×
×

Common Searches

What majors does UMSL offer? Where can I sign in to Canvas? What courses are offered this semester? What are the upcoming events at UMSL? How can I get IT help? How do I request a transcript? How do I add or drop a class? Who is my advisor?
Admissions Pay Tuition Financial Aid Scholarships and Grants Alumni and Giving Athletics Visit UMSL Careers at UMSL

Foreign Language Requirement

What will the study of language do for you?

  • Marketability: Enhance your job prospects and earning potential in a globalized economy where adaptability and collaboration are of paramount importance.  

  • Communication: Develop your communication skills in both the foreign language and your own native language through daily interaction with peers and faculty. Employers consistently cite strong communication skills as the most sought-after quality in job candidates. 

  • Study Skills: Improve your performance in other academic areas. Foreign language courses build critical study skills like time management, self-discipline, and team-work.   

  • Cross-cultural Awareness: Develop sensitivity, tolerance, and mutual understanding of world cultures. Foreign language study strengthens your ability to negotiate cultural differences in an increasingly globalized world.

This is just a sampling of the reasons why you should study a language!

What is the language requirement at the University of Missouri-St. Louis?

Candidates for the B.A. degree are required to complete 13 credit hours or the equivalent in proficiency in one foreign language. 

Foreign language guidelines are as follows:

  1. Students entering with no high school language units must enroll in Language 1001.

  2. Students with the degree of proficiency equivalent to 13 hours of college-level work in French, Japanese, or Spanish may obtain exemption by passing the department's placement exam. 

  3. Native speakers of languages other than English may meet the foreign language requirement by presenting a transcript from a university or secondary school of their native country. The department will certify native speakers of those languages which are taught at the university. Those who are proficient in other languages must submit certification of competence to the college.

How do you fulfill the language requirement?

If you've never studied a language at the college level before, take 1001, 1002, and 2101 in one foreign language: ASL, French, Japanese, Spanish.

For special circumstances, please select the appropriate question below.

  • Meet with a language advisor and take a placement test.

  • If you meet either of the circumstances below, meet with Language and Cultural Studies Chair Sandra Trapani to discuss your options.

    • I have successfully completed 7-10 hours in a single foreign language at another college or university more than 2 years ago.

    • I successfully completed 4-6 hours of college level credit in a single foreign language at another college or university more than 3 years ago.

  • Complete 1001, 1002, and 2101 in Spanish (fully online).

  • Meet with an academic advisor to review your options for fulfilling the language requirement.