<p>Which schools are known for their foreign language programs--particularly romance languages? Which are known for promoting language study along with either business or international relations minors?</p>
<p>Without a doubt it would be Middlebury College, although many LACS and ivys also have strong language programs too.</p>
<p>They differ very, very widely, even among the best LACs. You need to check out the number of upper level offerings, the number of majors, the number of language discussion tables, college-sponsored JYA offerings, availability of language houses or dorms, film series, etc. You'd be surprised at how wide the range is.</p>
<p>Anyway, we kicked the tires on this one. Middlebury is terrific, as is Hamilton. All the women's colleges and former women's colleges are really excellent (some of it dependent on the language - Smith, if Italian - they also have internships in banking and U.N.-related work in Geneva through their own JYA program); Wellesley has an extraordinary reputation for French); Pomona (lots of language living spaces and discussion groups, and film series); Scripps (French and Italian - it also houses the Center for the European Union); Occidental is well-known for Spanish.</p>
<p>Don't know much about business. But if you are female, and looking for the combination of Romance languages with international relations, I doubt very much that any place in the country can match Mount Holyoke. Besides excellent language study, they are the center for the 5-College Certificate for International Relations, chaired by Vincent Ferraro at Mt. Holyoke - with more than 25 participating faculty. And 15% of the student body is from abroad.</p>
<p>Among the uni's, Tufts and Georgetown have excellent reputations, though I don't know anything about their language programs.</p>
<p>For a combination with business, check out the University of Denver. They arrange business internships abroad, using language skills acquired, and offer a wide array of business programs - they even have a degree in International Real Estate Accounting.</p>
<p>Middlebury, of course, is well known for its foreign langugae programs. The programs at Tufts and Georgetown, though, are also what you're looking for--their well-respected international studies departments make foreign languages pretty popular on campus. Also, try Macalaster college for someting slightly less selective than those three with a strong emphasis on international studies.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. On paper Middlebury is perfect for me, but when I visited it I hated it. Too far from any urban or suburban area or even a small town, so grey and so cold in August. I was also very concerned about the emphasis (?obsession) with athletics and oudooring. I couldn't live there.</p>
<p>Is there any place like Middlebury someplace more civilized? I am concerned about how rural Smith or Mount Holyoke might be--I haven't seen either one. I'm already thinking about Wellesley, Pomona, Tufts and Georgetown, am somewhat familiar with all of them and could live any of those places. Isn't Macalaster pretty cold?</p>
<p>Smith is NOT rural, but rather in the center of a very happening town, the center of the 5-College scene, with lots to do. 9 bookstores, coffeehouses, folk clubs, indie film cinemas, music venues etc., much, much more civilized. Mt. Holyoke is very "bucolic" (and beautiful), but there is a free bus into Northampton and Amherst. Pomona is California suburbia - in summer it gets smoggy. Not much of a town (though more than Middlebury.) But it is very pretty. (If you are looking at Pomona, also look at Scripps - my d. liked them both, but would have preferred Scripps, among other reasons, for their Romance language resources.) Wellesley is very, very upscale suburbia, with nothing to do. Empties out on weekends, to Boston. Georgetown is in an upscale area of DC, with lots to do. Macalester is cold. (but bounded by a really nice, diverse area of St. Paul, and lots to do in the Twin Cities.) None of these places would be "athletic", though, of them, Pomona would be the most like Middlebury.</p>
<p>I would also advise you to look at both Pomona and Scripps. The 5 Claremont colleges are all adjacent and coordinate their schedules, making it easy to take classes at the other schools. (Students can also eat at any of the dining halls). Scripps is the most centrally located of the 5 and their campus and dorms are very nice. They also give merit aid, although Pomona may give more generous need-based aid. You could do a minor/concentration at Claremont McKenna, which would offer more in the business/IR areas. Pomana is now one of the schools that has to be considered a reach for everyone, but Scripps could be a very solid match for a strong student.</p>
<p>One way to get a look at the differences among schools in languages generally speaking is to look at the number of language/literature and area/ethnic studies majors. The data is simply indicative, not conclusive. Just one more thing to add into the hopper. The area/ethnic studies addition is important as there are some schools - Scripps and Mt. Holyoke being good examples -- where the majors are not necessarily literature based - they will have a "French Studies" major, for example, rather than a "French" major built around literature.</p>
<p>Lots of caveats with the data. First of all, it will vary year by year. Secondly, this includes all language/area studies majors, not just Romance languages. Thirdly, a low percentage at a large school may still result in a substantially robust peer group, whereas at a small school, it will not. </p>
<p>If anything, though, the differences in the data likely understate the differences in the schools. Schools with larger numbers of majors likely have an even larger number of minors, or students taking language electives. The number of upper-level offerings will be greater than than the differences in the major percentages, and the sizes of the respective peer groups at each school will vary accordingly.</p>
<p>Anyway, here's some semi-random data as reported in the Common Data Sets. The first number is the percentage of language/literature majors; the second area/ethnic studies majors:</p>
<p>Mt. Holyoke - 3.96/6.85
Macalester - 9.1/3.8
Princeton - 4.3/1.1
Middlebury - 11.0/4.0
Swarthmore - 6.6./1.2
Hamilton - 9.2/3.7
Smith - 9.62/8.59
Williams - 4.0/3.0
Dartmouth - 6.0/2.0
Scripps - 2.9/12.2
Grinnell - 10.05/0
Stanford - 3.5/3.5
Cornell - 2.0/2.0</p>
<p>which romance languages are you interested in?</p>
<p>The German proram at Amherst is first rate - have wonderful cooperation with Gottingen University and have prof exchanges, etc.</p>
<p>"which romance languages are you interested in?"</p>
<p>French and Italian</p>