Majors & Minors
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Modern Language Studies
The BA with a major in Modern Language Studies requires 27 semester hours in a combination of modern language courses and area studies courses. Each student performs a program of study in consultation with a faculty adviser in the Department of Modern Language Studies. Students may major in Chinese, French, German, or Italian.
Degree Requirements
To earn a major in Modern Language Studies, students must complete a total of 27 hours in courses taught predominantly in the Department of Modern Language Studies. One interdisciplinary course from another department can count (permission required). A maximum of 9 credit hours can be transferred from study abroad programs or other universities.
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Students must complete:
(a) 20053 and 20063 in their language of choice (6 hours)
(b) the gateway class MOLA 20003: Cosmopolitanism: Thinking from a Global Perspective and the capstone class MOLA 40193: Senior Seminar with variable topics (6 hours)
(c) 3 classes taught in the language of concentration at the 30000 level or above with at least 1 class at the 40000 level (9 hours)
(d) 2 classes at any level with an ARAB, CHIN, FREN, GRMN, ITAL, JAPN or MOLA prefix (exclusive of language-sequence classes in the language of concentration). While not required, one interdisciplinary class from outside the Department of Modern Language Studies may be counted for 1 of these 2 classes. For the interdisciplinary classes, please consult with and seek the approval of the major advisor and chair. Only one of these 2 classes may be taught in English. (6 hours)
MOLA Minor in Chinese, French, German, or Italian
The Modern Language Studies minor requires 21 semester hours. Students may concentrate in Chinese, French, German, or Italian. The 21 semester hours can include:
(a) 9-12 hours from the language-sequence courses (10153, 10163, 20053, 20063) in the relevant language;
(b) and 9-12 hours from courses with the relevant language prefix (CHIN, FREN, GRMN, or ITAL) or the MOLA prefix, excluding the language-sequence courses. At least 6 of these latter 9-12 hours must be at the 30000 level or higher. No more than 3 hours from a course taught in English may be counted towards the MOLA minor.
A maximum of 6 credit hours can be transferred from study abroad programs or other universities for the minor.
Policy for majors & minors:
No credit will be given to native speakers for 10000- and 20000-level language-sequence courses (10153, 10163, 20053, 20063); heritage speakers may only receive credit with permission of the program advisor and the department chair.
A native speaker is considered to be someone who completed primary and secondary education in a country where the language of concentration is spoken. A heritage speaker is someone who was primarily educated in U.S. schools but who speaks the language of concentration in the home and with friends and co-workers. Native speakers and heritage speakers not eligible to take these courses must take additional upper-level courses instead of the language-sequence courses, to be determined in consultation with the program advisor.
Courses taken Pass/No-Credit and courses in which the student earns below a "C-" will not count toward the major.