Undergraduate Foreign Language Requirement at Harvard University
(from the Handbook for Students)
Degree candidates must meet a foreign language requirement in a language with a written component that is taught at Harvard or for which an appropriate examination can be given. The requirement can be satisfied in one of the following ways:
- Earning
a minimum score of 600 on a College Entrance Examination Board SAT
II Test that includes a reading component,
or
- Earning
a passing score as determined by the department on a placement examination
administered by certain language departments,
or
- Passing with a letter grade one appropriate full course or two half-courses of instruction in one language at Harvard. These courses may not include foreign literature courses conducted in English.
In addition, students who have earned scores on language examinations that would normally count toward advanced standing (for example, a minimum score of 5 on a College Board Advanced Placement Examination or a minimum score of 7 on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination) will be deemed to have satisfied the language requirement, regardless of whether they have a sufficient number of such scores to qualify for advanced standing and whether they choose to accept advanced standing.
Any student who has not met the language requirement upon entrance ordinarily is required to enroll in and complete with a passing letter grade an appropriate full-year language course or two half-year language courses in a single language during the first year of residence. (An appropriate course is one for which a student qualifies by previous instruction or placement test.) Exceptions in the case of freshmen can be granted only by the Administrative Board upon recommendation of the Dean of Freshmen or, in the case of new transfer students, upon the recommendation of their Allston Burr Resident Dean. Undergraduates who have been granted an exception by the Administrative Board and who fail to meet the requirement by the end of their second year ordinarily will be placed on probation. Students who fail to meet the requirement by the end of the third year ordinarily will not be allowed to continue until they have completed the requirement through enrollment in the Harvard Summer School. In cases where the College Entrance Examination Board SAT II Test is an option, that option may be exercised prior to entrance only.
Students wishing to take special examinations in any language in which an appropriate examination, including a written component, can be given by a member of the Faculty familiar with the standards of the language requirement should apply to the Freshman Dean's Office by the beginning of the first week of class during their first year. Special language examinations will ordinarily be scheduled by the day that study cards are due. Students who plan to fulfill the language requirement by special examination should inform their Resident Dean for Freshman or their Allston Burr Resident Dean prior to the filing of study cards and should consult with them as to the advisability of enrolling in a regular language course pending the result of the special examination.
Students who plan to continue language study beyond the requirement level may wish to qualify for a citation in that language. See Citations in Foreign Language.
Language Requirement Waiver
The language requirement will be waived for any student whose native language is not English and who is proficient both in that language and in English. Petitions for waiver may be obtained from the Freshman Dean's Office or the Coordinator of Transfer Student Programs and should be submitted to the Registrar. No such petition will be granted unless the student has completed secondary school instruction in that language.
Last updated on September 18, 2007