<p>Which Liberal Arts colleges have the best foreign language departments?</p>
<p>Middlebury College</p>
<p>Also look at Dickinson in PA.</p>
<p>Middlebury looks good but far for me. How about on the west coast?</p>
<p>Dartmouth is basically an LAC, and is known to have a great foreign language dept. But it is East coast as well :/</p>
<p>Pomona has six modern language majors, a classics major, a linguistics major, and a general foreign languages major.</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna has seven modern language majors and a classics major.</p>
<p>It’s hard for me to think what constitutes a “good foreign language department.” I guess I’m obliged to throw Rhodes into the mix though. Six “major” languages, a classics department where Greek and Latin reside, Arabic taught in the religious studies department, Latin American and international studies majors to complement the language majors, and study abroad out the wazoo.</p>
<p>[Rhodes</a> College | Modern Languages & Literatures](<a href=“http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/6196.asp]Rhodes”>http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/6196.asp)</p>
<p>I don’t know, though, how modern language folks compare one another on quality.</p>
<p>It sounds like we’re on the far side of the MS river from you, but <em>just</em> on the other side ;-).</p>
<p>Middlebury and Smith have the largest percentage of students who major in languages/area studies. </p>
<p>Look for departments with at least four (preferably five) non-lecturer, non-visiting faculty in the language you are planning to study.</p>
<p>@mini - why that number? for that matter, why does the number of faculty matter at all. You could just as easily say the number of students majoring. In either case, it seems all you’re doing is equating big with good. Not that I can come up with any better alternative…</p>
<p>@lynx:</p>
<p>Huge departments are not necessarily the best environment, but it’s important to have a critical mass of professors. Fewer than four faculty in a department would be a red flag - you’d be very restricted in the classes you could take to complete your major. I’ve also found that I prefer to learn from a variety of professors, as they can have very different perspectives or areas of expertise. Isn’t that what being “educated” in a certain field is all about? Large departments aren’t always good, but tiny departments are often sub-par in this regard.</p>
<p>Good point. That said, 4-5 full-time non-visiting profs in a single language is a large contingent for a liberal arts college. If you’re talking about a student population of around 2000, I would be surprised to see more than 3 or so in one language. </p>
<p>Of course, you could also say that more than that number represents an unusually high commitment on the part of the college to that particular language, which would presumably be a good thing…</p>
<p>Hmm, interesting. We’ve been looking into schools in the eastern and central US areas that offer advanced levels in Chinese language. What we’ve found so far is those that seem to offer the most are either large public flagship universities or very very selective schools like the IVYs , Chicago, Duke, Emory, WUSTL and a few others. Not much middle ground it seems. </p>
<p>Interestingly, still taking a good hard look at Rhodes as well even though they don’t have a full Chinese program. D really likes the professor she met there. Likes the school a lot too.</p>
<p>@flvadad - assume you’ve seen [Rhodes</a> College | Courses](<a href=“http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/7282.asp]Rhodes”>http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/7282.asp). </p>
<p>Also, I think the MLL department hired a new Chinese professor who starts this Fall. If you’ll PM me, I’ll see if I can dig up the bio tomorrow at work and send it to you.</p>
<p>Thanks lynx. Seems I recall Prof. Han did tell us they were in the process of adding to their staff. I know she mentioned plans to expand the program. That was back in April when we visited. Seems they are indeed well on their way. Great to know.</p>
<p>FLVADAD - My D is interested in Asian Studies - I’ve come across a number of schools which offer Chinese - maybe not to the extent you are looking for. Hobart & William Smith is one, RIT also has Chinese, I think Bennington is another, Seton Hall has a good Asian Studies Program. My D is leaning toward Japanese so have not looked fully into Chinese. One thing I like to look at is the course catalog for a number of semesters to make sure the course is actually offered. I’ve noticed most schools offer 3 language levels, elementary, intermediate & advanced/convesational but also have study abroad for full immersion.</p>
<p>Yeah, it seems some schools with East Asian Studies tend to have a stronger leaning toward one area (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc) over the others. For example Earlham offers Asian studies, but they focus predominantly on Japanese. </p>
<p>We did take a look (on paper) at a couple of the schools you mentioned, but haven’t visited any schools in that part of the country yet. And actually right now, I’m hoping D will start thinking about narrowing down her list a bit. Intitially, I didn’t think we’d find much for Chinese, but it seems interest in Asian Studies is growing pretty rapidly these days. I came across one school that offers a dual major program in Chinese and Japanese. Can’t quite remember who it was now. I’d have to look it up. D also found a five year program that offers an M.A., but it’s at a large state university which I don’t think she really prefers.</p>
<p>@mini - why that number? for that matter, why does the number of faculty matter at all. You could just as easily say the number of students majoring. In either case, it seems all you’re doing is equating big with good. Not that I can come up with any better alternative… </p>
<p>Because when you get fewer than four, and one is on leave or sabbatical (as would be common), there is a lack of critical mass for upper level electives. Worse, if you need a graduate school or other recommendation, the professor who is your closest advisor may be gone, and there won’t be anyone else capable of covering. And there will also likely be a lack of a critical mass of students (there would be more faculty if there were, and more upperclass electives as well) to organize film series, colloquia, cooking demonstrations, or other extracurricular activities in the language. There will also be a smaller knowledge base about study abroad programs. Lecturers stay for a year (sometimes two) and are gone. </p>
<p>“If you’re talking about a student population of around 2000, I would be surprised to see more than 3 or so in one language.”</p>
<p>The schools that are committed to strong language programs will have them. The others won’t. </p>
<p>In some languages, one may be better off at one of the stronger state universities with a long history of catering to serious language instruction, like (for example) UWisconsin. There are some schools that may overall be among the top 10 LACs, but really just don’t cut it in language instruction.</p>
<p>How could I forget - right in my own backyard - Drew University - they have a really great language depatment - [Think</a> beyond your textbook - Drew University](<a href=“http://www.drew.edu/ThinkBeyond/Languages.aspx]Think”>http://www.drew.edu/ThinkBeyond/Languages.aspx)
and a great poli-sci dept if that was the route you wanted to pursue.</p>
<p>FLVADAD:
Chinese: [Chinese</a> Program at Drew University](<a href=“http://depts.drew.edu/chin/index.htm]Chinese”>Chinese Program at Drew University) </p>
<p>I found some schools through here:
[ASIANetwork[/url</a>]
and here
[url=<a href=“http://www.asian-studies.org/programs/bystate.htm]Asian”>http://www.asian-studies.org/programs/bystate.htm]Asian</a> Studies Programs and Centers](<a href=“http://asianetwork.org/members.html]ASIANetwork[/url”>http://asianetwork.org/members.html)</p>
<p>_me:</p>
<p>When a dept only has one associate professor in it, it’s going to be difficult to call it a great chinese language department.</p>
<p>Middlebury is quite famous for its rigorous language program in a multitude of languages. However, if your S/D’s interest is in Asian Studies, then you might have to look beyond the teaching of language.</p>
<p>Foreign Language acquisition is of course a critical component of a foreign areal study program, but you also need to look into what other foreign cultural specialization the college can provide. Taking China Studies as an example, do they have a good Chinese Philosophy faculty? What about Chinese Literature? Does the college have anthropology and geography teachers that specializes in China? What about linguistics (different from language studies), do they have a Chinese linguistics faculty?</p>
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<p>Yeah, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, Pitt, Maryland, Michigan State, Michigan, all appear to have great Chinese programs with fairly large departments. Florida used to be in that category, but I think they’ve cut back a bit. Most are identified as National Resource Centers. Of course, the trade off is having to attend such a large university, which I suppose is fine for a lot of people, but D was really hoping to be at a much smaller school. </p>
<p>Thus, she still likes schools like Rhodes, Furman, Emory, Wake, and a few others, which seem to have pretty good language departments even though not as full featured as the big state universities.</p>