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.
