Oberlin College
Oberlin College at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
Oberlin College Featured Rankings
- #1 Best Small Colleges in Ohio 2026
- #1 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Ohio 2026
- #2 Best Private Colleges in Ohio 2026
- #3 Earth Sciences Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 Most Influential US Universities by State
- #3 Best Colleges in Ohio 2026
- #4 Engineering Liberal Arts Colleges
- #4 Religious Studies Liberal Arts Colleges
- #5 Computer Science Liberal Arts Colleges
- #5 Philosophy Liberal Arts Colleges
- #6 Sociology Liberal Arts Colleges
- #6 Physics Liberal Arts Colleges
- #6 Best Small Colleges 2026
- #6 Political Science Liberal Arts Colleges
- #6 English Liberal Arts Colleges
- #6 Chemistry Liberal Arts Colleges
- #7 Economics Liberal Arts Colleges
- #7 Liberal Arts Colleges for Biology Degrees
- #8 Best Liberal Arts Colleges 2026
- #13 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Majors
- #17 History Liberal Arts Colleges
- #33 Best Undergrad Private Colleges
- #36 Best Undergrad Colleges 2026
About Oberlin College
Featured Alumnus
Paul Pierson ranks among our Top Influential Political Scientists Today.
In brief
Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1833. Its most popular programs are English, biology, history, politics, and environmental studies, and its Conservatory of Music is highly regarded. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #83 in the United States and #232 in the world. It admitted 34.2% of applicants for fall 2024; admitted students had a median SAT score of 1440 and a median ACT score of 32.
Where Oberlin’s influence is strongest
Oberlin’s influence is led by philosophy and literature. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:
- Philosophy: #33 in the US (#104 in the world)
- Literature: #46
- Political science: #57
- Education: #64
- Religious studies: #65
Its highest-ranked specialties in our data are:
- #6 in the US: analytic philosophy
- #11: social philosophy
As a liberal arts college, Oberlin has no engineering, nursing, or social work school, so it ranks low in those fields.
How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.
Notable people
Oberlin’s Nobel laureates include the physicist Robert A. Millikan, the neuroscientist Roger Sperry, and the biochemist Stanley Cohen. Its alumni and faculty also include the philosophers George Herbert Mead and W.V.O. Quine, the playwright Thornton Wilder, the director Julie Taymor, the composer William Grant Still, the sculptor Edmonia Lewis, the explorer John Wesley Powell, and the inventor Elisha Gray. Our full lists of Oberlin’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.
Frequently asked questions
Is Oberlin hard to get into? Moderately. It admitted 34.2% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 700–760 on the SAT reading section and 660–760 on math.
What does Oberlin cost after financial aid? Tuition is $69,482 for 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $18,356 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $12,176 for incomes below $30,000 to $50,738 for incomes above $110,000.
How do Oberlin graduates do? 80.9% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 91% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $60,877.
What is Oberlin best known for academically? By our influence data: philosophy, literature, and political science, plus analytic philosophy, where it ranks in the US top 10.
According to Wikipedia, Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher learning in the world. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. In 1835, Oberlin became one of the first colleges in the United States to admit African Americans, and in 1837, the first to admit women . It has been known since its founding for progressive student activism.
Oberlin College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Annual Applications | Acceptance | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,039 | 34% | 91% | 81% | 1440 | 32 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does Oberlin College Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $69,482 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $12,176 |
| 30K - 48K | $20,246 |
| 48K - 75K | $18,356 |
| 75K - 110K | $32,410 |
| 110K+ | $50,738 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do Oberlin College Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former Oberlin College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $60,877 a year, and 92% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
Oberlin College's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads | Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 4,160 | 4,150 | 10 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is Oberlin College?
Oberlin College is located at 70 N Professor St, Oberlin, OH 44074.
How Safe is Oberlin College?
Like every college that receives federal student aid, Oberlin College publishes an annual security report with its campus crime statistics and safety policies. Its figures can also be looked up in the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security database.
Relative to its enrollment, Oberlin College has a violent crime rate of 0.28% and a property crime rate of 0.03%. Oberlin has a violent crime rate of 0.16% and a property (including theft) crime rate of 1.36%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is Oberlin College Known For?
Oberlin College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Philosophy
- Literature
- Political Science
- Religious Studies
- Sociology
- Psychology
- History
- Physics
- Biology
- Economics
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Anthropology
- Earth Sciences
- Mathematics
- Engineering
Oberlin College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much Oberlin College's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
Oberlin College ranks #33 in the U.S. and #104 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.
philosophy DegreesOberlin College ranks #46 in the U.S. and #131 worldwide for influence in Literature.
literature DegreesOberlin College ranks #57 in the U.S. and #184 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesOberlin College ranks #65 in the U.S. and #284 worldwide for influence in Religious Studies.
religious-studies-hub DegreesOberlin College ranks #70 in the U.S. and #200 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesOberlin College ranks #74 in the U.S. and #134 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesOberlin College ranks #76 in the U.S. and #189 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesOberlin College ranks #87 in the U.S. and #356 worldwide for influence in Physics.
physics DegreesOberlin College ranks #89 in the U.S. and #273 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesOberlin College ranks #89 in the U.S. and #327 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesOberlin College ranks #121 in the U.S. and #553 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.
chemistry DegreesOberlin College ranks #131 in the U.S. and #470 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesOberlin College ranks #132 in the U.S. and #389 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesOberlin College ranks #137 in the U.S. and #567 worldwide for influence in Earth Sciences.
earth-science DegreesOberlin College ranks #145 in the U.S. and #538 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesOberlin College ranks #207 in the U.S. and #1171 worldwide for influence in Engineering.
engineering DegreesWho Are Oberlin College's Most Influential Alumni?
Oberlin College's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Psychology, Philosophy, and Literature. Here are some of Oberlin College's most famous alumni:
- Willard Van Orman Quine
- An American philosopher and logician .
- George Herbert Mead
- An American philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist.
- Rollo May
- An American psychiatrist.
- Kenneth Waltz
- An American political scientist and international relations theoretician .
- Robert Andrews Millikan
- An American physicist.
- Sinclair Lewis
- An American writer and playwright .
- Lucy Stone
- An American abolitionist and suffragist .
- John Wesley Powell
- An American geologist .
- Douglas T. Ross
- An American computer scientist.
- Elisha Gray
- An American electrical engineer.
- Julie Taymor
- An American film and theatre director.
- J. Hillis Miller
- An American literary critic, university professor.
Who Are Oberlin College's Most Influential Faculty?
Oberlin College's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Psychology, Philosophy, and Literature. Here are some of Oberlin College's most famous faculty:
- Kazim Ali
- An American poet, novelist, essayist, and professor.
- Shane McCrae
- An American writer.
- Chawne Kimber
- An African-American mathematician and quilter.
- Gary Hinshaw
- An Astrophysicist.
- KJ Cerankowski
- An American professor and author.
- Brittany Friedman
- An American sociologist.
- Michele Alberto Matteini
- An Art historian and academic.
- Julia Christensen
- An American artist.
- Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón
- A .
