Language Requirement
Students are strongly encouraged to address the language requirement as early as possible in their academic work, i.e., in their very first semester at Boston College. Non-fulfillment of the language requirement is one of the principal reasons why seniors are unable to graduate on time. All students in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences must, before graduation, demonstrate proficiency at the intermediate level in a modern foreign language or in a classical language.
Please note that taking the placement test does not fulfill the BC foreign language proficiency requirement. Note, further, that all courses taken to fulfill the language requirement must be taken for a letter grade, i.e., they cannot be taken Pass/Fail.
For further information on the language requirement in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and the various ways in which one may fulfill this requirement, please consult Student Services' guide for incoming students. The Carroll School of Management, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, and the Connell School of Nursing do not have a language requirement.
MCAS students can now fulfill the language requirement by submitting to the Academic Advising Center documentation of their having received one of the two following "Seals of Biliteracy" conferred by their high school:
- The Global Seal of Biliteracy conferred by the international Global Seal of Biliteracy Organization.
- The Seal of Biliteracy conferred by the various U.S. states upon high school students who have achieved a level of “Intermediate Mid” or higher on a nationally recognized, proctored language proficiency exam (such as those of ACTFL, the AP program, and Avant Assessment).