Majors and Minors in Humanities

In the rapidly changing world of the 21st century, the demands of everyday life and the desire to shape the future leave little room for contemplation of what has come before.  It is clear, however, that earlier periods of human civilization continue to exert a powerful influence on how we act, think, and create.

The Humanities division of the Department of Humanities and Modern Languages offers major and minor programs that encourage and nurture a productive dialog between the culture(s) of the past and the contemporary world.  A student may concentrate on Art History, Music History, or General Humanities (a broad survey of all forms of cultural production).

The Department offers the B.A. degree. Majors in Humanities require 38-40 hours of coursework. The major is available in three tracks: Art History, Music History, and General Humanities. Minors require 24 hours of coursework and are available in Art History, Music History, and General Humanities.  For a list of the requirements for each of these tracks, please follow  the links at left.

Majors and Minors in Modern Languages

Communication is at the center of all culture. Language is the main vehicle for communication, but it is also much more. It transfers not only the essential information of everyday life, but also civilization, history, memory, and myth. Learning a second language involves the examination of one’s own identity, and it opens a window to the behavior patterns, emotions, and thoughts of human beings from different – sometimes radically different – backgrounds and cultural contexts.

The Modern Languages division of the Department of Humanities and Modern Languages offers full degree programs and minors in French, French Studies, German, German Studies, and Spanish and instruction in American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, and Italian. Language study is also an integral part of the majors in Global Business, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and International Economics (BA). Government majors on the International Affairs Track also study a second language. For information on the Foreign Language Education Program, see below.

For a list of the requirements for the various majors and minors in Modern Languages, please follow the links at left.

Study Abroad Programs

The Department of Humanities and Modern Languages offers language programs at the Suffolk campuses in Dakar, Senegal, and in Madrid, Spain.  We have also forged partnerships with CAVILAM (Centre d’Approches Vivantes des Langues et des Médias) in Vichy, France, and with the Institute of Fine and Liberal Arts at the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, Italy.  Students of German may participate in the Vienna program administered by the University of Illinois.  For more information on study abroad opportunities in German-speaking countries, please contact Professor Jay Rosellini. 

Foreign Language Education Program

For those students wishing to pursue a career as a foreign language teacher at the secondary level, the Department of Humanities and Modern Languages offers initial licensure in French, German, and Spanish and professional licensure in Spanish.

1) Initial Licensure in French, German, and Spanish

In addition to the courses required for the undergraduate major in each of these three languages, the student must take the following courses (24 credits) required for initial secondary education licensure in Massachusetts:

• EHS 500 Foundations of Education
  
• EHS 502 Educational Psychology
• EHS 503 Schooling and Social Inequality
• EHS 508 Skills for Secondary Teachers
• EHS 512 Secondary Curriculum Pedagogy
• EHS 514 Methods and Models of Teaching
• EHS 516 Practicum (Secondary Student Teaching)
  

The student must also earn a passing score on the communication and literacy test and on the French, German, or Spanish knowledge portion of the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure.

2) Professional Licensure in Spanish

Those pursuing a Master’s Degree in Secondary School Teaching must complete 18 credit hours in education (consult the Education and Human Services Department for required courses) and a coherent grouping of courses (18 credits) in Spanish. For more information, contact Dr. Sarah M. Carroll, Director, Teacher Preparation Programs, at (617) 573-8261 or scarroll@suffolk.edu and Dr. Jay J. Rosellini, Chair of Humanities and Modern Languages, at (617) 573-8723 or jroselli@suffolk.edu.

International Economics/International Business Studies

Under joint sponsorship with the Department of Economics, the Department of Humanities and Modern Languages offers a Major program in International Economics that combines courses in French, German, Italian, or Spanish language with international economics and area studies. See International Economics in this catalog. A similar major program in International Business Studies is offered jointly with the School of Management. See the Sawyer Business School section in this catalog. Tutorial courses in French for Business or Spanish for Business are available to students in both of the above programs.

Foreign Language Placement

The Department of Humanities and Modern Languages determines a student’s proficiency level in a foreign language. The Department’s placement policy is as follows: students may continue a foreign language begun in high school or begin a new language. When the student continues a high school language, the Department determines the student’s proficiency level through placement examinations, placement consultations or other measures. In general, students who have recently completed two or three years of high school foreign language with average grades of B or better continue their foreign language studies on the Intermediate level. Students with more than three years of high school foreign language as well as native speakers will consult with a foreign language advisor from the Department for appropriate placement.

Note: Since Foreign Language courses numbered 101, 102, 201, and 202 require progressive skill levels, they may not be taken out of sequential order without permission of the instructor.

Passing a CLEP examination in modern languages will not earn credit for language courses offered at Suffolk University. Furthermore, no CLEP credit for foreign languages may be transferred from other institutions.