<p>USC will offer classes in Persian languages beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year. A grant from the Farhang Foundation has made this new addition to language studies possible.</p>
<p>Students enrolled at SC can study Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian.</p>
<p>and Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and Portuguese plus Latin and Ancient Greek.</p>
<p>^That’s awesome. What a school.</p>
<p>Yes, I heard about this on local NPR. Drop German and add Persian languages… just catering to changing Los Angeles demographics, I guess.</p>
<p>German hasn’t been dropped - German language courses are still offered. Only the specific major in German was eliminated. [GERM</a> | USC Schedule of Classes](<a href=“http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/20111/germ.html]GERM”>302 Found)</p>
<p>There is no major in Persian languages offered, so there does not appear to be any “preference” being given to those languages over German.</p>
<p>That other school in LA offers:
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Ancient Greek, Latin, German, Italian, Arabic, Armenian (Eastern & Western), Hebrew (Biblical & Modern), Persian, Filipino, Hindi-Urdu, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Modern Greek, Sanskrit, Pali, Pakrit, Dutch, Yiddish, ancient Egyptian, Coptic, Sumerian, Kurdish, Aramaic, Syriac, Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Turkish, Uzbek, Azeri, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Sami, Old Norse/Icelandic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romania, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Swahili, Zulu, Yoruba, Xhosa, Igbo, Bambara, Hausa, Amharic, Tigrinya, Wolof, Chichewa, Setswana</p>
<p>That’s awesome. What a school.</p>
<p>^
UCLA - public school with 26,000 undergrads; student-faculty ratio 17:1; part of the UC Consortium for Language and Learning, which is comprised of numerous UC schools</p>
<p>USC - private school with 17,000 undergrads; student-faculty ratio 9:1</p>
<p>Apples to oranges.</p>
<p>UCBChemEGrad,
USC has one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation. About 49% of the students are from outside California. Of that number 12% are international students.
Students from Los Angeles are only a small percentage of enrollees. </p>
<p>There are citizens of 135 countries represented at SC.</p>
<p>That’s probably true Georgia Girl…SC likely enrolls more Orange County kids. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Alamemom, if they no longer offer a German major, it seems to me German class offerings will be more limited going forward.</p>
<p>^^^^Don’t get me wrong—it’s great that USC is now offering Persian.</p>
<p>You’re quite right that it’s not fair to compare USC’s language offerings to the much larger UCLA. My comment was more in reference to the “what a school” accolade that USC now offers 14 languages. For number of languages offered, that’s not really so many, as a number of smaller private universities offer many more languages. But, different universities choose to specialize in different areas (though, I understand USC has solid programs in the ones it’s chosen to emphasize).</p>
<p>UCBChemgEGrad, if you will follow the link I provided, you will see that USC continues to offer German language courses, and the major was eliminated more than a year ago. Your post implied that you had concern that German had been “dropped” in favor of the Persian languages. I am simply reassuring you that is not the case. As there also is not a specific major in the Persian languages and following your logic that no specific major = fewer courses, are you also concerned that the Persian language course offerings will be reduced?</p>
<p>I’m saying USC made a decision to eliminate its German major program…meaning no more German grad students or faculty to provide resources for future course offerings. USC received money to start-up a Persian language program…therefore, one can conclude priorities have shifted. One program is dying while another is just being born. Who do you think will get more resources going forward?</p>
<p>I looked at the link, alamemom. Interesting that language courses are 4 units at 'SC. They’re 5 units at Berkeley.</p>
<p>USC’s academic courses are nearly all 4 units. USC’s standard tuition includes up to 18 units per semester. Students typically take four 4-unit academic courses per semester for 16 units, and they have 2 “extra” units for courses of interest - of which USC has many.</p>
<p>Varying universities generally have varying course numbering systems and unit allotments - did you assume that all 3,000+ universities in the US were obliged to follow Berkeley’s system? Another variance: Berkeley gives AP credit for scores of 3 and above while USC has a higher standard in that they only grant credit for scores of 4 and 5.</p>
<p>There are many differences between the two universities. Students, such as my daughter, who were accepted to both need to look carefully at all of the features that pertain to their studies - for her neither German nor Persian languages were a consideration, for example. Berkeley would have been “easier,” in that she would have received a year and a half of direct course credit for her AP courses (USC will only allow up to 1 year, or 32 units, of AP credit), but USC had Thematic Option, which allowed her to take challenging GE courses in classes of 9 to 24 students instead of the larger classes she would have encountered at Berkeley. She had many other reasons for choosing USC and I would be happy to list more if you are interested.</p>
<p>Did you have further questions about course credit allotments I can answer for you?</p>
<p>^ Good for your daughter…I’m glad she’s happy at USC; it is a great school. I don’t want to get into a ****ing contest between these two universities just because I posted an observation. You’re correct that students need to look into specifics and choose what’s best for them. </p>
<p>Regarding the AP credit of 3-5 scores, this is specifically for the breadth foreign language requirement. Not all Berkeley departments and majors grant lower division credit with a 3-4 AP score. For example, Berkeley engineering only allows credit for Physics 7A (Mechanics) if a score of 5 is achieved; Math 1A/B credit if scored 4 or 5 on AP Math (BC) Exam. </p>
<p>Also, in keeping with the foreign language theme of this thread, no foreign language course credit is given for any score on AP Spanish, French or German language exams. </p>
<p>
I didn’t have a question regarding course credit allotments…but thank you. :)</p>
<p>I am sorry for answering a question you feel you did not ask - that must have been my misinterpretation of your post #14 where it seemed you were wondering why one school allotted 4 units while another allotted 5 for a particular course</p>
<p>As I am sure you are aware given that you are very familiar with UC Berkeley, even in the case of AP scores of 3 not given direct course credit at Berkeley (as in the examples you mention), applicants are awarded elective credit for those scores of 3. I am surprised you are downplaying that - for many students, receiveing more AP credit is something they weigh very heavily in favor of a potential university. I was listing that as an appealing aspect of Berkeley.</p>
<p>Your observations are always welcome on the USC forum, and I am wondering what in my responses you find objectionable. I am sorry you felt you had to use disguised foul language when replying to my message.</p>
<p>^ This…
</p>
<p>and this…
</p>
<p>is why I responded the way I did.</p>
<p>I am sorry you find my posting of factual information objectionable. Berkeley grants AP credit (some of it elective credit, as you have pointed out) for scores of 3, 4 or 5, and USC grants AP credit (most of it elective credit, if any are interested - very little direct-course credit is offered) for scores of 4 and 5 only. I am sorry you find the term “higher standard” to be objectionable, but it applies in this case.</p>
<p>Thematic option courses at USC - the honors general ed curriculum - provided her with classes of between 9 and 24 students. This is, again, factual information. When she visited Berkeley they indicated her general education courses would be larger - is this not correct? You are welcome to post examples of Berkeley GE courses of between 9 and 24 students if you desire, and I would not criticize you for doing so.</p>
<p>Please note that you are posting on the USC forum and you should not be surprised to find posters here who feel USC is an excellent university with much to offer, and who will respond to your criticisms. Your first post on this thread provided incorrect information (that German had been “dropped” - it has not) and I provided a link to show that is not so.</p>
<p>Thank you for refraining from using veiled foul language in your most recent post directed at me - I appreciate it.</p>
<p>It wasn’t the factual info I was objecting to…it was the tone in which it was presented seemed to slight Berkeley by implying they don’t have high standards or offer challenging GE courses. No matter though since you are obviously a proud USC Mom.</p>
<p>
I took a very interesting demography course at Berkeley for a GE credit. Very small (less than 20) and a lot of graduate students. Some similar courses were recently offered in Fall 2010.
[UCB</a> Online Schedule of Classes: Search Results](<a href=“http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=9&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Demography&p_classif=U&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=64]UCB”>http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=9&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Demography&p_classif=U&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=64)</p>
<p>
<br>
Limit is 22, currently enrolled is 13. </p>
<p>Let’s look at some language courses:
Elementary Arabic has 13 enrolled with a limit of 18.
[UCB</a> Online Schedule of Classes: Search Results](<a href=“http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=7&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Arabic&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=12]UCB”>http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=7&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Arabic&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=12)</p>
<p>Elementary Chinese has 20 enrolled.
[UCB</a> Online Schedule of Classes: Search Results](<a href=“http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=11&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Chinese&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=21]UCB”>http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=11&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Chinese&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=21)</p>
<p>Geography courses:
“Introduction to Development” has 29 students enrolled.
“Atmospheric Physics and Dynamics” has 15 students.</p>
<p>Rhetoric courses:
“The Craft of Writing” section has 17 students enrolled.
“Language, Truth and Dialogue” has 18 students enrolled.
[UCB</a> Online Schedule of Classes: Search Results](<a href=“http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=8&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Rhetoric&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=60]UCB”>http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=8&p_term=FL&p_deptname=Rhetoric&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&x=60)</p>
<p>So, yes, Berkeley does offer small class sizes for certain courses.</p>