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Language Requirement


LSA's language requirement seeks to prepare students for a world that has been profoundly transformed by the forces of globalization. Language shapes both how we understand and how we negotiate our world; learning a second language provides both a deep awareness of linguistic and cultural differences and a means to bridge them. Informed respect for other cultures, tolerance, cosmopolitanism, self-awareness, and flexibility are the hallmarks of a liberal arts education, and the study of foreign languages fosters precisely these capacities.

A student whose first language is not English and who attended a high school where English was not the language of instruction is considered to have met the requirement.

Language Requirement Policies

  1. Students must earn a grade of C- or better in the prerequisite language course to proceed to the subsequent course. Any exception to this rule must be granted by a designated faculty representative in the department.
  2. The final course in an elementary language sequence used to satisfy the Language Requirement must be elected on a graded basis.
  3. LSA students cannot satisfy the Language Requirement by electing out-of-residence credit after they have begun degree enrollment in LSA. Language departments rarely grant exceptions to this policy. Students pursuing an exception to this policy must first receive approval from the language department before electing an out-of-residence language course. 
  4. No more than 60 credits in one language (other than English) may be counted in the 120 required for a degree. However, the 60 credit limit on courses elected in one major may be exceeded when the excess credits have been used to meet the Language Requirement.

Fourth-Term Proficiency and Language Requirement Course List

Fourth-term proficiency in a language other than English is required and may be met in any of the following ways:

  1. Certified proficiency on a University of Michigan reading and/or listening test. Students with previous experience in the language they plan to use to meet the language requirement must take a language placement test. A student may not elect to enroll for credit in a language course below this placement level without departmental permission.

  2. Credit for a University of Michigan fourth-term language course listed below with a grade of C- or better.
    • American Sign Language (LING 251 or RCCORE 204 or RCASL 202)
    • Arabic
      • Classical (ARABIC 222)
      • Modern (ARABIC 202 or 203)
    • Armenian
      • Eastern (ARMENIAN 206)
      • Western (ARMENIAN 202)
    • Bengali (ASIANLAN 286)
    • Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian (BCS 232 or 225)
    • Central Asian Languages  (MELANG 506)
      Uzbek or Uyghur
    • Chinese (ASIANLAN 202, 203, or 204)
    • Czech (CZECH 242)
    • Dutch (DUTCH 232)
    • Filipino (ASIANLAN 212)
    • French (FRENCH 230 or 232, or RCLANG 290)
    • German (GERMAN 230 or 232 or 291, or RCLANG 291)
    • Greek
      • Classical (GREEK 301 and 302, or 405)
      • Biblical (GREEK 307 and 308, or ACABS 307 and 308)
      • Modern (MODGREEK 202)
    • Hebrew
      • Classical (MELANG 202)
      • Modern (HEBREW 202 or 203)
    • Hindi (ASIANLAN 216 or 217)
    • Indonesian (ASIANLAN 222)
    • Italian (ITALIAN 232 or 230)
    • Japanese (ASIANLAN 226 or 227 or 229, or RCLANG 296)
    • Korean (ASIANLAN 236 or 237 or 238)
    • Latin (LATIN 232 or 233 or 295, or RCLANG 295)
    • Middle Egyptian (MELANG 531)
    • Ojibwe (AMCULT 323)
    • Persian (PERSIAN 202)
    • Polish (POLISH 222)
    • Portuguese (PORTUG 232 or 230)
    • Quechua (LACS 474)
    • Punjabi (ASIANLAN 246)
    • Russian (RUSSIAN 202 or 203 or 223 or 225 or 325, or RCLANG 293)
    • Sanskrit (ASIANLAN 252)
    • Spanish (SPANISH 230 or 232, or RCLANG 294)
    • Swahili (AAS 216)
    • Swedish (SCAND 234)
    • Tamil (ASIANLAN 256)
    • Thai (ASIANLAN 262)
    • Tibetan
      • Classical (ASIANLAN 468)
      • Modern (ASIANLAN 266)
    • Turkish (TURKISH 202 or 203)
    • Ukrainian (UKR 252 or 203)
    • Urdu (ASIANLAN 272)
    • Vietnamese (ASIANLAN 276)
    • Yiddish (YIDDISH 202 or JUDAIC 202 or GERMAN 228)
    • Yoruba (AAS 226) 
  1. Students who wish to meet the requirement with proficiency in a language not listed in the table above should read the Languages not taught at the University of Michigan website and complete the form on the webpage.

  2. Credit for a University of Michigan language course that presumes a fourth-term proficiency in a language (except for 305 and/or 306 in FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, LATIN, MODGREEK and SCAND; 405 and/or 406 in GERMAN and SCAND; and SPANISH 308.