Oberlin College

• Oberlin is a private, independent, coeducational College of Arts and Sciences and Conservatory of Music founded in 1833. The Oberlin community is known for its academic and musical excellence and its commitment to social engagement and diversity. The seamless integration of our College and Conservatory inspires profound connections between intellectual and artistic exploration, theory and practice, and creative freedom and professional discipline.
• From the very beginning—as the first college to adopt a policy to admit Black students (1835) and the first to admit women in a co-ed program (1837)—we have championed the critical work that yields necessary progress. As we often say, what might seem “radical” at Oberlin today is usually the next generation’s status quo.
• Every Oberlin experience is a collaborative enterprise between students and faculty. Your faculty mentors—world-renowned scholars, artists, teachers, and citizens—will guide and push you, invested fully in your promise and in your future, well beyond graduation.
• Our 440-acre campus is embedded in Oberlin, Ohio, a quintessential college town located 35 minutes from Cleveland. The college and town are significantly connected, both physically and culturally—to the benefit of all.
• With our longstanding commitments to access and inclusion, Oberlin is the perfect laboratory in which to study and design the world you want. You’ll always feel that you belong here—we’ll celebrate you just as you are, without compromise. We’re a place where individual flourishing is a collective endeavor—we believe that it takes more than yourself to be yourself.

• For the last century, Oberlin alumni have gone on to earn more PhDs than the graduates of any other baccalaureate institution.
• Oberlin graduates have garnered a range of prestigious awards, including 265 Fulbrights, 14 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowships, 4 Nobel Prizes, 9 Pulitzer Prizes, and countless Grammy Awards. 
• All admitted students receive a minimum of $10,000 in merit aid, renewable each year, and Oberlin’s Internship+ Commitment provides up to $5,000 in funding to support a summer internship or performance-based experience for every student.
• Studying music at Oberlin isn’t just for conservatory students! You can be a serious musician in the College of Arts and Sciences too. Both offer a wealth of opportunities for students who are interested in pursuits that unite their passions for music and the liberal arts.
• Students who pursue our Double Degree Program graduate with both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees in just five years.
• The Allen Memorial Art Museum is considered one of the best college museums in the country. 15,000 artworks live in the museum’s permanent collection, including works by Cézanne, Modigliani, Monet, and Picasso—and you can even rent one to hang in your dorm room for $5/semester, thanks to our legendary Art Rental program.
• Our Winter Term will provide you with the opportunity to explore interests outside of your regular coursework. For four weeks in January, you can develop a new skill, study a topic related to your major, conduct research, or prepare for a future career. Winter Term projects can be done independently or in groups, and can take place on campus or anywhere around the world.
• The ever-popular ExCo (Experimental College) is a program through which anyone—from your fellow students to townspeople—can teach (and you can get credit for!) a class on anything they are passionate about—from toads to Taylor Swift.

• Oberlin offers 80+ majors, and approximately 1500 classes per year, between the college and the conservatory.
• Oberlin has a handful of divisional requirements, but no core curriculum, so you will have a lot of flexibility in the courses you choose to take.
• Oberlin College does not have graduate students; all classes are taught by professors. 94% hold the terminal degree in their fields.
• Obies work one-on-one with professors to take part in cutting-edge research and even coauthor and present papers at academic conferences beyond Oberlin. In the sciences, students have access to equipment and labs that you would expect to find only at a large research university.
• The Center for Engaged Liberal Arts (CELA) is our hub for experiential learning, and connects the classroom to the world. CELA puts learning into practice through internships, research, study away experiences, winter term, fellowships, and beyond.
• Obies can study abroad for a summer, winter term, semester, or full year, and you’ll retain your scholarships and financial aid when you study away. You can even apply for funding to help cover travel costs.

College of Arts and Science
Africana Studies
Anthropology
Archaeological Studies
Art History
Biochemistry
Biology
Book Studies*
Business*
Chemistry
Cinema Studies
Classical Civilization
Cognitive Science*
Comparative American Studies
Comparative Literature
Computer Science
Creative Writing
Dance
Data Science*
East Asian Studies
Economics
Education Studies*
Engineering, 3-2
English
Environmental Studies
French
Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies
Geosciences
German
Global Health*
Greek Language and Literature
Hispanic Studies
History
International Affairs*
Jewish Studies
Journalism*
Latin American Studies
Latin Language and Literature
Law and Society
Linguistics*
Literary Translation*
Mathematics
Middle East and North African Studies*
Music*
Musical Studies
Neuroscience
Peace and Conflict Studies*
Philosophy
Physics and Astronomy
Politics
Pre-Med*
Psychology
Public Humanities*
Religion
Russian
Russian and East European Studies
Sociology
Spanish*
Statistical Modeling*
Studio Art
Theater
Writing and Communications*

Conservatory of Music
Performance (18 areas of private study)
Historical Performance (11 areas of private study)
Jazz Performance (8 areas of private study)
Composition
Conducting
Ethnomusicology*
Individual Major
Jazz Composition
Musicology
Music Theater
Music Theory*
Piano Pedagogy*
Piano Technology
Recording Arts and Production
Technology in Music and Related Arts (TIMARA)
Vocal Accompanying

Combined Areas of Study (Arts and Sciences and Conservatory)
African American Music*
Arts Administration and Leadership*
Arts and Creative Technologies*
Interdisciplinary Performance*
Music and Cognition*
Music and Popular Culture*
Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement*

*Minor or concentration only

• With 175+ student clubs and organizations on campus, we likely have a student group for any interest you can imagine. We have groups and clubs spanning social justice, music, faith, identity, politics, sports, and art. And if it doesn’t already exist, you can easily create it!
• Campus housing is guaranteed for all four years and you’ll be able to choose from a variety of options: traditional residence halls; program houses centered around a language, culture, or interest; or the Oberlin Student Cooperaive Assocation (OSCA), in which students run the household and share meal prep. Oberlin does not have any Greek life.
• Dining choices include fresh, mostly local food to suit every eater and dietary lifestyle. With one main dining hall, eight satellite options (including sushi, allergen-free, Kosher, and others), and the student co-ops, there is always something for everyone. Restaurants in town offer nearly every type of cuisine, from pizza, ice cream, and tater tots to Korean, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and vegan—just a few steps from campus.
• Our campus has an incredibly vibrant music and theater scene, with 500+ performances offered each year. We also host an extraordinary lineup of speakers and touring artists. Guest performers in recent years have included Lizzo, Kendrick Lamar, and Chance the Rapper.
• Climate change is a major influence on how we operate our campus and how we educate our students. To create an enduring ecological and human community, we shape our college and curriculum to be responsive and responsible to the local, regional, and global environment. Oberlin will be carbon neutral by 2025 upon completion of a $180M geothermal project that launched in 2021.

Oberlin is an NCAA Division III institution and a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Men’s Varsity Sports:
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Lacrosse
Soccer
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field (Indoor and Outdoor)

Women’s Varsity Sports:
Basketball
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field (Indoor and Outdoor)
Volleyball

Our many club sports include Aikido, bowling, tennis, rugby, golf, and Ultimate.

In general, the health and wellness programming at Oberlin promotes a culture of self-care and healthy living for students of all abilities. From spinning and swimming to boot camp and boxing, students can exercise with friends in a comfortable, low-pressure setting. There’s also a fitness studio that houses more than 50 stationary bikes, treadmills, elliptical machines, rowing machines, cable weight machines, and free weights.

• Our alumni use their Oberlin educations to give the world more joy, hope, meaning, and justice—serving collectively as a global force for good. In every field, on every stage, Obies help people find the way forward.
• Oberlin graduates pursue a wide array of professional paths and can be found innovating in every field. Employers range from Google to NPR to Goldman Sachs.
• For the last century, Oberlin alumni have gone on to earn more PhDs than the graduates of any other baccalaureate institution, and our medical and law school placements are equally excellent. 
• Oberlin alumni represent a full one percent of the National Academy of Sciences’ membership, almost unimaginable for a small liberal arts college, and a testament to the creativity that our scientists develop here.
• Oberlin graduates have garnered a range of prestigious awards, including 265 Fulbrights and dozens of National Science Graduate Research fellowships, as well as Goldwater, Watson, Truman, Udall, Beinecke, Gates Cambridge, Rhodes, Marshall, and Luce honors, among others. 
• Our alumni include 14 MacArthur “Genius” Fellows, 4 Nobel Laureates, 9 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and countless Grammy Award winners.
• List of Oberlin alumni.

• 784 first-year students, of whom 26% are U.S. students of color and 8% are international students
• Students enrolled from nearly every state, the District of Columbia, and more than 50 countries.
• The average high school GPA for enrolling College of Arts and Sciences was 4.0 weighted / 3.8 unweighted.
• Oberlin is test-optional. Scores were reported by 59% of students. Median 50 percent ranges for the College of Arts and Sciences students was as follows:
  • ACT: 32-34
  • SAT/ERW: 710-770
  • SAT/MATH: 690-770
• There were 11,491 total applications (10,251 to the college and 1,240 to the conservatory), and the acceptance rate was approximately 33%. Read the full profile for the class of 2027.