Why You Should Consider Taking a Foreign Language

Want to graduate from Drexel University with the most attractive resume possible? You can do all the best co-ops, fellowships and extracurriculars, but there’s one skill that is guaranteed to set you apart in your future job search — knowing another language.

Studies show that bilingual workers usually earn additional income over their lifetime, and in certain countries, including the United States, a dearth of foreign language skills can attribute to hard-to-fill vacancies in the workforce.

For Drexel students who’d like to take advantage of these benefits, the Modern Languages Program within the College of Arts and Sciences has been working over the past few years to make it easier and more fulfilling than ever to leave Drexel with a language minor or certificate. Here’s what you need to know:

• Offerings. The program boasts minors and Intermediate Proficiency Certificates in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, and also offers certificates in both Hebrew and Italian. The curriculum surrounding each language reaches beyond memorizing vocabulary and conjugating verbs, instead emphasizing communication in real-life contexts.

  Content courses are taught in the target language to also expand students’ knowledge on politics, culture and contemporary issues to provide a holistic approach to language study. Such courses often support small, intimate classroom settings where students may also work with community residents to gain culture-based knowledge, and even exercise civic engagement or study abroad.

• Minor. Students can minor in any one of seven modern languages to complement any major plan of study. Many language minors come from backgrounds in business, engineering and nursing, alongside traditional CoAS majors. Language minors encompass a 24-credit course load, including advanced courses on topics such as professional training, media, international politics or issues of identity.

• Certificate. Each of the nine Intermediate Language Proficiency Certificate programs showcase to future employers or graduate schools that the student possesses basic skills to interact in everyday contexts with native speakers of the language. It requires a minimum of 8 credits and completion up to the 202 level.

• Additional opportunities. Language study at Drexel could also be your pathway to study abroad or land an international co-op. The program has sent students into placements all over the world, including Egypt, Japan, Costa Rica and Germany. Don’t have time to fit this all in before graduation? You can always take courses as an elective to start your language journey and continue post-grad! Whatever your goal, your advisor and program faculty are here to help!