Global Perspective
Educating students to think globally is an important characteristic of an Oberlin education. We enroll and graduate students from around the world. We send our students to study away from campus with the belief that experiencing and understanding other cultures is an invaluable part of a liberal arts education.
Our global perspective isn’t limited to classes, but shines through in the experiences, living and learning spaces, and activities available to Oberlin students. Each year, at least 10 percent of our student body is international students, hailing from more than 40 countries. Another 10 percent take advantage of our Study Away programs for a semester or year.
Explore the ways you can expand your perspective and worldview, both on and off campus.
Whether you’re picking up a second language or wanting to chat in your first language, the Cooper International Learning Center is a great resource. Here, language learning extends to translating, organizing conversational language groups, and preparing students for study abroad. We are a language lab, but as we like to say, we are not a quiet lab!
International Student and Scholar Services assists with the logistics and paperwork that ensure a smooth experience on campus. Each year we serve about 500 international students at Oberlin, assisting with F-1 visa, employment, and more.
All interested students, regardless of major, should have the opportunity to spend a semester—or a summer or winter term—on an academic program in a different part of the world. Three out of four students study abroad at some point during their Oberlin experience.
In addition to campus-sponsored programs, we work with more than 90 affiliated groups to offer you a wide range of options.
The Oberlin Center for Languages and Cultures strives to increase collaboration around international topics, raise our global profile through language education and study abroad, and offer resources to Obies who are learning world languages.
Our 10 Program Houses support living communities around language, identity, culture, or common interests. Faith, service, politics, and activist student organizations build your community outside of your residence hall.
Oberlin has connections everywhere. Meet Obies from around the globe.
Read Global Stories
World Map of Oberlin Study Abroad and Winter Term Locations