<p>I sympathize with the poster as well. I love to learn languages, but group classes are the absolute last things I would pursue. In my experience, they've been a complete waste of time.</p>
<p>I asked the question because I am helping a student who could not cope with a foreign language at the high school school level but is not having problems in any other subject area. Her prospects for succeeding in college and enjoying her time there seem much more positive in a college where a foreign language is not a requirement.</p>
<p>eli, I think you asked a great question and I'm sorry to see that you received very few helpful answers. I'd like to know this too.</p>
<p>This issue was important to my son too. He had taken two years of two different languages. He is fluent in language #1; however, since it was an unusual language very few colleges offered it. He foresaw that he wouldn't place well in language #2 and he'd be saddled with a year or two of college level language, which he didn't relish for several reasons: because he is not particularly good at language, because he doesn't like language study and most importantly because there were many, many other courses that he wanted to take instead.</p>
<p>So, he tried to find schools that did not have a language requirement and Williams filled that bill (as well as being a good fit in other ways). If I remember properly Hamilton does not have one either, but I'd check on that.</p>
<p>Amherst and Brown have NO requirements at all. There are most likely others in this category.</p>
<p>^^ so what type of majors do Brown or Amherst students study? Seems like there would have to be requirements to complete a major course of study or is it all open forum? </p>
<p>As far as language requirements go, I'm all for them as being part of a liberal arts education, just as I'm all for requiring English/History/Literature/science/Philosophy/Humanity classes as liberal arts requirements....for sure some of these subjects seem like a huge waste of time for some people (I think Biology is a JOKE, and pointless but that's just my opinion), but if you connect the dots--they do make a person more well-rounded. Isn't that what Liberal Arts/General educational requirements are for? to give students a chance to explore, but to also broaden their thinking horizons and build a foundation on which to place their major on?</p>
<p>Students obtain degrees ie BA, BS etc. A major isn't something you get.</p>
<p>311Griff, At schools like Amherst and Brown that don't have distribution or core requirements, you still must fulfill a certain number of courses in your major. Theoretically, you could take nothing but courses in your major, though practically speaking this isn't done. </p>
<p>At schools like Williams (and many others) that have distribution requirements you must take a prescribed number of courses from each loosely grouped category. </p>
<p>At Williams the categories are arts/humanities, social studies, and science/math and you are required to take three from each. You must also take the prescribed number of courses to complete your major.
In addition there are some other overlapping requirements like writing, cultural studies and quantitative reasoning. Different schools have different systems, but the reasoning is much the same. </p>
<p>Since each group category offers a wide range of subjects and departments you can fulfill the requirement in a way that is most appealing to you. If you want to avoid biology, for example, you can take astronomy or geology. If you want to avoid foreign language you can take art history or philosophy.</p>
<p>Yeah, my school is like Williams. Except we also have skills requirements like computer literacy, English, Public Speaking, and Math. The president of my school graduated from Brown, and the University of Chicago...so a lot of his philosophy revolves around strong interdisciplinary studies based around liberal arts.</p>
<p>So at Brown, you can essentially just study what you want? No need to study anything about English or Astronomy if you are an Engineering major? This seems like a strange way to do it...because a lot of students could get a really focused education and never learn about Emily Dickinson, or the Civil War... they may never know much about religious diversity or the way businesses are structured... seems like it could lead students down the path of one-sided/closed minded thinking instead of open minded, objective discovery.</p>
<p>Thanks for replies so far. I am looking for schools several rungs below the Williams/Brown variety - something more for an average student. I think that somehow this must have come up before and that there must be someone who has complied a list. think of all of the ther categories where you can find a list: most beautiful campus, best food, most into fitness, etc.</p>
<p>eli-
If your friend has a true learning disability and cannot handle a language, some schools will exempt her from that requirement, or substitute something else. I helped a student who was attending our State U. They substituted Sociology for the language requirement for him. Your friend should check with the disability services office of the schools she is considering.</p>
<p>By the way, should your friend be considering an engineering major, several school like Tufts and Columbia have not language requirement for the students in the school of Engineering because of the # of required courses for their major (Yes- even a school like COLUMBIA, with it s strong emphasis on core courses, eliminates the language requirement for engineering students). I seem to remember that Harvey Mudd had no language requirement, but you might want to double check that. Ditto for Cal Tech and MIT, if these engineering schools are of any interest. These are all schools that my s. considered (before he decided that he didnt want to attend an engineering school) and he, too, wanted to avoid the languange requirement, if possible.</p>
<p>So, to sum up what is on this thread, the following have no language requirement:
Williams, Vassar, Rice, Brown, Amherst, Wash U.
These have no requirement for specific majors:
Berkeley (few)
UT (Business)
Columbia and Tufts (Engineering)</p>
<p>And by the way, I believe the research has shown that when students are allowed to pick and choose what they study (while meeting the requirements for their major), they traditionally select a well rounded, balanced sampling of classes in many areas of study. This is discussed on the Brown website somewhere. From my own experience, while I focused on the Sciences (psychology, biology and chemistry). I also chose to study English, Sociology, Philosophy, History, Religion, etc, No languages. My s. is having a hard time fitting in all the courses he wants to take. There are simply so many in so many different depts. that sound fascinating, intreresting and fun. This is while he is double-majoring in Mech Engineering and Physics. </p>
<p>Some students choose to study liberal arts and come out with a general degree, and then pursue grad, med , business or law school. Others choose an undergrad degree that can make them easily employable right out of undergrad. Both options are equally appropriate. I remember when I was in college (a LAC), many moons ago, many of my friends with degrees in English or History who went right into the workforce ended up with entry level jobs in the banking industry or as buyers for retail clothing chains. Most of the rest of us went on to grad or professional schools.</p>
<p>Eli-
A quick search on the web turned up many list of schools (at many different tiers) without language requirements</p>
<p><a href="http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/%7Edjb/language_requirement.html%5B/url%5D">http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~djb/language_requirement.html</a>
<a href="http://www.olympic.edu/Students/GettingStarted/SEAC/TransferAdv/ForeignLanguageRequirements.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.olympic.edu/Students/GettingStarted/SEAC/TransferAdv/ForeignLanguageRequirements.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/foreign.language.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/foreign.language.html</a>
<a href="http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v44/n09/TATallen.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v44/n09/TATallen.html</a>
<a href="http://www.evcc.ctc.edu/emplibrary/Foreign%20Language%20Requirements.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.evcc.ctc.edu/emplibrary/Foreign%20Language%20Requirements.pdf</a>
<a href="http://www.elgin.edu/cat2index.asp?id=5702%5B/url%5D">http://www.elgin.edu/cat2index.asp?id=5702</a></p>
<p>Don't let the trolls on this thread get you down.</p>
<p><em>edit</em> note: the kidsource link tells how to pursue exemption of the requirement at schools for students with learning disabilities.</p>
<p>jym626. Thanks so much for going the extra mile to help me with this. It's just amazing how much complete strangers are willing to do to help others on a site like this.</p>
<p>My pleasure, eli.
I realized after reading our posts that you too are a parent, not a student. Glad to help. Boolah boolah.</p>