The foreign language requirement must be fulfilled before taking the Qualifying Examination. A Qualifying Examination cannot be scheduled until the requirement has been met.
It is the responsibility of each graduate student to work with their advisor to identify the language competencies necessary for fieldwork and scholarship and to initiate study toward meeting these needs. To meet the language requirement, competency in one language must be formally demonstrated. Each student's advisor will recommend how this requirement should be met, as well as what additional skills should be sought. Generally accepted ways of meeting the language requirement include:
Passing a standardized test at a predetermined level
Taking and passing a translation examination administered by an appropriate member of the UCSC faculty or an outside assessor approved by the advisor
Taking and passing a series of language courses at a specified advanced level at UCSC or elsewhere, again, to be determined in consultation with the advisor
In some cases, the language in which a relevant scholarly literature exists will be the logical language of examination. In other cases, the language in which fieldwork will be conducted will be the most logical language for examination.
In the case of non-native English speakers who plan to undertake research in their own native language, English can meet the foreign language requirement. In the case of English native speakers who plan to do research in their native language, the requirement should be met by another language relevant to their field research or scholarly resources. In cases where a foreign language is not necessary for field research nor for scholarly work, and learning a foreign language would significantly delay progress to degree and/or conflict with time needed to learn other necessary technical skills, students may apply to the department for an Exemption to Policy for the foreign language requirement.
The Report on Language Requirement Form can be found here.
The Anthropology Foreign Language Exemption Request Form can be found here.
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