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[PRELIMINARY] Course Catalog 2025-2026
About the Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Fine Arts Dual Degree Program
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Oberlin College is uniquely positioned to offer the holistic liberal arts context of a Bachelor of Arts degree as well as the intensive training in the arts of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and does so through the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Fine Arts dual degree program. At the conclusion of this five-year program, students are awarded both the BA and the BFA degrees simultaneously. The immersive arts portion that takes place in year five is structured on a capstone/project model with an emphasis on “real-life” training in the world of professional art. Overall, the program empowers artists to be better artists because they gain both the breadth of knowledge afforded by a liberal arts BA degree, and the depth of artistic training provided by a BFA degree. All of this is grounded in practice-based learning, professional training, community, and intellectual rigor.
BA/BFA students may pursue any Arts and Sciences major they choose, but many may decide to major in a practicing arts discipline (e.g., cinema and media, creative writing, dance, studio art, theater). Regardless of their chosen BA major, the BA/BFA students have the opportunity to take practice/skills-based courses across practicing arts disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music. Students will thus come to the fifth year with hybrid training across the arts, unified by the Integrated Arts Workshop (PRAX 300 ) taken in the third year, which will introduce strategies for collaboration and interdisciplinary artistic research. Typically, students will spend four years in residence at Oberlin or enrolled in Oberlin programs. This includes work completed during an approved academic leave of absence.
The fifth year of the BA/BFA in integrated arts is a unified curricular path that allows students to make artworks and performances that integrate any and all forms of art practice.
The immersive arts portion of the degree program begins in the summer after the student’s fourth year on the Oberlin campus, with experiential learning and professional development in the city of Cleveland. In their fifth year, students are based at Park Arts in Cleveland Heights to complete additional coursework necessary for the BFA portion of the degree program. Students will create self-designed and socially-engaged art projects with the close guidance of faculty and visiting artists, and they will complete internships with Cleveland-based arts and culture organizations, including those based at Park Arts, giving them the professional experience of working as an artist in a broader urban community. Fifth-year projects will activate the intersections between creative disciplines and have an emphasis on engaging the public/social sphere, utilizing resources across the city of Cleveland and the community of Park Arts. Students work with one professor as their primary mentor but all BA/BFA students and faculty work together through critique, community programming, and collaboration throughout the academic year.
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Student Application Process
Students have two options for entering the BA/BFA degree program. - Students may apply to the BA/BFA degree program as entering first-year or transfer students.
- Current BA students may also apply to change their degree program to the BA/BFA. Generally, they will do so through the end of their sophomore spring semester. Exceptions will be made for students seeking to apply later who are on track to complete the BA/BFA program in a timely fashion to the extent that there is available space.
Advising for Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Fine Arts Students
Each student enrolled in the BA/BFA degree program has an academic advisor for help in planning an educational program consonant with the student’s interests and goals. The advisor can offer guidance in evaluating academic strengths and weaknesses and provide information on Oberlin’s curriculum and regulations. Entering students are assigned faculty/staff advisors, usually in areas of stated interest. A student may change advisors at any time by asking another faculty member to serve and by notifying the Academic Advising Resource Center. Students who have declared a major are advised by a member of the department in which they are majoring. Students who major in an area outside of the practicing arts (cinema and media, creative writing, dance, studio art, and theater) will have an additional advisor in the practicing arts assigned.  Access the change of advisor request form.
Types of Study Within the Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Fine Arts
Students wishing to declare a specific path of study must do so before graduation by the deadline published in the academic calendar. Majors, minors, or integrative concentrations may not be declared after a student’s degree is conferred, even if all the requirements were met before graduation. Major Study
For the BA portion of the program, BA/BFA students are not limited to any particular set of majors, but may elect any Arts and Sciences major they choose. For the BFA portion of the program, the Office of the Registrar will add the integrated arts major to students’ records once they are cleared to advance to the fifth year at Park Arts. The first cohort of students will graduate in 2028. To provide depth in their education as part of the BA, students enrolled in the college must elect an area or field in which to major. 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. There is no thesis requirement at Oberlin, but many majors require students to engage in an extended project of research or creative activity. Most departments and programs offer one or more majors. Each department or program determines the detailed requirements for completion of the major or majors in that department or program. All majors consist of no fewer than eight full courses or the equivalent, including prerequisites. The requirements that apply to a student are those published in the most recent edition of this catalog at the time the student submits the declaration form; however, any student who returns to Oberlin to complete a major after more than four semesters away may be required to follow the requirements in effect at the time the student reenters Oberlin. These requirements may be altered as necessary in individual cases by the departments or programs. The completion of a major is included on the transcript. See majors available to students in the Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program. Declare a major administered by the college. Individual Major
BA/BFA students are eligible to declare an individual major as part of the BA portion of the program. Students enrolled in the college 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 two 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. Learn more about requirements and guidelines for the individual major. Honors
BA/BFA students may pursue honors in their BA major, provided they are eligible according to that honors program’s guidelines. 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. 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 Bachelor of Arts degree with departmental honors, high honors, or highest honors. The level of honors awarded is recorded on the transcript. Honors is not offered in the BFA integrated arts major. Minor Study
A student may not pursue a minor in the same subject area in which they have declared a major. The minor is a way to focus and record a significant area of a student’s work toward the BA portion of the program, without the more stringent requirements of a major in that field. After initially declaring a minor, a student may subsequently elect a different minor and/or drop the previously declared minor with the consent of the heads of the departments or programs involved. Students may pursue a minor in more than one department or program, but normally may not pursue more than one minor within a department or program. Many departments and programs offer at least one minor. Each department or program determines the detailed requirements for completion of the minor or minors in that department or program. All minors consist of at least four full courses or the equivalent and normally include at least two components of work above the introductory level. The requirements that apply to a student are those published in the most recent edition of this catalog at the time the student submits the declaration form; however, any student who returns to Oberlin to complete a minor after more than four semesters away may be required to follow the requirements in effect at the time the student reenters Oberlin. These requirements may be altered as necessary in individual cases by the departments or programs. The completion of a minor is included on the transcript. See minors available to students in the Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program. Declare a minor administered by the college. Interdivisional Minors
Interdivisional minors allow undergraduate students in both the college and the conservatory to deepen and widen their understanding of music by learning about it in a variety of contexts and disciplines. Students can complement their BA major study with an academic experience that encompasses depth of study in a well-established field with an experimental curriculum in an emerging area. Interdivisional minors are declared using the same process as departmental minors. The completion of an interdivisional minor is included on the transcript. Declare an interdivisional minor. Integrative Concentration Study
Integrative concentrations are educational pathways that connect course work from a range of disciplinary perspectives with experiential learning opportunities such as high-quality internships. Integrative concentrations have two overarching goals: - enhancing student learning by enriching students’ academic learning with direct practical engagement; and
- 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 completion of a learning portfolio. Integrative concentrations thus include three components: - Curricular
- Experiential
- Integrative
Integrative concentrations do not replace majors and are undertaken as part of the BA portion of the program. They are open to undergraduate students in both the college and the conservatory. The requirements that apply to a student are those published in the most recent edition of this catalog at the time the student submits the declaration form; however, any student who returns to Oberlin to complete an integrative concentration after more than four semesters away may be required to follow the requirements in effect at the time the student reenters Oberlin. These requirements may be altered as necessary in individual cases by the departments or programs. The completion of an integrative concentration is included on the transcript. See integrative concentrations available to students in the Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program. Declare an integrative concentration. |
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