<p>Can someone explain what the Georgetown Faculty of Languages and Linguistics really is? How does this differ from a traditional language major? The GU web site calls the program unique but doesn't really explain what it is...</p>
<p>also, is it difficult to get into?</p>
<p>TIA</p>
<p>I know very little about it, but I know that the student applies directly to the language faculty program - and I believe that might drastically increase chances of admission for a student who has a background and interest in a less-common language. I mean, instead of competing against thousands of similar applicants, the student is weighed only against others interested in studying the language. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I don't know what constraints that puts on a student who later wants to change majors. I would think that the student should be very certain of their desire to focus on studying a foreign language before applying. The problem is that Georgetown only allows students to apply to one program, so a student really does have to choose the one they want the most.</p>
<p>It looks like they have lumped traditional foreign language study and linguistics together into a single uber-department. Linguistics is the study of technical aspects of languages rather than the learning of fluency and reading of literature of a specific language.</p>
<p>Several kids from our high school attend FLL; my impression is that it was not harder to get into than other Georgetown programs and that it is providing wonderful opportunities both to study their original foreign languages more deeply and to start studying other languages, such as Arabic. They do not seem to be cut off in any way from the life and activities of other Georgetown students (dorms are not separate as far as I know).</p>