New Student Advising

Language Competency

All students must demonstrate at least a beginning-level competency in a language other than English. That means you either need to complete the beginning year of a language OR demonstrate that you already have proficiency at the intermediate level or above. There are several ways to do this, which you can see outlined below. Learn more about your options for satisfying the language competency requirement in the College Catalog.

Some majors require language proficiency beyond the beginning level, and many students want to increase their competency further for personal, professional, or academic reasons. It's also good to note that even though there is no additional language requirement for pre-health students, it would be fair to say that higher-level language fluency can open many doors both in the US and abroad. The same is true of many other fields.

The University of Chicago teaches over 50 languages on the Hyde Park Campus and abroad. Check out what Cathy Baumann, Director of the UChicago Language Center, has to say about opportunities to learn or expand your language knowledge in the College.