Non-native English speakers who wish to use their native language to meet the B.A. world language requirement.

For a student whose competency is in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish:

1. He/she should take the placement test in that language, offered through the MTSU Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

2. If the student shows proficiency through the 2020 level of the language, he/she should submit the test score to his/her advisor. The advisor will email the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, requesting a waiver of the world language requirement. The student will not receive any credit hours for world language.

For a student who is proficient in a language other than the ones listed above:

1. The student should contact Lyle Morgan (615-494-7753) or Ja'Net Davis (615-494-7651) for approval of other resources for verifying competency. In most cases the student will be referred to a faculty member who is fluent in the language and who is willing to conduct a competency interview. When there is no faculty member available, the student may contact the Tennessee Language Center (formerly Tennessee Foreign Language Institute) - 615-741-7579, and, for a fee, set up an interview.

2. The student should meet with the faculty member or Tennessee Language Center representative for competency verification. The interview should be at least a 30-minute conversation in the language for which the student is seeking competency.

3. If competency is approved, the faculty member or Tennessee Language Center representative should email the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, confirming that the student is proficient in the language at a level equivalent to two years of college-level coursework.

4. If approved, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts will contact the College of Liberal Arts Graduation Coordinator to enter the waiver in the student's degree evaluation. The student will not receive any credit hours for world language.

Students who take the world language placement test at MTSU

1. If a student places out of a course or courses in the world language series, he/she may enroll in the next class in the series.

2. After completing the class with a grade of C- or better, the student must contact the administrative assistant of the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures to report successful completion of the class.

3. The administrative assistant of the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures will then contact the Office of Admissions to enter credit for the classes that preceded the completed class in the world language series.

Students who took a world language placement test at another institution.

1. If a student placed out of some courses in a world language but did not take any world language courses at the other institution, he/she should take the placement test at MTSU and follow the procedures listed above for students who take the placement test at MTSU. This will allow the student to receive credit for the courses from which he/she is exempt.

2. If a student placed out of some courses in a world language and began the world language sequence at the other institution but has not completed it, he/she will take the next course in the sequence at MTSU. If credit was not awarded at the other institution for the exempt classes, the student will receive credit hours for them through MTSU. If the student wishes to fulfill the language requirement for the B.A. degree, he/she must have credit for the 2010 and 2020 of the language, but does not have to have the credit posted on the transcript for 1010 and 1020.

Students whose high school language requirement was waived because they are fluent in another language.

NOTE: These students will have high school deficiencies at MTSU because they do not have the 2 units of a world language required of high school graduates. The normal requirement to fulfill this deficiency is 1010 and 1020 of a language. Instead of taking 1010 and 1020, these students may follow the steps below.

1. The student must prove proficiency in the world language by taking the MTSU placement test or by completing an oral interview with an MTSU faculty member fluent in that language, in the cases where no placement test is offered.

2. The student must successfully complete English 1010 and 1020.

3. Once English 1020 is successfully completed, the advisor sends a memo to Dean of College of Liberal Arts for approval to waive World Language 1010 and 1020 based on the student's proven proficiency in his/her native language and the second language, English.

4. If approved, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts will contact the Office of Admissions to have the high school deficiency removed from the student's record.

Students who wish to get world language credit through study abroad classes

1. Prior to studying abroad, the student must have his/her faculty advisor approve the classes to be taken in the study abroad program. For the student to use the course(s) to fulfill a language requirement, the course(s) must be taught in the language for which the student is seeking credit.

2. After returning from studying abroad, the student must submit a description or syllabus of the class to the Chair of the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, in order to receive world language credit for the class(es).

3. If the class is approved, the chair will send an email to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, requesting approval to allow the student to use the appropriate number of hours toward the Bachelor of Arts language requirement, world language major, or minor.