Graduate Language Certification

GNSD certifies the following languages: Dutch, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Old Norse, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, and Yiddish. Certification is based on either prior coursework or testing and must have occurred within the last five years. The "Language Department Certification of Foreign Language Proficiency" form is available in the Forms section on One Stop under Academic status.

Prior Coursework

Language Language Certification Details Documents Needed
German
  • Completion of the first year of the language (1001–1002 or 4001–4002) at the University of Minnesota with a grade of C or better.
  • Completion of Reading German (GER 0222) at the University of Minnesota with a grade of B or better. Please note that the instructor of the course cannot sign the certification form.
  • Completion of two years of the language at another university or college with a C average, or one year of a language at the college level with an average of B or better and a grade no lower than B in the final term. The student must bring a transcript as evidence.
 Bring the form and documentation (e.g., transcript) to 320 Folwell.
Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish Completion of the first year of the language (1001–1002 or 4001–4002) at the University of Minnesota with a grade of C or better. Bring the form and documentation (e.g., transcript) to 320 Folwell.
Russian Completion of one year of formal college- or university-level Russian (at least four hours per week in class with a grade of C or better). Bring the form and documentation (e.g., transcript) to one of the authorized signers.

Testing

If you learned the language some way other than through coursework at a college or university, or if you completed your courses more than five years ago, you will need to contact an authorized signer to see if testing is an option. Email [email protected] for the name of an authorized signer for the language you want certified.

Language Tuition Program

CLA will pay for up to three credits of tuition over the 14-credit band for CLA graduate students taking all of their courses in CLA. It will be awarded to CLA doctoral students enrolled in 4xxx/5532 language courses for the purposes of their degree requirements, graduate research and/or teaching WRIT 1301. This allows students to enroll in language courses that they may not otherwise be able to fit into their schedule.

For more information and instructions, please visit the Language Tuition Program's page on the CLA intranet.