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 theUniversity’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)

Threeadvanced GERM coursesat 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)

One4000-level ITAL courseapproved 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 astudent’slinguistic 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 withSPAN 4301orSPAN 4302, with one exception: native speakers who have not had formal academic training withwritten Spanish may begin coursework withSPAN 3359.

Track for Heritage Speakers:Heritage speakers must takeSPAN 2323andSPAN 3359,instead ofSPAN 2302andSPAN 3358. From the second category below, they may select fromSPAN 3373,SPAN 3374,SPAN 3375, orSPAN 3356only.

Track for Non-Native Speakers:Non-native speakers may takeSPAN 3355beforeSPAN 3358and/or may take one of the following concurrently withSPAN 3358:SPAN 3311,SPAN 3312,SPAN 3313, orSPAN 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