Academic Policy

In order to graduate from Oberlin, students pursuing a bachelor's degree are required to earn three full winter term credits.

Transfer students must earn one credit in each Winter Term during their enrollment at Oberlin, unless this would result in more than three credits.

Credits are earned by completing a project, either individually or as part of a group. Individual projects require a written proposal, final report and a positive assessment of the project by the sponsor. Winter Term projects are evaluated as "completed" (Y) or "not completed" (N); no letter grades are given.

Winter term projects are rated as half or full. Students may participate in one half, two halves, or one full project each winter term.

The time commitment for a half-time project is three hours per weekday; the time commitment for a full-time project is five to six hours per weekday.

The required three credits may be earned on or off campus, in any combination.

Winter term credits are not the same as semester credit hours, i.e., the Winter Term credits are not included in the required 112 Arts and Sciences or 124 Conservatory semester hours.

Students who matriculated beginning Fall 2011 and prior to Fall 2007 may propose Winter Term projects from one of the three categories below.  All three Winter Term credits may be earned from categories one and two.  Student and sponsor together must determine the most appropriate category for a proposed project.  The categories are:

Academic Study: a faculty-sponsored, academically-focused research, study, or performance project that can be conducted on or off campus; individually or as part of a group project.

Field Experience: a learning activity that could include career exploration, social or political action, community service, or an unpaid internship.

Personal Growth and Development: an opportunity to learn a skill, try something new, or pursue subject matter outside of traditional academic disciplines.  Only one full project (or two half projects) may be earned from category three.

Students matriculating Fall 2007 and later do not have to specify a category for their Winter Term project.  These students are expected to complete Winter Term projects that are academically relevant, rigorous, experiential, and educationally rewarding.  Viable projects are those that involve academic study and/or experiential learning, including internships and community service.

A student registered for winter term credit may not be paid for work associated with his or her project.

Questions about Winter Term requirements should be directed to Dean Kathryn Stuart, Office of the Dean of Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences or to Associate Dean Mary Kay Gray in the Conservatory.

Sponsor

Every project must have an on-campus sponsor. Faculty members and, under some circumstances, members of the Administrative and Professional Staff (A&PS), may serve as project sponsors. Finding a suitable sponsor is largely a matter of matching student and faculty or staff member interests. Additional information is given below.

Fees

There are no additional tuition or room fees for winter term. Students may purchase (or use their Oberlin College identification cards to charge) individual meals at Stevenson during winter term. Students may also use flex dollars that remain in their account from the fall semester to purchase meals at Stevenson during winter term.

Some on-campus projects, especially those directed by an invited specialist, require a fee from each participant to help defray expenses. This fee typically ranges from $10-$40 or more.

Important Notice Regarding Credit

New Policy on travel to Travel Warning countries.

Because students working on Winter Term projects off-campus earn Oberlin College credit, Oberlin's Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is required by federal law to monitor the quality of off-campus projects where Oberlin students are working that involve animal use.

In order to receive credit for an off-campus winter term project that involves work with animals, students must show that the institution where the work is being carried out has a federal assurance of compliance or that the project team is working under an approved protocol.