Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures - Degree Programs

Whether you intend to pursue a foreign language major, combine foreign language study with another major, or are simply curious about learning another language, our department has something that will be of interest to you. For a full listing of our courses and degree requirements, please look in the JMU Undergraduate Catalog.

B.A. in Modern Foreign Languages

The Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures offers five options for a B.A. degree:  

Modern Foreign Languages with a concentration in Arabic
Modern Foreign Languages with a concentration in French
Modern Foreign Languages with a concentration in German
Modern Foreign Languages with a concentration in Italian
Modern Foreign Languages with a concentration in Spanish

These degrees require a minimum of 33 credits of upper-level coursework, along with proficiency in a second foreign language and the core university degree requirements.  See the current undergraduate catalog for more information.

Modern Foreign Langage Minor

Student can add a Modern Foreign Language minor offered in seven languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian.

This minor requires 18 credits, including a 300 class, a 300- or 400- level literature class (SPAN 335 for Spanish), and four upper-level electives. 

Professional Minors

We offer professional minors, which focus on the practical understanding of language and culture within the given field.

These minors include Business French, Business German, Business Italian and Business Spanish, as well as Legal Spanish, Medical Spanish and Spanish-English Translation and Interpretation.

Teaching Licensure

In conjunction with the College of Education, the department offers programs leading to teaching license in French, German and Spanish. In addition to the general education and academic major requirements, students desiring PreK-12 teaching licensure in French, German or Spanish must be accepted for admission to the teacher education program offered by the College of Education https://www.jmu.edu/coe/ prior to enrolling in professional education courses. The required licensure courses consist of 39 hours of credit.

Students interested in teacher licensure in French, German or Spanish must also meet the specific curriculum requirements of their foreign language major as part of the undergraduate academic degree. A semester of study abroad or a demonstrable advanced level of foreign language proficiency is also required. In addition, prior to the last semester of instruction, which includes student teaching, all candidates for teaching licensure must have successfully passed the Praxis Core exam in their language content area per VA state law. See: https://www.ets.org/praxis

For a complete description of admission and retention policies and procedures for teacher education, refer to the College of Education. Students seeking licensure are encouraged to consult regularly with the teaching licensure coordinator.

Interdisciplinary Minors

Our language courses are part of the University's Interdisciplinary minors, such as Africana, Asian, Classical, Latin and American and Caribbean, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Middle Eastern Communities and Migrations, Modern European, Russian Studies and World Literature.