Languages at Oberlin

Experience the Joy of Immersion

Whether you hope to translate a Murakami short story, practice public health in Honduras, research punk in Siberia, or discover the business and culture of champagne in France, Oberlin unlocks the transformative power of multilingual learning.

Oberlin Languages At a Glance

16 curricular pathways
100+ language courses offered annually
10+ years as top Fulbright producer
#1 liberal arts college for language and humanities PhDs

Learning a language gives you a new perspective on the world.

Language is a powerful technology. It lays the foundation for meaningful relationships in a global age. It gives students an edge for rigorous academic study and opens professional avenues both at home and abroad. At Oberlin we offer sixteen language-based curricular pathways, four language houses, over a hundred study away programs, and our own immersive faculty-led courses around the world.

A student prepares to speak to the class.

Intensive language courses during Winter Term focus on participation and developing an appreciation and enthusiasm for the language.

Photo credit: John Seyfried

Languages in the Curriculum

Few things are more thrilling than discovering our voice in another language and using it to make new connections.

Sebastiaan Faber, Professor of Hispanic Studies

Sebastiaan Faber in his library.
Photo credit: Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97

Learn the Art of Translation

An interdisciplinary minor, literary translation brings together creative writing, comparative literature, and Oberlin’s many language departments. Students pursuing the minor study the history and theory of literary translation while developing their own extended translation projects. Each year the annual Jed Deppman Translation Symposium invites a distinguished translator to hold workshops before a presentation of student work.

Two students work together, reading and taking notes.
Photo credit: John Seyfried

The Classroom is Just the Beginning

Oberlin’s faculty-designed study away programs bring foreign languages to life by situating academic subjects in real-world geographies. Whether for a month over winter term or part of our June block course, students form life-long memories, putting skills into action and reaping the rewards of their dedicated language study.

A group of students touring a museum.

On location in Rome with Professor Wendy Hyman’s Winter Term group.

Photo credit: Erica Adreini

Study Away At a Glance

45 countries to choose from
100+ study away programs
300 Obies study abroad each year

Oberlin and the Fulbright Award

With close faculty mentoring, excellence in area-specific undergraduate research, and an ethos of global citizenship, Oberlin consistently sends recent graduates on fellowships to teach and conduct research around the world. After more than a decade on the Fulbright top producers list, the fellowship has become a part of Oberlin culture.

Teaching in Benin

Megan Grabill ’21

  • Majors: anthropology, comparative literature, and French
Megan Grabill

Next Steps

Get in touch; we would love to chat.


Campus scene: Peters Hall and Memorial Arch.
Photo credit: Polk Photography