Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

The Department of Modern Languages and Cultures offers an interdisciplinary major that requires in-depth study of Arabic, Chinese, French, and Spanish and emphasizes work in literatures, history, and political science. Students of Modern Languages and Cultures thus take a variety of courses aimed toward acquiring knowledge not only of a foreign language, but also of the literature, culture, history, economics, and politics of the country or area where the foreign language they are studying is the major tongue.

Majors must either study abroad or participate in a foreign intern program in a country where their primary foreign language is a principal tongue. Upon completion of all requirements, majors will be awarded a B.A. degree in Modern Languages and Cultures, with their language (s) specified (i.e., B.A. in Modern Languages and Cultures - French).

Degree Requirements & Year-by-Year Course Planning

Honors in Modern Languages and Cultures

A cadet wishing to graduate with Honors in the Department of Modern Languages must be a Modern Language major, have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in courses taken in the major (exclusive of subjects taken in the Fourth Class), and have permission of the Department Head. Cadets must complete ML 498 and ML 499 and produce a thesis which is written in the student’s major foreign language, as appropriate. The thesis must achieve a language ranking of “Advanced-High” and adhere to MLA specifications.

Minor

A cadet who wishes to earn a minor in Modern Languages must complete a “Minor Declaration Form” for each language in which he or she wishes to earn a minor, and successfully complete the equivalent of 24 credit hours of the chosen language. Every cadet who minors in Modern Languages is strongly urged to study in a country where his or her foreign language is the principal tongue.