Language Proficiency Requirement

Language Proficiency Requirement

Certain majors in the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences require students to pass a 200-level class or demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English.  The CHABSS college community values learning a language other than English as a part of the foundation of a liberal arts education.  Language proficiency enhances the students’ educational experience and builds skills needed to compete in a globalized world.

• American Indian Studies
• Anthropology
• Art, Media, and Design, Art and Visual Culture (AVC) Option
• Art, Media, and Design, Digital and Media Arts (DAMA) Option
• Child and Adolescent Development
• Communication
• Criminology and Justice Studies
• Environmental Studies
• Ethnic Studies
• Geography
• Global Studies
• History
• Liberal Studies Elementary Subject Matter
• Linguistics
• Literature and Writing Studies
• Media Studies
• Political Science
• Psychological Science
• Social Sciences
• Sociology, Standard Concentration
• Sociology, Aging and the Life Course Concentration
• Sociology, Children, Youth, and Families Concentration
• Sociology, Critical Race Studies Concentration
• Sociology, Health, Education, and Welfare Concentration
• Theatre Arts
• Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Language Proficiency Requirement can be met in one of the following ways:

• Complete the equivalent of one intermediate-level course (must be 200 level - excluding courses focused solely on oral conversation skills) in any language other than English at the college or community college level, with a C grade or better or CR grade (including study abroad). In order to successfully complete the 200-level course, most students take two 100-level courses and then the 200-level course;
• Receive a score of 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement Foreign Language Examination;
• Receive a score of 4 or higher on an International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher-Level Language A Literature Exam, or Language A Language and Literature Exam;
• Take a College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Language Examination and receive the minimum score:
  • French Level II: 59
  • German Level II: 60
  • Spanish Level II: 63
• Pass the TOEFL or other CSUSM-approved English language exam as a condition for admission into the University;
• Complete at least three years full-time at a high-school or university where English was not the principal language of instruction;
• CSUSM accepts American Sign Language (ASL) in fulfillment of this requirement. Proficiency in ASL may be demonstrated by the following:
  • having completed the equivalent of an intermediate-level ASL course (excluding courses focused on deaf culture or fingerspelling) at the college level, with a C grade or higher;
  • having completed a K-12 mainstream program using ASL interpreters;
  • having completed a K-12 deaf and hard-of-hearing full-time program.
• Demonstrate intermediate-level language proficiency according to the latest American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines, which is currently assessed via a CSUSM Proficiency Exam.