Hi all!
I am very interested in the language program at American and I was wondering if anyone is familiar with it. What is the reputation of the program? What are some good/bad points about it? I am specifically interested in the French, Arabic, Farsi, and Swahili courses. I would like to double major in one of those languages and nonprofit leadership.
On a different note, what are the students at American University typically like? I’m sure that with 7,000 there is a little bit of everything. However, overall, how would you describe the student body?
Thanks in advance 
I think very relatively few AU students major in languages–rather they study them as an adjunct to a degree in international relations or the like. So you’re unlikely to get much in the way of responses here. The school isn’t especially known for foreign languages.
As for what the students are like, there is no “typical” student. They are a varied bunch. I guess the only generalizations I can make is that they aren’t into varsity sports and Greek life is not strong.
Thanks @MommaJ for replying. Do you think that it would be a weak program then or just not very well known?
According to AU’s Common Data Set for 2014-2015, only about 1% of bachelor’s degrees awarded were in Foreign Language/Linguistics, compared to 41% for Social Sciences. However, a lot of students seem to have a formal minor in a language other than English. The International Studies major requires proficiency at the Intermediate level, so people take a few more courses to meet the requirements for a minor.
Each year, a significant number of students are awarded grants for language study abroad, especially for languages considered “security languages,” such as Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Russian, Tajiki, Turkish, etc.
Also, with so many international students at AU, there are tremendous opportunities for pairing up these students with native English speakers to help both students converse in their second/third languages. There is also a formal program in Language Coaching available free of charge to all students pursuing language study.
Wow! Thank you @BlackCrow3 . May I ask if you are an AU student?
I’m a parent of a current AU student.