Foreign Language & Culture Certificate Program

The Foreign Language and Culture Certificate is an explicit recognition that one has attained a high level of proficiency in a foreign language and an understanding of the cultural contexts associated with that language.

The certificate programs are a great way to incorporate foreign language proficiency into an undergraduate curriculum. We offer certificates in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. Upon successful completion, students' official transcripts will carry notice of attainment, which is conferred upon graduation.

Most Carnegie Mellon undergraduate students are eligible, the exceptions being native speakers, who are not eligible for a certificate in their own language and non-native students who are majoring or minoring in that language.

How does a student qualify?

Students earn a certificate by:

• being a current Carnegie Mellon undergraduate student
• completing four semesters of language study (i.e., Elementary I & II and Intermediate I & II) with a minimum grade of B, or an approved equivalent such as obtaining a score of 5 on an AP language examination;
• participating in a Carnegie Mellon-approved program abroad (e.g., supervised research practicum, internship or study abroad), in which work in the foreign language plays a significant role;
• completing, on campus, one foreign language course at the advanced level (e.g., a 300- or 400-level LCAL course), with a minimum grade of B; and
• demonstrating intermediate high level proficiency in an oral proficiency interview administered either by a certified tester of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages or a tester approved by the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics.