Adequate preparation for any career in international relations requires the ability to use at least one foreign language for general and professional purposes. A student’s background, area of concentration and career objectives determine the language studied. Foreign languages taught at SAIS are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi-Urdu, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.
Language Requirements For students whose native language is English, demonstrated proficiency in a modern foreign language taught at SAIS is required for the M.A. degree. Proficiency examinations follow the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines and test skills in listening, speaking, reading and, in some languages, writing. The minimum level of proficiency required for graduation varies from language to language and from skill to skill, ranging from Intermediate Low to Intermediate High on the ACTFL scale based on what a student without any previous knowledge of the language can achieve during a SAIS tenure. Students whose native language is not English (usually determined by the language the student used during high school) must fulfill the foreign language graduation requirements by passing the English proficiency examination upon entrance to SAIS. English proficiency examinations follow the ACTFL guidelines. Students need to achieve a Superior ranking in reading, writing and listening and an Advanced High in speaking. Those who do not pass this examination are required to take English and may be limited to a restricted course load for their first semester. Exemptions from the English proficiency examinations are given only to those international students (non-U.S. citizens) who have graduated from a high school in which the language of instruction is English. Exemptions must be received in person from the English Program Coordinator. Proficiency criteria include the ability to understand normal, everyday conversations, to speak sufficiently well to exchange ideas in conversation with a native speaker and to read primary sources and other materials in the international relations field with accuracy and relative speed. All Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages or one foreign language and applied statistics. Language proficiency examinations are administered in September, December, January (for certain returning and first semester proficiency-track students; see the Language Studies Handbook for details) and April or May.
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