Foreign Languages

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Purpose and Focus

The Department of Foreign Languages offers programs of study leading to degrees in several languages The department promotes the study of languages and cultures in order to prepare students to live and work in an increasingly interdependent world. While fostering an atmosphere of critical thinking and intellectual growth, the department helps students enhance their language skills and augment their appreciation of varied literatures and cultures. Department offerings complement study in many other disciplines.

Accreditation

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

General Education International Core Requirement

The vast majority of FOL courses fulfill the General Education International Core Requirement. Consult the current listing of approved courses for verification.

Undergraduate Majors

French Studies
German Studies
Romance Languages
Spanish

Special Programs

Foreign language students may elect to study abroad for a summer, a semester, or a year in a country such as Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Chile, Mexico, or Costa Rica. Administered by International Programs, such study provides students with first-hand experience of the language and culture of the host country while earning UNLV credits. Credits taken abroad will be recorded as CHI; FOL; FREN; GER; ITAL; or SPAN 187, 287, 387, or 487. Whether they correspond to courses offered by the department or count toward a major or minor will be determined by a standing committee of the Department of Foreign Languages. Consult Interdisciplinary Programs for information on Asian and Latin American studies.

Admission Policies

Students who have had foreign language courses in high school may be required to take a placement test in that language if they wish to resume its study on an advanced level. This regulation applies equally to students having had extended contact with a foreign language by residence abroad.

Academic Policies

After initial placement, first- and second-year courses must be taken in sequential order. Students may not enroll concurrently in any of these courses and one of a higher level except for those courses taught in English.

Native speakers of languages other than English may not enroll in lower-division classes in their native language. These students are encouraged to consult with the department chair for special advising on remedial study or advanced work.

Students majoring in Spanish must take at least 21 of the 36 (15 of 36 for French Studies and German Studies) upper-division credits required for the major at UNLV. Students following the Spanish-for-the-Professions concentration must include their profession specific courses in those 21 credits. SPAN 302 is a prerequisite for all upper-division Spanish-for-the-Professions and General Track courses in Spanish.

Students may take credit by examination in a given course one time only. Credit by examination may be taken only in 113, 114, 213, 214, 226, 227, 301, or 302, pending departmental approval of level.

Advisement

For academic advising, students should contact the College of Liberal Arts Wilson Advising Center. Majors and minors are assigned a faculty advisor who should be consulted for career advising and for more specialized academic advising.

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