All M.A. students, except whose who are non- native English speakers must take and pass examinations in one of the foreign languages taught at SAIS. Students in the Russian and Eurasian Program must take Russian to fulfill the language requirement. Students specializing in the following areas may also take the Russian Proficiency Exams to satisfy the language requirement: - American Foreign Policy · Conflict Management
- Energy, Environment, Science & Technology
- Global Theory and History
- International Economics
- International Law
- International Relations
- Social Change and Development
- Strategic Studies
Proficiency examination In order to determine the level of a student's foreign language proficiency, SAIS uses an ACTFL (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages) style examination geared to students studying a foreign language for a specific use, i.e., at SAIS for International Relations National Security, and Socio-economics. Students of Russian have to take three exams to test their language skills: Speaking (Oral Proficiency Interview), Reading, and Listening. Usually, students take Proficiency examinations after the Intermediate 2 level. However, the exams can be taken after the Intermediate 1 level but their level of proficiency although sufficient to graduate, may not be very impressive . After achieving an ACTFL "Intermediate-High" level of proficiency, students can take a Post-Proficiency course to improve their skills, and raise their level. Students must achieve the following ACTFL levels in order to satisfy the SAIS language requirement: - Speaking: "Intermediate-Mid"
- Listening: "Intermediate-Mid"
- Reading: "Intermediate-Mid"
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