<p>I'm pursuing an engineering degree at a large state university, probably aerospace, chemical, or electrical engineering, but I'm also considering attempting proficiency in French while I'm there. Do you think that I'll be able to possible find the time for it while fulfilling my liberal education requirements (we have many of them, but I have several taken care of already through AP credits) and still graduate in four years? I'm not sure if it's possible.</p>
<p>I think its possible, but again it depends on the school and whether you're willing to do summer school. You said you took AP courses in high school, so I'm assuming it's possible for you to start as a sophomore in college instead of a freshmen. Definitely possible.</p>
<p>My son tried to double major in engineering and a foreign language too. He was fluent when he left high school and began college with upper level courses. The problem he encountered was that there were specific electives required for engineering (depth and breadth of elective stipulation, with a few specific courses being mandatory), and there were quite a few requirements for a language major too. He could not use foreign language credits for all of his electives, even though he AP'd out of english and history electives. He could have taken summer courses, but he got a great engineering internship the summer after freshman year. So he will just have to be satisfied to know he is fluent, I guess. Even with a semester or more of AP credits, he would have needed to go an extra semester or extra year for the double major and financially it just wasn't worth it.</p>
<p>^ Did he at least minor in it then?</p>
<p>I think its very possible, its more or less dependent on your own capacity. When you say proficiency, do you just want to learn a language, get a minor in it, or major in it? The first two are very possible and not too difficult, the third I would assume is more difficult.</p>
<p>^ I'm not sure if he will end up with a minor or a certificate in the language. To be honest, I have not been involved with any course selections (nor should I be).</p>
<p>It is just tough with engineering because there are so few elective slots, with technical electives required of upperclassmen. I wonder if there is any better job market for engineers with foreign language fluency? I suspect that functional oral and written fluency would be good for some companies, but don't know if an actual degree would prove more advantageous than that.</p>
<p>If he is truly fluent, he can take that foreign language test where they certify your level. It will be worth as much as a degree (cant recall the name of the test right now, i know the highest rank is "superior").</p>
<p>stimpsonjkatz, I will search for the test you mentioned. If you think of the name of the test, please pm me or post! Thanks!</p>
<p>It's called the Oral Proficiency Interview, OPI. Information here: Validated</a> and Certified Proficiency Testing</p>
<p>Employers SAY that a foreign language can help a lot. It can at least open up doors that would otherwise be closed. Japanese and German seem to be the two most sought after.</p>
<p>instead of French why don't you go for German? Germans are surprisingly well in engineering and they even offer many scholarships for Study abroad students from U.S.</p>