Graduate Language & Culture Certificate
The Language and Culture Certificate for Graduate Students
This certificate offered by our department gives graduate students from all departments and programs across the University of Utah tangible proof of their world language and culture training.
The Language and Culture Certificate for Graduate Students,
offered by the department of World Languages & Cultures, gives graduate students from all departments and programs across the University of Utah tangible proof of their world language and culture training.
The Certificate Consists of 5 Upper-Level Courses
in the target language, including 3060 (Advanced Grammar). All courses in all target languages are offered regularly in the department of World Languages and Cultures. Where available, two of the courses can be taken during the summer through one of the department’s five-week Learning Abroad Programs.
The Certificate is Offered in the Following Languages:
Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Fufilling the certificate requires 15 hours of course work / 15 credits.
To Qualify,
students will take a placement test offered through the department of World Languages and Cultures and must test above the 2020-level (equal to four semesters of language study) in the target language. This corresponds to the BA language requirement.
Learning Outcomes
It is anticipated that students who have completed the Graduate Language and Culture Certificate in French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish will reach the Advanced Level according to the ACTFL (=American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) guidelines. In terms of linguistics proficiency, a learner at the Advanced Level can “narrate and describe in past, present, and future. Deal effectively with an unanticipated complication.” In terms of cultural proficiency, the learner is able to explain in their “own and other cultures…some diversity among products and practices and how it relates to perspectives.”
It is expected that students who have completed the Graduate Language and Culture Certificate in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian will reach the Intermediate Level according to the ACTFL guidelines. In terms of linguistics proficiency, a learner at the intermediate level can “Create with language, initiate, explain and bring to a close simple conversations by asking and responding to simple questions.” In terms of cultural proficiency, the learner is able to make in their “own and other cultures… comparisons between products and practices to help understand perspectives.”
Assessment
All students are required to take ACTFL’s OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) or OPIc (Oral Proficiency Interview –computer) to complete their Certificate. The Oral Proficiency Interview is a nationally recognized test that assesses both language proficiency and cultural knowledge.
More Information
For more information please contact:
WLC Graduate Advising, Department of World Languages & Cultures
University of Utah | LNCO 1400
801-581-7748 | wlcgraduatestudies@utah.edu
