Graduate Student Handbook
Foreign Language Requirements
For the MA Degree
A translating competency in one foreign language – French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Russian, Spanish, or any other approved by the Graduate Coordinator. Translating competency signifies an ability to make a correct translation of a piece of critical prose or a passage of literature, within a reasonable length of time and without undue reliance on a dictionary. Students may also take Old English at the graduate level to fulfill the language requirement. The methods for evaluating such competency follow:
- Earning a “B” or “A” in UF French/German/Spanish 6061, the second half of the sequence 6060–6061. Each course carries 3 credit hours, but these hours will not count towards the degree. With approval of the Graduate Coordinator, course work in other languages at UF (German, Russian, and Italian, for example) or in advanced undergraduate literature courses (in French, German, and Spanish, for example, at the 3000–4000 level) may also fulfill the requirement.
- Standing an examination to demonstrate a reading knowledge roughly equivalent to that of a student earning a B or A in the 6061 courses. This examination will be administered by a Departmental Committee once in the fall and once in the spring semester. Students will be given several prose sections to choose from and will have one hour to complete the translation. They will be able to use a dictionary, but the selections will be long enough and complex enough to prevent over-reliance on it.
- Validation of language competence acquired elsewhere. This validation will be at the discretion of the Graduate Coordinator, in consultation with appropriate members of the Departmental Language Examination Committee. Application for this method should come immediately after entering the program.
- Earning a “B” or “A” in Old English, ENL 6206. If this course is used to fulfill the language requirement, it can not also be counted as course work toward the degree.
For the PhD Degree
The Department, presuming and requiring that all students holding the MA degree have had academic study in at least one language other than English, remands all requirements for any further study in a language or languages other than English to the authority of the supervisory committee of every PhD student in good standing in the Program. The track form has a line for the dissertation supervisor to indicate the language and to sign certifying competence in that language. This form becomes part of the student’s permanent file with the Department and serves as sufficient evidence of satisfaction of the requirement.
