Adequate preparation for any career in international relations requires the ability to use at least one foreign language for general and professional purposes. Foreign languages taught at SAIS are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi-Urdu, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. All SAIS students, with the exception of MIPP students, need to take and pass language proficiency exams in one of the languages taught at SAIS as part of their graduation requirements. Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages or one foreign language and applied statistics. Students are not required to take language classes at SAIS in order to pass the language proficiency examination if they have gained the necessary proficiency elsewhere. However, it is advisable to contact the appropriate language coordinator to determine a reasonable plan of study in preparation for fulfillment of the language requirement. Please be aware that regional concentrations require specific languages to meet their language graduation requirements. In addition to proficiency exams, students whose native language is not English must take an English placement exam upon arrival to campus. Language proficiency examinations are administered in September, December, January (for certain returning and first semester proficiency-track students); and May.
| 
