Living in the Language Immersion Residence Hall
We—the staff and faculty of Oldenborg—think that learning languages is fun, challenging, and potentially enriching to whatever major you may undertake. The spirit of our residential program is to live around others who speak the same language and have an interest in practicing and developing community around that language and culture. The heart of Oldenborg's residential language immersion program is the Language Resident Program; through it, Oldenborg offers both curricular and co-curricular support to the three Pomona language departments: the Department of Asian Languages & Literatures (Chinese and Japanese languages), the Department of German & Russian (German and Russian languages) and the Department of Romance Languages & Literatures (French and Spanish languages). These languages remain our priority in terms of residential language halls & language hall programming. These language halls feature a language resident and connection to a fully articulated academic program.
2026-2027 Room Selection
Lawry Court suites will be utilized during the construction period for the Center for Global Engagement set to begin summer 2026, pending approval from the Board of Trustees. You can read more about the Global Pomona project here.
Applications for AY 2026-2027 will only be available on SM Apply from February 9 to March 9. Detailed instructions can be found on SM Apply. See below for eligibility.
We encourage you to read our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the room draw process.
Important Dates Spring 2026
- Monday, February 9: Oldenborg Room Draw applications live on SM Apply
- Friday, February 13: Oldenborg Room Draw Info Session. 12:15pm, Oldenborg Dining Hall, south side
- Monday, March 9: Applications due by 11:59pm
- Week of March 30: Oldenborg Room assignments posted
Eligibility
- Open to rising Pomona sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
- Target language proficiency equivalent to two semesters of introductory college-level coursework.
- Endorsement from a relevant language faculty member. Faculty Recommendation Forms are available to students here.
- Essay demonstrating interest in the section of choice: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Other language(s) may be possible; check FAQ for more information.
Oldenborg Language Halls (2025)
Chinese Hall
French Hall
German Hall
Japanese Hall
Russian Hall
Spanish Hall
Additional Languages: Amharic, Italian, Korean