<p>I'm really worried about not being able to graduate from berk in four years. Is it possible to do a double major and take a foreign language and still graduate in four years? (assuming the two majors have no overlap classes). How many classes would I have to take at a time to do this?</p>
<p>do research into the requirements for the specific majors</p>
<p>That'll depend on a whole slew of things. </p>
<p>A) Which language (aka German will take you two years of language to get to literature classes, Japanese I think takes three but you can do as many as 5 years of language courses)
B) How far to you want to get in that language? Just through the language set (like German 1, 2, 3, 4) or into literature? Business language (like German 103 I think)
C) Which two majors? If they're both low total number of required classes L&S majors with some possible overlap, you might be OK. Start mixing schools around and the general ed changes (don't know how much, only familiar with L&S).</p>
<p>Ummm... if it makes you feel any better I'm attempting two languages (really want to attempt a third) and a double major... (Japanese, German (already into the lit class though...), Comp Lit and I haven't decided between my other interests (Poli Sci, Math, or possibly L&S Comp Sci). I hope to get out in 4 years...</p>
<p>BackToReality</p>
<p>4 years, shmore years:p Take an extra semester or more if you need it to take the classes you want. </p>
<p>jmo
-A</p>
<p>Language classes at Berkeley tend to be pretty tough, especially if you are going to be taking something that's not rooted in Greek or Latin (i.e. Mandarin, Japanese, etc.); unless your second major is a really easy one (i.e. Business, but that's only easy AFTER you get into Haas), you're not going to sleep very much if you want to do it in four years. One option is to do the intensive summer language courses, in which you cover a year at a time (I believe that's actually somewhat recommended b/c you maintain usage); however, these classes, 10 units apiece, will pretty much wipe out your summer (four hours a day in class, supposidly up to 8 hr of hwk). </p>
<p>If this is something you really want, you may want to consider taking at least an extra semester.</p>
<p>Go abroad if you study a language, especially if you major in it. From what I heard studying abroad is a REAL GPA booster and its much more relaxed and fun. I'm heading out for a year come August to go to Europe, gonna finish my German degree there, come back, write my thesises and then I'm outta here!</p>
<p>im int'l and lost with the intricacies of how much language beyond english u people learn in high school.</p>
<p>i was wondering if say i wanted to minor/2nd major in a foreign language but start out with ZERO knowledge of the language (no speaking, no writing, no reading...just a LOT of zeal), can i possible cope in the intro classes? or would everyone else, meaning americans, already have basic knowledge in the language?</p>
<p>hehehe, you give us Americans faaarrrr to much credit. If you're in intro classes, nobody will know dirt about the language. Or at least, I certainly hope so, seeing as I'm taking Japanese 1A my first semester and I know nothing about the language.</p>
<p>BackToReality</p>
<p>Japanese is a beautiful languge. It takes a load of practice though.</p>
<p>I knew jack about German when I started other than a few basic words. All that helped me with was getting a high score on the first quiz. Nobody knows crap in Level 1 courses.</p>
<p>Oh ya, Japanese will be tough, but hey, I didn't choose berkeley to take it easy. ;)</p>
<p>andrewtdx: Out of curiosity (and that I have to sign up right quick...) would you recommend German 100 (Reading Culture: Exotic Encounters w/ Goktürk) or German 101 (Mass Media and Comprehension - Language and Text I w/ Gerhardt)? If you could PM me or email me that'd be great!</p>
<p>BackToReality</p>
<p>How many japanese classes are there? I figure i would pick the language back since the last time i took it in my high school senior year. That was 3 years ago. I still feel I have good enough knowledge to skip japanese 1 so would the university allow me to do that or do I have to follow the series?</p>
<p>Three years? I'd say start over. The University classes here are FAR more rigorous than any high school course, and even other colleges. I know a transfer who did German 1-4 at CC, got As in all of them, but his skills were only up to snuff through half of our equivalent German 3. I'd recommend getting an easy A, than risking being swamped and getting a C or D. The language departments here are damn determined to get you proficient by the time you leave the Advanced Language course and are ready for upper div. It's quite a feat, but man does it feel good.</p>
<p>hows the french department at cal? im thinking about doing french...probably influenced by all those stuff french movies..haha</p>
<p>Every language department at Cal is superb. Don't worry about quality.</p>
<p>"French 1: If you have never studied French before, or you have taken 2 years or less of high school French, sign up for French 1. Enrollment is limited. If you cannot get in on Tele-BEARS, sign up on the waiting list and attend the course."</p>
<p>source: french dept page, UCB</p>
<p>backtoreality, are u sure people will know dirt about the language? i cant even say "my name is xxx" in french. i cant be in a class where they are discussing the intricacies of grammar, i need to start from scratch. the french dept french1 requirement above states that some people in the french1 class will have learnt french for maybe a year in high school. and i cant say "my name is xxx". argh...</p>
<p>are u sure sure sure everyone will know dirt? dont mean to patronize, am just slightly worried. :D plus it's 4am here and im sleepy.</p>
<p>Don't worry about it. I'm taking Japanese 1A in the fall. I can't even say "hello" in Japanese, much less "my name is xxx". I might start Spanish or Italian also, and, though I know about 10-20 words in Spanish, I know no Italian. And I expect to do just fine (well, unless I have trouble keeping track of which language I'm speaking :P).</p>
<p>BackToReality</p>
<p>PS The German department has flyers all over their area that try to get people who have no experience at all to attempt to double major or minor in German. Just an example.</p>
<p>PSS: The people who only take 2 years of French in high school had very little interest in French. That's the required amount of language to get into the UC system, if they only took that much they were just fulfilling a requirement, not trying to learn lots of French.</p>
<p>Our German Department is #1 in the country apparently. And we do it with less, because the teaching faculty at Cal is TOP notch. ;) </p>
<p>...of course, I have my biases.</p>
<p>thanks backtoreality and andrew! i think i'll give it a shot. :)</p>