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THE ART DEPARTMENT NO LONGER HAS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT, ALTHOUGH STUDENTS MUST COMPLETE THE ALL COLLEGE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT.

NEVERTHELESS THE OLD REQUIREMENT DESCRIBED BELOW STILL APPLIES TO STUDENTS WHO TOOK SENIOR SEMINAR IN THE FALL OF 2004 (AND IN EARLIER YEARS), BUT HAVE NOT YET GRADUATED.

The Art Department requires that art majors demonstrate a knowledge of foreign language at the intermediate level. The language requirement is maintained with the belief that it is of value to anyone seeking a liberal arts education and of particular importance to art students. Language helps to broaden one’s perspective by opening paths to experience otherwise inaccessible and providing understanding of other cultures and ways of thinking. Moreover, languages make it possible to study art abroad and to understand foreign scholarly literature and criticism.

This requirement can be satisfied by passing a minimum of four units of a foreign language or by demonstrating intermediate competency in a regularly scheduled proficiency examination.

The department encourages students to combine language study with cultural studies abroad, if possible. Students might also take adjunct language courses or live in a foreign language house in order to improve their language skills.

Language Requirement: Purposes and Procedures

This statement provides information for all potential and declared majors, concerning the Art Department’s language requirement. Please read it carefully, and if you have any questions, consult immediately with your advisor (if you are a major), or any Art Department faculty member.

The language requirement is maintained with the belief that it is of value to anyone seeking a liberal arts education, and of particular importance to art students. Learning a foreign language allows an individual to understand other cultures and ways of thinking, serves as a preparation for graduate programs in art history, and encourages foreign travel and study.

All graduating majors must complete the language requirement. Students are urged to begin language studies as early as possible, so that they will not conflict with an orderly sequence of major electives in the junior and senior years. Students impeded from learning a foreign language because of learning disabilities may contact the Art Department Chair.

The following information provides guidelines for fulfilling the requirement:

All art majors must demonstrate knowledge of a foreign language at the intermediate level. This competency may be proved by examination or by passing a minimum of four units in the particular language.

Examination: Placement exams are given by the language departments. These exams evaluate a student’s ability in listening and reading. To qualify, a student must place at the minimum level required by the language department for entry into a third year language course. These exams are usually offered only during new student orientation week, and the first week of each semester. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the appropriate language department to determine the date, time, and place that the exam is to be given. These exams are also offered at many other institutions, and students may have the results of exams taken elsewhere forwarded to the appropriate language department at Colorado College for approval.

Acceptable Courses: If a student takes language courses on campus, four blocks of the language must be successfully completed. In the case of an intermediate language course that is only one block in length (thus giving the student a total of three blocks), the student must qualify through the placement exam in that language. If courses are taken elsewhere, a grade of “C” or higher must be achieved at the intermediate level, with an equivalent of a two-block course (1 CC unit, or block, equals 4.0 semester hours).