grad study in history info please....

ticklemepink
Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:00:44 +0000

^^^

If you’re going for U.S. field, then that doesn’t matter too much. If you’re going for any other field, you’ll NEED to know at least one language at intermediate level (for reading compentency/exams). For example, if you want to do Europe, then you need to know French or German (though Harvard requires both…). Africa is French… Latin America requires both Spanish and Portugese… you get the idea. You’ll need to know at least two languages for any field except for U.S. For me, I’d need to know Yiddish and Hebrew, and possibly French (Jewish history either in western Europe or U.S.).

I, too, don’t love learning languages because they’re so hard for me, which is why I’m looking to take a language class next summer so it doesn’t bring down my GPA.

Lacking languages might hurt your chances of gaining admittance into a PhD program, probably not MA. If you’re serious about getting a PhD, they’ll expect that you’ll master the language of your chosen field so you can do research in that language. Knowing another language can really open up more sources for you. If you want to get really good funding, language is practically a requirement. Having a language or two shows how serious you are.

As once you’re in grad school and you find yourself needing to learn another language, they’ll enroll you into a language class to help you pass the exam- some programs will pay for your summer courses.