All students completing an B.A. or B.S. degree in the College must demonstrate fourth-term proficiency in a language other than English prior to graduation. You can fulfill this requirement either by electing the necessary language courses or through placement testing. However, the College recognizes that there are some students that may experience a significant barrier to completing the language requirement (i.e. language learning disability).
Students who have received the exception in the past typically have a documented history of extreme difficulty in learning a world language and one or both of the following:
The Language Exception Commitee typically meets once a month during the fall and winter semesters. In order to have your petition reviewed by the commitee, the petition must be complete and submitted with all materials eight days prior to the next meeting.
| Summer 2025 | ||
| Material Submission Date | Committee Meeting Date | Decision Date |
| May 8 | May 16 | May 20 |
| July 3 | July 11 | July 15 |
You will be allowed to substitute culture courses for language courses to meet the requirement. You will meet with one of the Language Exception Committee members to determine which courses you will use. These courses cannot be used to fulfill your distribution requirement. The courses must be approved in advance by a committee member.
You will receive an email to inform you of the decision. You are then welcome to meet with a member of the Language Exception Committee. They will help you assess degree options and next steps.
