitative Proficiency- Half   back to top