<p>Can any current students give any insight into a foreign language that is particularly appropriate for math majors? I'm thinking German, but I really don't know. Thanks.</p>
<p>You too can be a big hero
When you've learned to count backwards to zero.
"In Cherman oder English I know how to count down
Und I'm learning Chinese!" says Wernher von Braun.</p>
<ul>
<li>Tom Lehrer, Wernher von Braun</li>
</ul>
<p>This is what I've heard from a CalTech math PhD. Traditionally, Russian, French and German were appropriate for math majors. I would think Russian and French would be a little more useful than German. During the cold war, Russian and Western academics didn't interact as much and there is an abundant body of outstanding mathematics that was never translated. On the other hand, French is important because there are many great French mathematicians that simply refuse to write in English. The Germans are often more willing to use English.</p>
<p>French, German and Russian are the languages my son found most commonly listed for grad math programs.</p>
<p>Glad he decided to stop Spanish after three years and take other classes, as it wouldn't have helped him with the grad school language requirement, which he will have to start from scratch anyway.</p>
<p>Italian is often accepted for PhD requirements as well. MIT even accepts Chinese and Spanish.</p>
<p>Also note that some PhD programs require reading proficiency in 2 languages (usually taken out of Italian, German, Russian, and French) such as Princeton.</p>