Colleges/Universities with no foreign language requirements

<p>Thank you one and all for your thoughtful replies and for the suggestions. I have been trying to read a number of catalogs online. It is time consuming as the language requirement is often buried deep in the pdf version of the catalog. A few schools are upfront about graduation requirements, but for others it is quite the detective work.</p>

<p>I'm personally a fan of taking a foreign language, but I have come to see that it's not for everyone. Also, what it means to know a language is pretty variable. When I was getting my PhD I did have to test professionally in several languages, BUT this was reading only in the FL and translating to English and the bulk of the "text" was math - and that is an international language all its own! I think if DS could be limited to translations from Spanish to English he might be able to do it. It seem to be word retreival that is his downfall.</p>

<p>Thanks again for the ideas. As usual - you are a wealth of information.</p>

<p>My son HATED spanish. It was always a negative, always a struggle, throughout senior year. The language requirement was probably the one thing that worried me the most about his college. As an IR major he will need 8 semesters (language only, no culture courses), though only 6 if he decides on poli sci.<br>
He chose Arabic. While it is consistently demanding (you HAVE to keep up with the work daily), it's also been very rewarding. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to give him the trouble that spanish did, even though I would have guessed it to be a much more difficult language (new alphabet, new sounds, new everything). It's only the second semester of freshmen year, but if all continues this well he hopes to add it as a second major.
I could definitely see using the language requirement as a weed-out factor, but if your son has his heart set on everything else about a certain school, it might still be worth a shot. He might surprise himself.</p>

<p>D attended Syracuse U. in the School of Arts & Sciences where, as I recall, students can satisfy one of their core requirements either by taking math or a foreign language. She opted for math.</p>

<p>Another thought, my sister completed her FL requirement with American Sign Language. That might be an option for your S.</p>

<p>Be sure to read the fine print. As a previous poster notes, Grinnell has no foreign language requirement (they have very few college wide requirements) - that does not mean it isn't a requirement for certain majors. English major at Grinnell does require foreign language.</p>

<p>Brown, Amherst and Hamilton have open curricula - absolutely no required classes (which equates to no language requirements).</p>

<p>Caltech has no language requirements.</p>

<p>There was an earlier thread - - maybe 4 months ago - - regarding colleges w/o foreign lang reqs.</p>

<p>I found that generally, LACs (or small unis like URoch) in the N'east were far less likely to have foreign lang reqs that southern or midwestern schs. Best to check the indiv sch catalogue for gen eds or distribution reqs since the actual reqs vary from sch to sch (in some cases 2 sems of intro lang will satisfy the req in other cases it can be as much as 4 sems). Also,some schs will grant exemptions (like Colorado Col which grants a lang exemption for studentw w/ ADD).</p>

<p>Also be wary of schools that facially have no requirement that a student take a language class but rather require a certain level of proficiency. Strong language students come in with this satisfied through AP or SAT IIs. They don't have to take any classes. Weak students end up take take one to four semesters to get to the necessary profciency level.</p>

<p>I have a nephew who said he went to Bowdoin because it didn't have a foreign language requirement. He majored in astrophysics which seems way harder than Spanish to me!</p>

<p>Delicate Arch, if your S decides he wants to go to a school that does have a language requirement, many colleges accept transfer credit from a CC. So if he has his heart set on one of those schools, he could take one semester in summer school at the local CC. First semester college Spanish should be about equal to the Spanish I he's already had, and even if a school requires two semesters, that would be about equal to Spanish I-II. He could take only Spanish, and CC's are often very good about providing remedial help when needed, and summer school classes are often small, which would be a plus with a language class. Maybe check transfer policies too, since there are colleges that take the transfer credit, but the grade isn't computed into the GPA (so he could get a C and it wouldn't hurt his GPA).</p>

<p>Just a thought; he probably will want to go to a without a language requirement. I'm going through the same situation with my D, but in reverse (her talent is foreign languages, but even with tutoring, she's failing math, and is intimidated by college math requirements, so that's why we're looking at the CC option for math).</p>

<p>Check with the schools your kid is or might be interested in before going the CC route seeking transfer credits. Many of the higher-tiered schools state that they reserve the right not to accept CC credits, particularly if they don't know the CC involved. For example, a student who took a college course before enrolling at the University of Rochester has to petition to have those credits awarded. While the CC course may bring your student up to speed, it may not get him or her out of a distribution requirement.</p>

<p>BTW, califa, except if required for a specific major, Rochester doesn't have a math requirement either.</p>

<p>I am bumping this thread up. I would like to know which schools do not require studying a foreign language, or offer alternatives that were previously mentioned, such as studying a different culture. I understand that certain majors will require studying a foreign language. Thank you.</p>

<p>At the University of Utah where I teach it is possible to get a B.S. as opposed to the B.A. in most majors (obviously not the fine arts, but in many majors). This means two upper division math/sciences classes in lieu of any language. I am not sure, but my sense is that typical liberal artsy colleges more-or-less require foreign language. As you move to bigger universities, maybe the B.S. option becomes more common?</p>

<p>Is anyone aware of schools that offer cluster options, so that one would not need to take a FL, something similar to what Chedva describes at the U of Rochester. The schools can be less competitive than the U of Rochester, BTW.</p>

<p>Previously mentioned - Lafayette, and Union (NY).</p>

<p>Lafalum84, Thanks. I think that Lafayette would be too competitive for my son. Union might be more of a match. I am going to have an open mind to both since my son is still a sophomore. </p>

<p>Anybody else know of others? I am sure there must be more than a handful of the LACs (which is what my son is currently interested in) than the few already listed that offer cluster options.</p>

<p>Out of curiosity I checked Lenoir-Rhyne College. Evidently with this school one may opt out and do a cultural "path" with documented LDs.</p>

<p>
[quote]
To qualify for the cultural enrichment
course option, students must have a documented, specific learning/language based
disability in either written or oral processing deficits.Specific documentation must be
provided to the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities for consideration.
The documentation must be provided on letterhead and identify the specific learning
disability provided by a qualified professional (e.g., psychologist, psychiatrist, school
psychologist).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>mkm, Thanks, but my son would not qualify for that. Also, LR is probably too far for us. We did look at another school in NC, but my son feels that it is just too far away. Thanks. Keep these coming, if anyone knows of any other options. I am sure that they are out there. It is just like trying to find a needle in a haystack. BTW, I think that Hofstra requires one semester, and then one can study a culture rather than another semester of a FL. This was the case 2 years ago, things could have changed.</p>

<p>Temple allows students to satisfy requirement in many ways-through study abroad, through "culture" classes (in English). Don't forget that if your child has a verified learning disability he/she can petition for exemption.</p>