By Susan Inman, Lead Admissions Counselor, UW Seattle Admissions
and Megan McConnell, Academic Counselor, Gateway Center
The University of Washington Seattle has approved a new option for meeting the graduation requirement for proficiency in a foreign language in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education and Social Work. The College of Arts and Sciences, acting on the unanimous recommendation of the Humanities chairs, agreed that three or more years of high school language study provides sufficient exposure to cultural and linguistic diversity to meet the goals of the Arts and Sciences language proficiency graduation requirement. The Colleges of Education and Social Work faculties soon followed the recommendation and changed their policies. Therefore, students who have successfully completed three full years of high school-level study in a single foreign language may now use their high school background to meet the foreign language proficiency requirement needed to graduate from a major in these colleges.
This added option for satisfying the College graduation requirement should not be confused with the UW’s world (foreign) language requirement for admission. The UW will continue to consider applicants who meet the minimum admission requirement of two high school units (years) of the same world language.
Students graduating from most majors at the UW have long been required to fulfill a foreign language graduation requirement. This graduation requirement is not changing. However, beginning in autumn 2009, the options that UW students have for satisfying the foreign language graduation requirement have been expanded to include high school-level language. The options now include:
For years now, the comprehensive review process for transfer admission has considered whether students interested in majors in the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Education or the School of Social Work have completed some or all of the foreign language graduation requirement before they transfer. Applicants who can complete the requirement should, as it will be considered positively in the admission review.
Furthermore, budget cuts at the university have meant that we will be able to offer fewer sections of many popular foreign language courses, so getting these courses done prior to transfer makes sense from that perspective, as well. For example, the UW expects to be able to offer significantly fewer seats in first-year Spanish, Italian and French this fall.
For more information on this graduation requirement at the University of Washington, see www.washington.edu/uaa/gateway/advising/degreeplanning/gebsrforlan.php.
