How to Meet the Foreign Language Requirement (Bachelor of Arts Degree)

Proficiency in a foreign language at the level achieved by satisfactory work in a one-year, college-level course. This requirement may be fulfilled by taking a College Board foreign language achievement test or by completing the equivalent of a full-year elementary course in any foreign language (must be eight UNH credits or equivalent), or by completing the equivalent of a semester of a course in a foreign language beyond the elementary year (must be four UNH credits or equivalent), or by completing the equivalent of a one-year college-level course in American Sign Language (must be eight UNH credits or equivalent). Students should be aware that not all majors accept American Sign Language as a means to satisfy departmental foreign language proficiency requirements and should check with their advisers. No credit is awarded for elementary year college coursework if the student has had two or more years of that language in high school.

The following are ways a student may fulfill the requirement for Foreign Language Proficiency in the College of Liberal Arts (COLA) at UNH. The first way is to study a language for 2 semesters at the elementary level, 401 and 402 courses. See the UNH catalog for specific details. If you have studied a language in high school for 2 years or more you will not be able to study that same language at the elementary level, but you can continue in that language at a higher level and may only require 1 course to meet the requirement. See the UNH catalog and the language department for details.

Currently Linguistics, Psychology, and Theater majors only may also meet this requirement by studying 2 semesters of American Sign Language (ASL). Woman’s Studies Students may satisfy their BA Proficiency requirement by any foreign language without petition and in ASL by petition. All other majors require a foreign language. All students are encouraged to work with their Academic Advisor to explore which language is appropriate for their program of study. The courses must be credit-granting courses, and can be taken at UNH or another college with prior approval from the Registrar’s Office.

In addition, students may also petition to use an alternate plan to use a two course sequence beyond the course they use to satisfy Group 5 (foreign culture), usually two foreign culture courses or a culture course and Linguistics course.

Students with a documented language-based disability impacting the learning of a foreign language in the conventional college way, may petition to use ASL as an alternate. The process involves careful documentation of your past experiences with language-learning and must also include documentation of your learning disability and specifically how it impacts and limits you in foreign language study. It may also be necessary to have additional assessment, including the MLAT, Modern Language Aptitude Test. The guidelines below describe the process in detail. Before beginning the process, please contact DSS to meet with the Director to determine if you are a good candidate for the process.

1. Provide documentation of the disability which significantly impacts your ability to complete a foreign language course. DSS will provide Guidelines if you need to provide additional documentation. There should also be past evidence of difficulty with Foreign Language study.

2. Meet with the DSS staff to discuss your Foreign Language learning history and your plan for Foreign Language study here at UNH. DSS will assist you in determining if a Petition for Variance in Academic Policy is recommended for you. (Registered DSS students may choose to attempt the Foreign Language study with accommodations in place instead of seeking a substitution.)

3. Any student who wishes to moves forward with a Petition for Academic Variance must complete a Petition for Variance in Academic Policy Form with a detailed description of : how the disability impacts Foreign Language study; history of attempts at Foreign Language study; specific request for substitution courses, e.g., 2 WLCE courses (neither can be counted toward Gen Ed requirements), one introductory Foreign Language course with a passing grade and one WLCE course. Student will also provide a High School Transcript, (can be obtained through the Registrar’s Office from your Admissions File), and a UNH transcript (also at the Registrar’s Office). If the student has studied a Foreign Language here at UNH, a letter from the professor indicating that he or she supports the Petition is also requested. Submit all paperwork to the Director of DSS.

4. The Director of DSS will write a letter describing the impact of the student’s particular disability on Foreign Language learning to the Committee. DSS will submit the entire packet of information from the student and DSS to the College of Liberal Arts, Associate Dean, who chairs the Foreign Language Substitution Committee. The DSS Director may also take part in the discussion of your Petition.