College of Arts & Sciences Foreign Language Requirement and Waiver Requests

Students pursuing a degree in the College of Arts & Sciences are required to demonstrate competency in a language other than English.  We strongly recommend completing your language requirement or requesting of waiver prior to your senior year.  Leaving the requirement to the last minute can delay graduation.

Courses taken to meet the Second Language Proficiency requirement, including necessary prerequisite courses, cannot be used in cognates taken to fulfill the ‘Areas of Knowledge’ requirement.

Students pursuing a BFA or BLA are not required to take a language.

Options for Completing the Foreign Language Requirement

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  • Option 1: Demonstrating Proficiency by Taking Coursework at UM

    Degree candidates must have at least 3 credits in a UM language course other than in modern English at the 200 level (or higher), including MLL language courses, CLA courses in Greek and Latin, and ASL, or equivalent.

    Where to find languages offered by UM:

  • Option 2: Demonstrating Proficiency through Assessment

    AP, IB, GCE, Cambridge Pre-U, CAPE results that give credit for a course that fulfils the requirement.  Please refer to UM Undergraduate Admission’s Credit Equivalencies website.

    For languages taught in the Department of Modern Languages, placement through an in-class exam in a 202, 203, 204, 208, or 300-level course during the ADD/DROP period, can waive the requirement as outlined below.

    1. Students will take a writing diagnostic in class during the first week of each semester.
    2. Based on the exam results, instructors place students at the adequate level.
    3. If the student is placed above 201, they will be given the option of a) enrolling in 202 or b) meet with program language director to evaluate if a waiver can be granted.

  • Option 3: Demonstrating Proficiency if You are Fluent or at Native/Near Native Speaker of a language other than English

    For languages not taught at UM, adequate performance in proficiency evaluations approved by a College committee waives the requirement. Please email Chantel Acevedo cxa75@miami.edu, Sr. Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs to request further information.  Students may be required to self-pay for an external testing service [e.g., ACTFL, OPI, WRT]  to waive the requirement.

    Taking TOEFL in order to gain admission to UM waives the language requirement.  To request a review of your TOEFL please contact Assistant Dean, Emily Long at ekl48@miami.edu. 

  • Option 4: Demonstrating Proficiency via College-level Credit from Another Institution

    Two years of full-time study in a high school where the primary language of instruction is not English waives the College language requirement. This waiver is granted by Assistant Dean Emily Long.  Please submit request through the appeals page. The student must have on file a transcript from the secondary institution providing proof that the primary language of instruction was a language other than English.

    Transfer students should work with the appropriate department /school [Classics, Modern Language, or School of Education] to submit a MATES request for a foreign language course taken at another US institution.

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