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<\/p>\nMajoring in\u00a0World Languages & Literatures<\/h3>\n
Contact the Convener<\/a> of the WLL program or Professor Petrus Liu, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, to discuss majoring in WLL. The<\/span> forms for declaring a major<\/a> in WLL<\/span> are available online.<\/span><\/p>\n WLL offers majors in:<\/p>\n WLL also offers a joint major with Linguistics in<\/span> Japanese and Linguistics<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Students learning Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and\/or Turkish can major in Middle East and North Africa Studies in the Pardee School of Global Studies. For more information, please see the<\/span>BA in Middle East and North Africa Studies<\/span><\/a> page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Students who study abroad can often fulfill a good part of the major requirements on the <\/span>abroad program<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Contact the Convener<\/a> of the WLL program or Professor Yoon Sun Yang, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, to discuss majoring in WLL. The<\/span> forms for declaring a\u00a0minor<\/a> in WLL<\/span> are available online.<\/span><\/p>\n Students\u00a0can minor in any of the languages below by taking 6 courses beyond the second-year level; Comparative Literature is a 6-course minor. Click below to see specific requirements for each minor:<\/span><\/p>\n All prospective minors are encouraged to discuss their plans with faculty advisors.<\/span><\/p>\n Every declared major and minor student in WLL is assigned to an academic advisor; all faculty whose official title includes the word \u201cProfessor\u201d may act as advisors. If you wish to change your advisor, please contact <\/em>department staff.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Literatures<\/strong><\/p>\n European Languages & Literatures<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n WLL offers a wide range of course on world literatures and cultures taught in English translation. The following courses are good entry points for students wishing to get a taste of the world\u2019s great literary masterpieces and traditions.<\/p>\n Any of these courses can be used to fulfill the \u201cbreadth\u201d elective requirement for WLL majors or as electives for majors in other departments.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Students wishing to graduate with Honors in any WLL major (Chinese, German, Japanese, Russian, Comparative Literature, MESALL) have several options for doing so. The most usual scenarios involve writing a research thesis or preparing a significant work of translation, with a critical introduction. Normally, these projects are conceived within the framework of the required XL 479 Senior Seminar in the Fall semester of Senior year, and then completed the following Spring, either in an individually arranged Senior Project Directed Study course (LC, LG, LJ, LR, or XL 402) or in the Translation Seminar (TL 540). If Study Abroad arrangements or other scheduling problems make participation in XL 479 impossible, students may arrange a Fall Senior Project Directed Study course (LC, LG, LJ, LR, or XL 401) as a substitute, thus completing their project in a two-semester Directed Study (401\/402). In consultation with an advisor, projects may also be undertaken in alternative formats or media (databases, websites, films, etc.). In addition to either the Senior Project Directed Study course or the Translation Seminar, one additional elective related to the major is also required, for a total of 13 (rather than the usual 11) courses in the major; this elective may be taken during or prior to Senior year.<\/p>\n Interested students should consult with their faculty advisor near the end of Junior year, or during the summer before Senior year. A minimum GPA of 3.0\u00a0 is required.<\/p>\n For more information, see this page.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n Click here for more information<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n Q <\/strong>My placement test score says I belong at the fifth-semester level or above. So have I fulfilled the language requirement already?<\/p>\n A <\/strong>No! Placement tests only advise you about proper placement; they fulfill no requirements. But if you enroll for one semester of the language at the fifth-semester level or above, you\u2019ll satisfy the whole language requirement.<\/p>\n Q<\/strong> I already took the AP or the SAT-II in my foreign language. Does that fulfill the requirement?<\/p>\n A<\/strong> Yes, if your score met CAS requirements. An AP score at the qualifying level \u2014<\/strong> in Spanish, French, or Italian, a 4; in German, Japanese or Latin, a 4; in Chinese a 5\u2014<\/strong>or an SAT-II score of 560 in any language fulfills the CAS requirement. Students who have taken the SAT but will be continuing in the language should still seek placement testing or placement advice from Professor Mira Angrist (mangrist@bu.edu) or Professor Sue Griffin (griffins@bu.edu).<\/p>\n Q <\/strong>I grew up speaking a language other than English. Am I exempt from the language requirement?<\/p>\n A <\/strong>Not automatically. If your primary language is not English or if you have near-native proficiency in another language, you can take a College-administered exam for bilinguals: contact Academic Advising in BSR 100 (casadv@bu.edu<\/a>). Passing this test will satisfy the requirement.<\/p>\n For all modern spoken languages, the proficiency testing includes reading, writing, and speaking; so if you can converse in a language but can\u2019t read or write it very well, you\u2019ll probably have to complete coursework to satisfy the requirement. (In some languages special courses are offered for students in this situation; call the department at 3-5032 or e-mail wll@bu.edu<\/a> and ask to be referred to a faculty member who can advise you about your language.)<\/p>\n Q <\/strong>I want to take sign language. Why can\u2019t I find any courses in it?<\/p>\n A <\/strong>American Sign Language at BU is offered through the Deaf Studies Program<\/a>, and ASL courses are open to CAS students.\u00a0Completing the fourth-semester course of ASL will satisfy the CAS\u00a0language requirement. The four-semester course sequence is as follows:<\/p>\n Course descriptions can be found on the Deaf Studies Program website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Q<\/strong>I feel insecure about my background in a language. My placement test tells me that I\u2019m at a certain level, but I\u2019d feel more comfortable taking a lower level instead. Can I?<\/p>\n A <\/strong>This is almost always a bad idea. You may feel shaky now, but languages come back to you quickly once you get into the classroom. You won\u2019t be the only one feeling uncertain when the class starts, don\u2019t worry \u2014 and the feeling won\u2019t last long. Bottom line: our placement tests don\u2019t lie<\/em>.<\/p>\n Besides, those students who deliberately take language classes below their level are easily recognized by the way their eyes pop out with boredom by the third week of the term. Don\u2019t disfigure yourself.<\/p>\n Stick with what the placement test recommends; if in spite of everything, you and your instructor should come to agree that for some reason dropping down a level is wise, you can drop down soooo much more easily than you could ever move up a level if you started too low.<\/p>\n Q <\/strong>Can I fulfill part of my language requirement while studying abroad? Q <\/strong>I\u2019m in a hurry. Can I take two levels of a language simultaneously to save time?<\/p>\n A<\/strong> Say what? No!<\/p>\n\n
Chinese<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
German<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Japanese<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Korean<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Russian<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Comparative Literature<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Middle East & South Asian Languages & Literatures (MESALL)<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Minoring in\u00a0World Languages & Literatures<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Arabic<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Chinese<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Comparative Literature<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
German<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Hebrew<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Japanese<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Korean<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Persian Cultural Studies<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Russian<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
Turkish Cultural Studies<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Languages<\/h4>
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Literatures and Cultures<\/h4>
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Graduating with Departmental Honors<\/h4>
Study Abroad<\/h4>
Placement Tests, Transfer Credits, AP<\/h4>
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Other Languages at BU<\/h4>
CAS Language Requirement<\/h4>
CAS Language Requirement Q & A<\/h2>\n
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\nA <\/strong>Yes, some BU study abroad programs offer courses at the first and\/or second-year level (some examples are Chinese in Shanghai, Italian in Padua, or Spanish in Madrid). See the Study Abroad with Boston University website<\/a> for details<\/p>\n