UnderGraduate - Second Language Requirements at Columbia

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Dear all,</p>

<p>I am a sophomore at an IB school in the Bahamas. Right now I hate taking Spanish (I believe because of my teacher). In previous years I did not mind taking spanish but I was never very excited or interested in the subject. The question that I am posing to this forum is are there any undergraduate secondary language requirements for Columbia? I am planning on majoring in Economics or Business Administration. I believe that on the Columbia website it said that a 4 semester second language study was a requirement however I think it was listed for students trying to get a bachelors in arts and not the sciences. Is this true or does everyone need to do a second language?</p>

2

<p>This is true for everyone. It’s part of the Core.</p>

<p>If you’ve taken Spanish before and you decide to take a placement exam upon matriculating at Columbia, you can place out of the requirement if you show you are at the 3rd year level or beyond. The 4 semesters refers to the first 4 semesters of a language.</p>

<p>So for example, take my situation. I placed out of the first year of my language taking the placement exam, so I only have two semesters of that language before I’m done with the requirement.</p>