Certificate of Language Ability
In the Global Talent Survey from 2014, 93% of the 2100 mid and large-sized companies seek “employees who can show they are able to work effectively with customers, clients, and businesses from a range of different countries and cultures.” 55% of those companies explicitly track foreign language skills of employee candidates.
The Department of World Languages & Cultures offers an Undergraduate Certificate of Language Ability as a credential for students that provides tangible proof of their world language abilities in oral and written communication.
The certificate serves as an ideal complement to a major in another field such as International Relations, International Business, Public Relations, Marketing, Hospitality, Nursing, Public Health, Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, Psychology, Criminal Justice, and more.
The Certificate of Language Ability offers students the ability to document language skills through a program that allows a more flexible alternative to a minor or major in a language.
Eligibility
The Undergraduate Certificate of Language Ability is open to any student at GSU pursuing an undergraduate degree.
A student may pursue the Certificate for a variety of reasons.
With a notation on their transcript, the Certificate would allow students to:
- complement their major area of study.
- note distinction within their language major
- document language skills as a Heritage Speaker
Requirements
- Completion of 12 credit hours of language credit at the 2000 and 3000 level. A minimum of 6 credit hours at the 3000-level and a maximum 6 credits of elective requirements may be taken through a study abroad program.
- A grade of B or higher in each of the courses (or the approved credit equivalent such as a 5 on the AP exam). Students may not retake the class and replace the grade if they score below a B.
- Students must apply for graduation through the Office of the Registrar for the Certificate of Language Ability at least two semesters preceding your expected graduation date.
- World Languages eligible for the certificate:
| Arabic | 2001, 2002, 3001, and 3002 |
| Chinese | 2001, 2002, 3001, and 3002 |
| French | 2001, 2002, 3010, 3013, or 3023 |
| German | 2001, 2002, 3301, and 3302 |
| Japanese | 2001, 2002, or 2012, and 3001, 3002, or 3010 |
| Korean | 2001, 2002, 3002, and 3011 |
| Spanish | 2001, 2002/2501, or 2203, 3301, and 3302 |
Registration
Go to World Languages & Cultures Certificate of Language Ability to register. If you are already minoring in the language, you cannot apply for the Certificate of Language Ability. You can only do one or the other program. If you are pursuing more than one language, please fill out a registration form for each language. Please do not register more than once for the same language. We will contact you via email in the near future.
