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The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers undergraduate majors Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish; minor programs in the above languages and in Arabic. Classical Studies, Italian, and Turkish; and instruction in the above languages, as well as in Danish, Finnish, Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Norwegian, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Swahili, and Swedish. Other languages may be offered from time to time.

Majors: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish

Minors: Arabic, Chinese, Classical Studies, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish

Certificates: Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language, Advanced Proficiency in Russian

Languages Taught: American Sign Language. Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Danish, Finnish, French, German, Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Norwegian, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, and Turkish.

Heritage Languages: Hindi, Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.


Admission Requirements
Students majoring in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, or Spanish are required to demonstrate proficiency at a level determined by the individual language program before being admitted to 400-level courses.


Credit by Examination
Credit by exam may be granted for first-year and second-year language sequences only. A student may be awarded credit by exam for a maximum of one language sequence (12-15 credits). Credit by exam is awarded only for those languages taught by the department. Credit received by examination is graded P/NP only.

Students of French, German, or Spanish may receive credit for first- or second-year by taking a CLEP exam (administered by Testing Services). The amount of credit awarded will depend on the score received. Students of Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Norwegian, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Swedish, or Turkish should contact the department for individual testing.


Restrictions
The language sequences 101, 102, 103 (or 150, 151) and 201, 202, 203 must be taken in order. Students who have received credit for any one of these may not subsequently receive credit for any of the lower numbered courses. This restriction also applies to transfer credits and credits earned by examination.

Native speakers (defined as students whose formal secondary education was completed in the foreign language) may not register for first-through fourth-year language courses, nor may they receive credit by exam for their native language.


Immersion Living


Overseas and Intensive Programs

Students of foreign languages are encouraged to improve their language skills by participating in one of the many study-abroad and overseas internship opportunities offered through Portland State and the Oregon State System of Higher Education.  Programs ranging from one term to a full academic year are available in several foreign counties, including China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and Spain.  The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the University's Office of International Education Services will counsel and assist students in integrating their overseas experience with their courses of academic study.


Major Requirements for Foreign Languages

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers undergraduate majors in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. An undergraduate foreign language major must complete 32 upper-division credits (numbered 300 or higher) in language, literature and culture, an additional 8 credits in 400-level language and literature courses (excluding 401-410), 8 credits in adviser-approved electives, and 4 credits in linguistics (FL 390, LING 390, or a linguistics course in the target language). French and Spanish majors must include a minimum of two courses from the 341, 342, 343 sequence and a minimum of 16 400-level credits in their total program.

Summary of requirements:
Credits
Language, Literature and Culture courses
(in French and Span this must include two courses from the 341-342-343 sequence and at least 8 - 400-level credits.)
32
400-level courses in the major language (excluding 401-410)
8

Advisor-approved electives
8

Linguistics (FL 390, LING 390, or linguistics course in the major language)

4

Total

52
  • Before being admitted to 400-level courses, students will be expected to demonstrate proficiency at a level determined by the individual language program.
  • No more than 8 credits of courses numbered 404 (Cooperative Education) may be counted toward the major.
  • 20 of the required 52 credits must be taken in residence at PSU (excludes credit by exam but includes study abroad credit from PSU approved programs).
  • All courses used to satisfy major requirements must be passed with a grade of C or higher. (C- and P are not acceptable.) Students majoring in a foreign language must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.50 on all courses used to satisfy the major requirements.

Note: Candidates for a major in a foreign language must schedule their program with an advisor.


Undergraduate Minors Requirements for Foreign Languages

 Undergraduate Minors in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, and Turkish

  The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers undergraduate minors in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. An undergraduate foreign language minor must complete 20 upper-division credits (numbered 300 or above) in language, literature, or culture, at least 12 of which are in the target language, and 4 credits in general linguistics (FL 390, LING 390, or a linguistics course in the target language).


Summary of requirements:
Credits
Language, Literature and Culture Courses
20
Linguistics
4
Total (minimum)
24
  • Candidates for a minor in a foreign language must schedule their program with an advisor.
  • No more than 4 credits of courses numbered 404 (Cooperative Education) may be counted toward the minor.
  • Twelve of the required 24 credits must be taken in residence at PSU (excludes credit by exam but includes study abroad credit from PSU approved programs).
  • All courses used to satisfy the depart-mental minor requirements, must be graded C or higher. (C- and P are not acceptable). Students minoring in a foreign language must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.50 on all courses used to satisfy the minor requirements.

    Requirements for a Major and a Minor in a Foreign Language

    Printable Advising Worksheets for Individual Languages
Minor Requirements for Classical Studies
An undergraduate minor in classical studies consists of 36 credits of Latin and Ancient Greek (two years of Latin and one of Greek or two years of Greek and one of Latin) and 12 credits of area classes selected from the list below.
Summary of requirements:
Credits
Language
Two years of Latin and one of Ancient Greek or Two years of Ancient Greek and one of Latin
36

Area Classes:
ArH 452 Ancient Art: Aegean and Greek
ArH 452 Ancient Art: Etruscan and Roman
Eng 317 Greek Mythology
Grk 330 Ancient Greek Literature in Translation
Grk 331 Plato as Literature
Grk 333 Women in Ancient Greece
Grk 334 Greek Ethical Thought
Grk 335 Sophocles and Euripides
Hst 315 Greek History
Hst 316 Roman History
Lat 330 Roman Culture
Lat 341 Roman Literature in Translation
Phl 414 Plato
Phl 415 Aristotle
TA 471 Ancient Greek Theater and Drama
12
Total
48
  • Twelve of the required 48 credits must be taken in residence at PSU.
  • All courses used to satisfy minor requirements must be graded C or higher. Students minoring in classical studies must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.50 on all courses used to satisfy the minor requirements.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this webpage is to help the student understand the requirements set forth in the Bulletin and in no way supercedes the authority of the Bulletin.


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