UCLA: Foreign Language Requirements Beyond IGETC

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Are there any UCLA foreign language requirements for graduation beyond that covered by IGETC?</p>

<p>My Spanish professor made me nervous–she said some majors might require more foreign language for graduation than what is required for admission. I’m a political science major–will any additional foreign language be required?</p>

<p>All I could find was a Letters and Sciences requitement to complete level 3 of the foreign language, or transfer a comparable course from another school. Does IGETC’s foreign language section specify courses equivalent to UCLA’s level 3?</p>

2

<p>Here are the requirements for the School of the Arts and Architecture L&S and TAFT. </p>

<p>[University</a> of California - Counselors](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/adminfo/freshman/advising/other/losangeles.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/adminfo/freshman/advising/other/losangeles.html)</p>

<p>it also says to look at the catalog to view your major’s specific requirement for foreign language (if any). </p>

<p>[UCLA</a> Registrar’s Office: General Catalog 2009-10](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/catalog/]UCLA”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/catalog/)</p>

3

<p>Where are you transferring from? Its basically one year of college foreign language. As a political science major you will not require beyond level 3.</p>

4

<p>I’m doing foreign language at Citrus College, where one 5-unit semester (101-level) meets the IGETC requirement.</p>

<p>What I really need to know is if the IGETC foreign language section correlates with a UCLA level 3 language class.</p>

5

<p>I don’t know why there seems to be so much discrepency with the UC foreign language requirement. Okay, so the 3rd level of any foreign language would be the 3rd quarter if you were at a 4 year; which no matter what institution you are at is 1 year of foreign language. One semester of foreign language at a JC does not equal 3 quarters/1 year of foreign language. Having completed IGETC has nothing to do with the UC foreign language requirement (i.e. just because you have IGETC and 1 semester of FL doesn’t mean that you get a pass on the 2nd semester of FL).</p>

6

<p>Alright, lets take a step back. As I understand it, IGETC has sections I-V, none of which directly involve foreign language. However, most JC-provided IGETC worksheets include both a foreign language requirement section, needed only for UCs, and a “US History, Constitution, & American Ideals” section, needed only for CSUs. </p>

<p>At Citrus College, the “LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH (UC REQUIREMENT ONLY)” section is satisfied by the 101-level course from each of four languages—the first semester.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.citruscollege.edu/stdntsrv/counsel/articulation/Documents/IGETC/IGETC-GE_2009-2010.pdf[/url]”>http://www.citruscollege.edu/stdntsrv/counsel/articulation/Documents/IGETC/IGETC-GE_2009-2010.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>At Chaffey College, the “LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH - UC Requirement Only” section is only satisfied by completing the second semester of each of the languages offered.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www1.chaffey.edu/counseling/majorsheets/transfer/IGETC.pdf[/url]”>http://www1.chaffey.edu/counseling/majorsheets/transfer/IGETC.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Logically, then, wouldn’t one semester at Citrus be the same as two semesters at Chaffey? If not, how do both satisfy the same requirement?</p>

7

<p>I asked an admissions counselor on the phone and they said if you completed IGETC then you’re exempt. But I was looking at UCLA’s catalog and they don’t mention this in the Foreign Language section. So I’m kinda confused…</p>

8

<p>For what it’s worth, I’ve sent an email to my counselor and transfer center. Let’s see if they can give us any clarity.</p>

9

<p>Great! I emailed both UCLA and my transfer counselor as well, so hopefully we can get this cleared up. </p>

<p>Hmmm. With my luck, I bet they all say something different!</p>

10

<p>Just to be clear for anyone who may find this thread later, there seem to be two possibilities here:</p>

<p>1) The UC foreign language graduation requirement is satisfied by the course specified on the IGETC worksheet.</p>

<p>2) There is an additional foreign language requirement for graduation beyond that specified on the IGETC worksheet; IGETC merely makes the student eligible for admission.</p>

<p>To me, it would be dumb for Option 2 to be the case. Isn’t the point of IGETC to cover all general education–I.e., non major-related–coursework? I don’t see the logic in having one foreign language requirement for admission and another for graduation, when both could be fulfilled at community college.</p>

<p>Option 2 would be like having IGETC require college algebra/statistics, but then making all students (even non-math/science majors) take another math class at UC*. Doesn’t make sense.</p>

<p>*This is actually the case for many political science majors, since UCLA’s political science department requires a psych statistics course. However, this is an exception, and the statistics requirement is included on the major prep page on Assist. Foreign language isn’t.</p>

11

<p>^lol, dude give it a rest. there is no way you’re getting out of it. Here:</p>

<p>[DPR</a> - FAQs](<a href=“http://my.ucla.edu/dprfaq.htm#18]DPR”>http://my.ucla.edu/dprfaq.htm#18)</p>

<p>"Students may satisfy the foreign language requirement in one of three ways:</p>

<p>1) Credit for a foreign language course at UCLA for quarter level 3 or above or an equivalent course at another institution.
2) Advanced Placement (AP) foreign language test in French, German or Spanish with a score of 3, or the Latin test with a score of 4.
3) A UCLA Foreign Language Placement exam score indicating foreign language competency through quarter level 3 or higher."</p>

<p>To reiterate, level 3 is the 3rd quarter of a FL so that’s one full year. A while ago I searched high and low to see whether or not IGETC covered the FL requirement and I have found nothing nor spoken to anyone who has confirmed the FL exemption that you’re proposing.</p>

<p>…I feel you though, buddy. FL is a major annoyance if you’re not interested in actually learning another language.</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>Then why do community colleges include it on their IGETC worksheets? Why put it there if a student will need to take more foreign language later? The only reason to have it there, as far as I can tell, is if the articulation officials have determined that the class specified meets the UC foreign language requirement for graduation. I know no one can find any published evidence to support that–it’s what we’re looking for here, and why we’ve contacted the various colleges involved. </p>

<p>UCLA doesn’t have one set of GE requirements for admission, and another for graduation.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m not proposing an exemption. What I’m trying to figure out is what community college class does satisfy this graduation requirement. </p>

<p>You say two semesters, but clearly there are differences between the various community colleges. Mt. Sac’s 4-unit first semester FL class and Citrus’s 5-unit first semester FL class satisfy IGETC, but PCC requires two 5-unit courses for IGETC and Chaffey requires two 4-unit classes. It would stand to reason that PCC and Chaffey move slower than Citrus and Mt. Sac, otherwise, how could they satisfy the same requirement?</p>

<p>From another angle, if one semester at Citrus and two semesters at Chaffey fulfill the IGETC requirement, they ought to be at the same level. </p>

<p>If one semester at Citrus or Mt. Sac doesn’t fulfill the graduation requirement, shouldn’t Chaffey or PCC students need to take a third semester to fulfill it, since they’ve apparently only reached the level of a one semester Citrus student?</p>

<p>Here’s my point: Citrus or Mt. Sac’s first semester could be equivalent to a level 3 at UCLA. Note that the section you posted from UCLA specifies a course equivalent to a level 3 UCLA course. It doesn’t specify that a full year of instruction needs to be taken, just that the level of material should be at UCLA’s level 3, which happens to take a year to complete were one to do it at UCLA.</p>

13

<p>I found some more information.</p>

<p>The requirements for a UCLA degree exist on three levels: university, school/college, and department. </p>

<p>University requirements include the entry-level writing requirement, American History requirement, etc.</p>

<p>College/school requirements include math, writing, foreign language, and others. For the College of Letters and Science, here are the college requirements regarding foreign language:

[quote]
The foreign language requirement can be satisfied by one of the following methods: (1) completing a college-level foreign language course equivalent to level three or above at UCLA or (2) scoring 3, 4, or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) foreign language examination in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish, or scoring 4 or 5 in Latin, thereby earning College credit or (3) presenting a UCLA foreign language departmental examination score indicating competency through level three. Consult the Schedule of Classes for times and places of the regularly scheduled examinations. Students who wish to demonstrate proficiency in a language that is taught in a UCLA department that has no scheduled examination should contact the appropriate department to arrange for one. Students wishing to take an examination in a language not taught at UCLA should contact a College counselor.<a href=“%5Burl=http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/catalog/catalog09-10-41.htm]UCLA%20General%20Catalog%202009-2010[/url]”>/quote</a></p>

<p>That’s essentially what you posted above.</p>

<p>However, the School of Theater, Television, and Film specifies the following:

[quote]
Students may meet the foreign language requirement by (1) scoring 3, 4, or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) foreign language examination in French, German, or Spanish, or scoring 4 or 5 on the AP foreign language examination in Latin, (2) presenting a UCLA foreign language proficiency examination score indicating competency through level three, or (3) completing one college-level foreign language course equivalent to level three or above at UCLA with a grade of Passed or C or better.</p>

<p>For transfer students from California community colleges, completion of the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) does not fulfill the school foreign language requirement. Students need to complete level three or above of a foreign language course at the community college with a grade of Passed or C or better to complete the requirement.<a href=“%5Burl=http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/catalog/catalog09-10-52.htm]UCLA%20General%20Catalog%202009-2010[/url]”>/quote</a></p>

<p>Note that those requirements specifically disallow use of the IGETC to satisfy this school’s foreign language requirements—no such section exists for Letters and Science, as far as I can tell.</p>

<p>Departmental requirements include lower-division major preparation courses, upper-division major courses, and, in some cases, a subset of the university and school/college rules. For the English department, the following is specified with regard to foreign language:</p>

<p>

[quote]
All English majors must have completed either (1) level five or equivalent in any one foreign language or (2) level three or equivalent in one foreign language and two additional courses in foreign language or foreign literature, including foreign literature in translation (see course listings under Foreign Literature in Translation later in this section). Transfer students who have satisfied the College of Letters and Science foreign language requirement at the high school level through the IGETC program may satisfy the departmental requirement with five foreign literature in translation courses. The courses may be taken on a P/NP grading basis.<a href=“%5Burl=http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/catalog/catalog09-10-310.htm]UCLA%20General%20Catalog%202009-2010%20English%20Undergraduate%20Study[/url]”>/quote</a></p>

<p>This section is saying how a departmental requirement that expands upon a college requirement (level 5 rather than level 3) may be satisfied if the college requirement has been satisfied previously.</p>

<p>Specifically, note this line:

</p>

<p>However, Every IGETC form I’ve seen says that the community college foreign language it specifies is equivalent to two years of high school instruction. This line says that the Letters and Science requirement can be satisfied at the high school level. In doing so, it strongly implies that the Letters and Science foreign language graduation requirement is, in fact, satisfied by the IGETC foreign language section no matter how it is completed. I don’t see how the College of Letters and Science would accept high school instruction on IGETC for the foreign language requirement, but not college coursework on IGETC.</p>

14

<p>Well, my transfer counselor responded to my email. She said that the completion of IGETC does satisfy the foreign language requirement for the College of Letters and Science. </p>

<p>I am still waiting for a response from UCLA though, and obviously would listen to what the say more than the transfer counselor.</p>

15

<p>I just talked to my community college’s transfer center; they also said that the foreign language section listed on the IGETC form does satisfy the UC graduation requirement, unless there is an additional major requirement.</p>

<p>I’d still like a confirmation from UCLA (ideally, in an email), but between the stuff I posted above, your CCC, and my CCC, it’s looking like IGETC does, in fact, satisfy the requirement in most cases, even if it’s just the first semester.</p>

16

<p>I just got a reply from UCLA and having full IGETC certification is sufficient for meeting the foreign language requirement at UCLA. </p>

<p>Glad that is all cleared up.</p>

17

<p>Good news. Could you post the text of the email, so the next people with this question have a firm answer?</p>

18

<p>Wow! I stand corrected, and happily so. =)</p>

19

<p>Anyone know if IGETC still works to fulfill this requirement?</p>

<p>I used my 3 years of Spanish in High School for IGETC, and I’m pretty sure if they make me take a Spanish placement test at orientation I’ll do horribly</p>

20

<p>@sld122</p>

<p>IGETC will fulfill the general campus requirements for foreign language. However, some majors may require more beyond the minimum, and IGETC alone will not cover that.</p>