College of Arts and Sciences

Business Careers

Many Oberlin graduates pursue graduate programs or careers in business. Graduate schools of business welcome Oberlin applicants because of their solid liberal arts background. Interested students should be aware that some graduate-level business programs require full-time employment experience in a business-related field as a required element of qualification. An undergraduate degree in business is neither required nor, in many cases, desired for acceptance into these schools. Students considering graduate work in business may major in virtually any area of the liberal arts. They are advised to take introductory courses in economics, mathematics, and computer science – areas often required for admission to, and recommended as preparation for, graduate programs in business. Please contact the Career Development Center for further advice.

Pre-Law

Many Oberlin students enter law school after graduation. Information on general requirements for law admissions can be found in the Career Development Center or by asking faculty designated as pre-law advisors. A list of these advisors is available in the Career Development Center and the Academic Advising Resource Center. Normally, a student is expected to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) in either the second semester of the junior year or in the first semester of the senior year. While no one major should be considered as key for preparing for the study of law, students interested in law school may wish to look over the core courses, core research seminars, and related courses listed under Law and Society . These courses contain subject matter relevant to the law, and are helpful in developing analytic skills essential to the study of law.

 Explore this page for a list of advisors and other information about deciding to go to law school.

Pre-Medical

Students planning to apply to medical school may major in any subject provided they also complete pre-medical requirements. Early in their academic careers at Oberlin they should discuss their plans with one of the Health Careers advisors.

Explore this page for a list of advisors and other information about deciding to go to medical school.

Most medical schools require one year of biology with laboratory, one year of physics with laboratory, and chemistry with laboratory through at least bioorganic chemistry. Students also need one semester of statistics and may need other courses as described below. Courses providing content in introductory psychology, sociology, or anthropology are also helpful in preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). Students are encouraged to take at least one such course.

Students intending to take this work at Oberlin should note:

1. CHEM 101 , CHEM 102 , CHEM 205 , and CHEM 254  normally are chosen to complete the chemistry requirement. An alternative to CHEM 254  is CHEM 325 .
    
2. BIOL 100  and BIOL 213  will meet minimum biology requirements. Premedical students often elect additional biology courses, especially BIOL 200  and BIOL 312 .
    
3. The PHYS 103 -PHYS 104  sequence is the most common means of satisfying the physics requirement. An alternative sequence is PHYS 110 -PHYS 111 .
    
4. It is neither necessary nor advisable to take more than two mathematics or science courses in either semester of the first year.

Students should consult the appropriate departmental listings for descriptions of course offerings and their prerequisites. Most medical schools also require a year of English and some require one or two semesters of mathematics. A year of calculus or a semester each of calculus and statistics usually satisfies the mathematics requirement. A few schools specify or recommend one or more courses not mentioned above. To determine the requirements of specific medical schools, students should consult the most recent edition of the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) published by the Association of American Medical Colleges. This publication is available online as well as in the Science Library and the Career Development Center.

The required Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is administered at Oberlin and elsewhere most often in April through August. Information about the test, including deadlines for filing applications and application forms, is available from the Career Center. Students intending to enroll in medical school immediately after graduation must complete the minimum science requirements listed above by the end of their junior year and take the MCAT by June of that same year. Many students defer the MCAT and applications to medical schools until the senior year or later in order to complete premedical requirements and explore other interests.

Education Careers

Although there is no department of education at Oberlin, students are offered a number of opportunities to pursue an interest in teaching and other careers in education through the Education Studies integrative concentration and through the Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement (PACE) interdivisional integrative concentration . Supervised experience in tutoring and classroom teaching is also possible.

Visit the Bonner Center for Community-Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Research website for more information.

Visit the Career Development Center website for additional information.

Major

To provide depth in their education, students must, before completion of 16 full courses or the equivalent, elect a department or program in which to do major study. Those who have not declared a major after completing 16 full courses or the equivalent will be allowed to enroll only with the permission of the Academic Advising Resource Center. A student may subsequently elect a different major and drop the previously declared major with the consent of the heads of the departments or programs involved. Students may pursue a major in more than one department or program.

A major allows students to pursue their learning beyond the introductory level, through advanced courses in a discipline, and in many cases in seminars or research courses. Most departments and programs offer one or more majors. Interdisciplinary majors are offered in a number of curricular areas, such as Archaeological Studies ; Environmental Studies ; Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies ; Latin American Studies ; Law and Society ; and Russian and East European Studies .

Each department or program determines the detailed requirements for completion of the major or majors in that department or program. There is no thesis requirement at Oberlin, but many majors require students to engage in an extended project of research or creative activity. The requirements that apply to a student are those published in the most recent edition of this Catalog at the time a student completes the second semester of his or her sophomore year. These requirements may be altered as necessary in individual cases by the departments or programs. All majors consist of no fewer than 8 full courses or the equivalent including prerequisites.

Students can also pursue an Individual Major in an area that is not encompassed in an existing major. With the help of at least two faculty advisors, students wishing to pursue an Individual Major propose their own program of study. Such proposals are normally submitted by the end of the sophomore year. The program must consist of at least 10 full courses or the equivalent with no more than 2 full courses or the equivalent below the 200 level, must include courses from more than one department, and usually must not have more than two-thirds of the total full courses or the equivalent in any one department.

Find more information about requirements and guidelines for the Individual Major here.

Minor

The minor is a way to focus and record a significant area of a student’s work, without the more stringent requirements of a major in that field. Normally a minor consists of at least four full courses or the equivalent and includes at least two components of work above the introductory level. Students pursuing minors declare the minor with the Academic Advising Resource Center/Registrar prior to graduation. The completion of a minor is noted on the transcript.

Integrative Concentration

Integrative concentrations are educational pathways that connect coursework with experiential learning opportunities such as high-quality internships. Integrative concentrations have two overarching goals: (1) enhancing student learning by enriching student’s academic learning with direct practical engagement; (2) helping students explore meaningful career options. Integrative concentrations are designed to deepen the interplay between ideas learned in the classroom and experiential learning. Toward this end, students are required to reflect on the relationship between the course work (theory) and the experiential learning (practice). This “integrative” requirement is met by the completion of a learning portfolio.

Integrative concentrations thus include three components:

• Curricular 
• Experiential 
• Integrative

Integrative concentrations do not replace majors. They are open to students in both the Conservatory and the College. The completion of an integrative concentration is noted on the transcript.

The College offers the following integrative concentrations:

• Arts Administration and Leadership 
• Business 
• Data Science 
• Education Studies 
• Global Health 
• International Affairs 
• Journalism 
• Peace and Conflict Studies 
• Public Humanities 

Honors

Many departments and programs offer Honors Programs to students of proven ability and independence. Departments and programs may open their Honors Programs to qualified students other than their own majors. Students wishing to enter the Honors Program should consult the chairperson of the department no later than the beginning of the second semester of the junior year.

Honors projects vary but always involve independent work under the supervision of appropriate faculty advisors. This may be done in seminars or private readings, in research, in the preparation of a thesis, exhibition, or performance. Students in the program are eligible for certain academic privileges such as access to special library and laboratory facilities. At the end of the senior year, Honors candidates may be but are not necessarily excused from final examinations and final projects for courses in the department in which they are doing honors work, and, at the discretion of the instructor, in courses in closely related subjects. Every candidate for Honors must pass a special written or oral examination (or both) near the end of the senior year. Outside examiners may be invited to conduct the final examination of candidates.

Recommendations for the award of Honors are made to the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences by departments, by programs with majors, or by the Individual Major committee. A department or program may recommend any student for Honors if that department’s criteria are met, regardless of the student’s specific major. The Individual Major committee may make such recommendations only for students whose Honors work is in the field of their individual majors. The Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences makes the final decisions on all recommendations for Honors, maintaining reasonably uniform standards for the award of Honors at graduation. An Honors candidate whose project demonstrates the requisite degree of excellence is awarded the BA degree with Departmental Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors.