Lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions from prospective students about Winter Term at Oberlin. What is it? What can students do? How much help do students get with choosing a project? While there have been many blogs about Winter Term in the past (which I highly recommend checking out) I nevertheless wanted to write a blog to consolidate basic information and a few anecdotes about Winter Term into one place.
For me, Winter Term was definitely a big reason why Oberlin was my top college. I really liked the idea of having an entire month of dedicated time and support to pursue a project of my choosing. I hope that after reading this blog you’ll have a better sense of what Winter Term is, and maybe it will even become part of your “Why Oberlin” story as well!
What is Winter Term? During the month of January students pursue a project of their choice. This could be an individual or group project, study abroad, research, or any other type of project a student wants. Students are required to complete 3 Winter Terms during their time at Oberlin. Students are required to have an advisor as well as complete 100 hours of dedicated work during the course of the month.
How much help do students get with choosing a project? Students can get as much or as little assistance as they want. For instance, one of the opportunities available at the Career Exploration and Development (CED) center is a curated list of micro-internships. These are short-term internships that are usually hosted by alumni, parents, community members, or other organizations and companies whose values align with that of curious and engaged Oberlin students. Micro-internships are supported by CED staff who aid students with securing internships as well as succeeding in them. These are a great choice for students looking for an educational and enriching experience for their Winter Term.
Likewise, another option for students looking for a more streamlined way to pick a Winter Term is through group projects. These are projects started by Oberlin staff or students and offer the opportunity to pursue a wide range of topics from intensive Latin to emergency medical technician courses.
How much support do students get during their Winter Term? Just like selecting a Winter Term, students have as much or as little support as they desire. Students might also have projects that naturally call for more support, such as on-campus research or a study away program that is professor-led.
In the same vein, students pursuing independent projects will also be able to get any assistance they need from their advisors and other school staff. For instance, some students might choose to stay on campus for all or part of their Winter Term in order to have direct access to Oberlin resources like the libraries or archives. Other students might be off campus but are still encouraged to stay in regular communication with their advisor.
What are some examples of projects? Here are some of my favorite Winter Term projects I have done or heard of:
1) Doing a study abroad program in Italy where you can shadow physicians and learn about the healthcare system in another country.
2) Stay on campus and learn all about the history and technique of papermaking.
3) Do an internship with Planned Parenthood, learning how political organization and lobbying takes place on both a local and national level.
4) Record traditional Swedish recipes into a cookbook in effort to safeguard recipes that have been passed down orally through your family.
Well, that’s it for this blog! I hope it simplified Winter Term for you and made you even more excited to pursue your very own project at Oberlin. The possibilities are endless and I’m so excited to see what the next generation of Obies comes up with!
