Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQ's
The department headquarters is located in Mackinac Hall, room B-2-243 on the second floor. The building itself is located on the Allendale campus, across the street from the Field House. For a map and driving directions, please see the university's maps page.
Most courses are transferable. If you do not find your course on the list of transfer equivalencies, then contact your language (section) coordinator from the Faculty/Staff page. Or, you may call the department office at 331-3203.
The national dialect (Mandarin) is taught in the department. Simplified characters are used in this program, with traditional characters introduced in Classical Chinese.
No, Latin and Greek are taught in the Classics Department.
The Language Resource Center (MAK D-2-221) offers placement evaluations in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. For Arabic, Chinese, Japanese: please contact that language's Section Coordinator to schedule an in-person meeting to discuss placement. For more information, visit Language Placement Evaluation.
Spanish 201 and French 201 are generally offered at least once during the summer semester but are not guaranteed. Summer courses are offered based on enrollment and will be cancelled if enrollment is not met. We strongly recommend completing 201 and other required courses for graduation during fall or winter semesters.
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Is American Sign Language Taught / Offered in the Modern Languages & Literatures Department?
No, American Sign Language (ASL) is not a program within the Modern Languages & Literatures Department; however, it is offered at Grand Valley!
You can find more information about the ASL Faculty on the Allied Health Sciences website.
You can find more information about ASL courses that GVSU offers on the GVSU Course Catalog website.
Why Choose a Bachelors of Arts?
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The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree |
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Degree Requirements |
Requires a 3rd semester proficiency (through the 201 level) in one of the 9 classical or modern languages offered by the Classics or Modern Languages and Literature Departments. |
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Course Sequence |
If you are new to a language, the typical sequence of courses is 101, 102 and then 201. *In order to qualify for the Bachelor of Arts Language Requirement waiver, you must place in the 202-level or higher (300-level for the majors that require 4th-semester proficiency) in-person at the Language Resource Center. If you have questions about the requirement, please contact the Modern Languages and Literatures office at 331-3203 or [email protected]. |
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Things to Consider When Choosing a B.A. Degree |
• Are you interested in doing humanities research in graduate school or your career? • Are you interested in improving your cultural competency in an increasingly global and diverse world? • Will you need to develop written and communication skills to pursue your field? • Are you interested in developing flexibility and adaptability through critical thinking and problem solving skills? • Do you want to build connections that will be important for your future professional career on a community, national or international level? |
So... I can take any language?
Yes, you can take any language offered by the Modern Languages and Literatures Department or the Classics Department.
The Modern Languages and Literatures Department offers Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.
If you are having trouble deciding which language to take, check out each of our language pages for fun facts and reasons why each language might be right for you!