Major

The B.A. in World Languages allows students to specialize in two languages. In the World Languages: Chinese major, students choose Chinese as the primary language and one secondary language specialization (Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian or Spanish). Students must complete at least 23 credit hours of coursework beyond the first-year sequence in the Chinese primary language and at least 16 credit hours in the secondary language specialization. The total number of credit hours depends on the languages studied.

Declare your World Languages Major!

SMU Degree Requirements

An SMU undergraduate degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours and must include completion of the University’s Common Curriculum, one major and a combination of electives and/or other majors or minors. Completion of certain majors requires more than 120 hours to finish the degree. The credit hours within this curriculum are distributed as follows:

Requirements for the Major

Core Courses (14 Credit Hours)

Two courses from the following:

Elective Courses (9 Credit Hours)

Three courses from the following:

Total for the Major Only: 23 Credit Hours + Hours Required for Secondary Language Specialization

Secondary Language Specializations

One secondary language chosen from the following eight specializations:

Arabic

Required Courses

Core Courses (14 Credit Hours)

Elective Courses (6 Credit Hours)

Two from the following, with at least one course at the 3000-level and above:

Total: 20 Credit Hours

French

Required Courses

Core Courses (14 Credit Hours)

Elective Courses (6 Credit Hours)

Two from 3000-level or 4000-level FREN courses

Total: 20 Credit Hours

German

Required Courses

Core Courses (10 Credit Hours)

Elective Courses (9 Credit Hours)

Three advanced GERM courses at the 3000-level and above, approved by adviser. One English-language course directly related to German culture and society may be taken from the following:

Total: 19 Credit Hours

Italian

Required Courses

Core Courses (13 Credit Hours)

One course from the following:

Elective Course (3 Credit Hours)

One 4000-level ITAL course approved by adviser

Total: 16 Credit Hours

Japanese

Required Courses

Core Courses (14 Credit Hours)

Elective Course (3 Credit Hours)

One course from the following:

Total: 17 Credit Hours

Latin

Required Courses

Core Courses (6 Credit Hours)

Three or four courses from the following: (9-12 Credit Hours)

One course from the following (if only three advanced Latin courses are taken): (3-4 Credit Hours)

Total: 18-19 Credit Hours

Russian

Required Courses

Core Courses (11 Credit Hours)

Three courses from the following: (9 Credit Hours)

Total: 20 Credit Hours

Spanish

Spanish has three tracks, for non-native, heritage and native speakers of Spanish. These categories refer to a student’s linguistic ability and are determined by the Spanish area adviser. As such, tracks and appropriate courses are selected in consultation with the Spanish area adviser.

Track for Native Speakers: Native speakers will start coursework at the 4000 level. In consultation with the Spanish area adviser, they should begin with SPAN 4301 or SPAN 4302, with one exception: native speakers who have not had formal academic training with written Spanish may begin coursework with SPAN 3359.

Track for Heritage Speakers: Heritage speakers must take SPAN 2323 and SPAN 3359, instead of SPAN 2302 and SPAN 3358. From the second category below, they may select from SPAN 3373, SPAN 3374, SPAN 3375, or SPAN 3356 only.

Track for Non-Native Speakers: Non-native speakers may take SPAN 3355 before SPAN 3358 and/or may take one of the following concurrently with SPAN 3358: SPAN 3311, SPAN 3312, SPAN 3313, or SPAN 3355.

Required Courses

Core Courses (10 Credit Hours)

One course from the following: (3 Credit Hours)

Elective Courses (6 Credit Hours)

Note: Once enrolled in an Advanced Linguistics/Literature Course (SPAN 4340 - SPAN 4384), students are no longer eligible to enroll in SPAN 3000-level courses.

Total: 19 Credit Hours