Foreign Language Requirements for College Admission

One would think that high school graduation requirements in the area of foreign language would match those of the nation’s premier colleges and universities.

Sadly, that would be giving the public educational system far too much credit. Presently, 23 U.S. states do not require the two years of foreign language study that is required for admittance into many colleges. Therefore, an unfortunate number of high school students may mistakenly think that they do not need to take a language to get into their dream university—after all, their high school must know what it’s doing, right? Before a teenager decides whether or not to say “bonjour,” “hola,” or “hallo” to the language of their choosing, they should be fully aware of the standards for admission at their prospective schools. Below, College Transitions has put together a list of foreign language requirements at many of the top institutions in the United States.

*Data collected from institution websites and 2022-23 Common Data Set (CDS) forms.

Table updated November 2023

InstitutionForeign Language Units (Required)Foreign Language Units (Recommended)
138600Agnes Scott College-2
210669Allegheny College2-
131159American UniversityAU23
164465Amherst College-3
197869Appalachian State UniversityApp State2-
104151Arizona State UniversityASU2-
100858Auburn University-1
164580Babson College-4
189088Bard College44
189097Barnard College-3
160977Bates College24
223232Baylor University-2
238333Beloit College-2
230816Bennington College-3
164739Bentley University33
156295Berea College-2
164748Berklee College of MusicNot ReportedNot Reported
196079Binghamton University3-
142115Boise State University-2
164924Boston CollegeBC44
164988Boston UniversityBU24
161004Bowdoin College-4
165015Brandeis University-4
230038Brigham Young University-ProvoBYU22
217156Brown University34
217165Bryant University22
211273Bryn Mawr College44
211291Bucknell University24
150163Butler University2-
110404California Institute of TechnologyCaltech-3
111081California Institute of the Arts-2
110422California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoCal Poly24
110529California State Polytechnic University-Pomona2-
110556California State University-Fresno2-
110565California State University-Fullerton22
110583California State University-Long Beach22
110592California State University-Los Angeles2-
173258Carleton College-3
211440Carnegie Mellon UniversityCMU22
201645Case Western Reserve University23
131283Catholic University of America03
156408Centre College24
230852Champlain College23
111948Chapman University24
112260Claremont McKenna CollegeCMC33
165334Clark University-2
190044Clarkson UniversityNot ReportedNot Reported
217882Clemson University33
161086Colby College33
190099Colgate University34
217819College of Charleston2-
160959College of the Atlantic-2
166124College of the Holy Cross-4
231624College of William and MaryW&M-4
126678Colorado CollegeCC00
126775Colorado School of Mines12
126818Colorado State UniversityCSU12
190150Columbia University in the City of New York34
128902Connecticut CollegeNot ReportedNot Reported
190372Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art-2
153162Cornell College02
190415Cornell University-3
181002Creighton University23
190512CUNY Bernard M Baruch College22
190594CUNY Hunter College-2
182670Dartmouth College-4
198385Davidson College24
202523Denison University-4
144740DePaul University02
150400DePauw University22
212009Dickinson College23
153269Drake University-2
184348Drew University22
212054Drexel University-1
198419Duke University-3
212106Duquesne University2-
150455Earlham College22
198464East Carolina UniversityECU22
133492Eckerd College-2
212197Elizabethtown College22
198516Elon University23
133553Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-1
165662Emerson College33
165671Emmanuel College23
139658Emory University-4
129242Fairfield University24
191126Fashion Institute of TechnologyFITNot ReportedNot Reported
133669Florida Atlantic UniversityFAU2-
133881Florida Institute of Technology02
133951Florida International UniversityFIU2-
134079Florida Southern College-2
134097Florida State UniversityFSU24
191241Fordham University24
212577Franklin and Marshall CollegeF&M24
441982Franklin W Olin College of Engineering-2
218070Furman University23
232186George Mason UniversityGMU23
131469George Washington UniversityGWU24
131496Georgetown University24
139861Georgia College & State University22
139755Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Tech2-
139940Georgia State University22
212674Gettysburg College34
235316Gonzaga University23
162654Goucher College24
153384Grinnell College-3
212805Grove City College-3
173647Gustavus Adolphus College2-
191515Hamilton College-3
166018Hampshire College34
150756Hanover College24
166027Harvard University-4
115409Harvey Mudd CollegeHMC-2
212911Haverford College33
107080Hendrix College22
170286Hillsdale College03
191630Hobart William Smith Colleges23
191649Hofstra University23
170301Hope College44
131520Howard UniversityHU22
145725Illinois Institute of TechnologyIIT02
145646Illinois Wesleyan University-3
151351Indiana University-BloomingtonIUB4-
153603Iowa State University23
191968Ithaca College23
232423James Madison UniversityJMU33
162928Johns Hopkins UniversityJHU-4
213251Juniata College22
170532Kalamazoo College23
155399Kansas State University2-
203535Kenyon College34
169983Kettering University00
146427Knox College-3
213385Lafayette College22
146481Lake Forest College24
239017Lawrence University-2
192323Le Moyne College-3
213543Lehigh University22
209056Lewis & Clark College02
159391Louisiana State UniversityLSU2-
117946Loyola Marymount UniversityLMU-3
146719Loyola University ChicagoLUC22
163046Loyola University Maryland34
173902Macalester College-3
161299Maine Maritime Academy-2
192819Marist College23
239105Marquette University-2
166683Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMIT-2
140447Mercer University2-
204024Miami University-Oxford-2
171100Michigan State UniversityMSU22
171128Michigan Technological University-2
230959Middlebury College-3
239318Milwaukee School of EngineeringMSOE0-
176080Mississippi State University--
178411Missouri University of Science and TechnologyMUST2-
180461Montana State University-2
140553Morehouse College02
166939Mount Holyoke CollegeMHC-3
214175Muhlenberg College24
262129New College of Florida24
185828New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNJIT-2
187967New Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologyNMIT02
193900New York UniversityNYU34
199193North Carolina State UniversityNC State02
167358Northeastern University24
147767Northwestern University-2
204501Oberlin College33
120254Occidental CollegeOxy-3
204796Ohio State UniversityOSU23
204857Ohio UniversityOU2-
204909Ohio Wesleyan University02
209542Oregon State UniversityOSU2-
214777Pennsylvania State UniversityPSU; Penn State23
121150Pepperdine University--
121257Pitzer College-3
121345Pomona College33
194578Pratt Institute-Main--
186131Princeton University-4
217402Providence College34
243780Purdue University-Main Campus2-
130226Quinnipiac University23
186201Ramapo College of New Jersey22
209922Reed College-3
194824Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRPINot ReportedNot Reported
217493Rhode Island School of DesignRISDNot ReportedNot Reported
221351Rhodes College2-
227757Rice University2-
195003Rochester Institute of TechnologyRIT01
136950Rollins College23
152318Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyRHIT--
184782Rowan University2-
186371Rutgers University-Camden2-
186380Rutgers University-New BrunswickRU22
186399Rutgers University-Newark2-
183239Saint Anselm College24
179159Saint Louis UniversitySLU33
231059Saint Michael's College24
122409San Diego State UniversitySDSU2-
122755San Jose State UniversitySJSU22
122931Santa Clara UniversitySCU23
195304Sarah Lawrence CollegeSLC24
123165Scripps College3-
236595Seattle University22
195474Siena College23
167783Simmons University34
195526Skidmore College-4
167835Smith College-3
399911Soka University of America-2
228246Southern Methodist UniversitySMU23
228343Southwestern University23
195216St Lawrence UniversitySLU-3
174844St Olaf College-4
163976St. John's College24
245652St. John's College24
163912St. Mary's College of Maryland-4
243744Stanford University-3
196176State University of New York at New Paltz24
137546Stetson University22
186867Stevens Institute of Technology24
167996Stonehill College34
196097Stony Brook University-3
196219SUNY at Purchase College3-
196167SUNY College at Geneseo-4
196103SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry-3
216287Swarthmore College-3
196413Syracuse University-3
216339Temple University22
228723Texas A & M University-College Station22
228875Texas Christian UniversityTCU24
229115Texas Tech University22
187134The College of New JerseyTCNJ22
206589The College of Wooster22
193654The New School-4
100751The University of Alabama12
180489The University of Montana-2
137847The University of Tampa22
221759The University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleUTK-2
228778The University of Texas at AustinUT Austin2-
228787The University of Texas at DallasUTD; UT Dallas23
221519The University of the South24
124292Thomas Aquinas College2-
216366Thomas Jefferson University00
164076Towson University2-
130590Trinity College3-
229267Trinity University22
178615Truman State University22
168148Tufts University34
160755Tulane University of Louisiana-4
196866Union College23
128328United States Air Force AcademyUSAFA02
130624United States Coast Guard AcademyUSCGA02
197027United States Merchant Marine Academy-2
197036United States Military AcademyUSMA-2
164155United States Naval Academy-2
196088University at Buffalo33
100663University of Alabama at BirminghamUAB1-
104179University of ArizonaUA22
106397University of Arkansas02
110635University of California-BerkeleyUCB: UC Berkeley23
110644University of California-DavisUCD; UC Davis23
110653University of California-IrvineUCI; UC Irvine23
110662University of California-Los AngelesUCLA23
445188University of California-MercedUC Merced23
110671University of California-RiversideUCR; UC Riverside23
110680University of California-San DiegoUCSD; UC San Diego23
110705University of California-Santa BarbaraUCSB; UC Santa Barbara23
110714University of California-Santa CruzUCSC; UC Santa Cruz23
132903University of Central FloridaUCF2-
144050University of ChicagoUChicago-3
201885University of Cincinnati-Main Campus--
126614University of Colorado Boulder-1
129020University of ConnecticutUConn23
224323University of Dallas23
130943University of DelawareUD24
127060University of DenverUD-2
134130University of FloridaUF24
139959University of GeorgiaUGA23
225511University of Houston-2
142285University of Idaho--
145600University of Illinois at ChicagoUIC-2
145637University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUIUC24
153658University of Iowa24
155317University of KansasKU-2
157085University of KentuckyUK2-
157289University of Louisville23
161253University of Maine-2
232681University of Mary Washington34
163268University of Maryland-Baltimore CountyUMBC2-
163286University of Maryland-College ParkUMD22
166629University of Massachusetts-AmherstUMass Amherst2-
166638University of Massachusetts-BostonUMass Boston2-
166513University of Massachusetts-LowellUMass Lowell22
135726University of MiamiUM44
170976University of MichiganUMich24
174233University of Minnesota-Duluth-2
174251University of Minnesota-Morris2-
174066University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesUMN22
176017University of MississippiOle Miss--
178396University of Missouri-ColumbiaMizzou2-
181464University of Nebraska-LincolnUNL2-
182281University of Nevada-Las VegasUNLV--
182290University of Nevada-RenoUNR--
183044University of New HampshireUNH02
199111University of North Carolina at AshevilleUNC Asheville2-
199120University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUNC Chapel Hill2-
199139University of North Carolina at CharlotteUNCC; UNC Charlotte23
199148University of North Carolina at GreensboroUNCG; UNC Greensboro22
199218University of North Carolina WilmingtonUNC Wilmington2-
152080University of Notre DameUND24
207500University of OklahomaOU-2
209551University of Oregon2-
215062University of PennsylvaniaUPenn-4
215293University of Pittsburgh23
209825University of Portland23
236328University of Puget Sound-2
121691University of Redlands23
217484University of Rhode IslandURI2-
233374University of Richmond24
195030University of RochesterNot ReportedNot Reported
122436University of San DiegoUSD34
122612University of San FranciscoUSF2-
215929University of Scranton22
218663University of South CarolinaUSC2-
137351University of South FloridaUSF22
123961University of Southern CaliforniaUSC23
174914University of St Thomas (MN)-4
231174University of VermontUVM2-
234076University of VirginiaUVA24
377555University of Washington-Bothell Campus2-
236948University of Washington-SeattleUW2-
240444University of Wisconsin-MadisonUW-Madison23
216524Ursinus College23
221999Vanderbilt UniversityVandy22
197133Vassar College-4
216597Villanova University34
234030Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVCU23
233921Virginia TechVirginia Tech-3
152673Wabash College-2
199847Wake Forest University24
234207Washington and Lee UniversityW&L; WLU34
164216Washington College24
236939Washington State UniversityWSU22
179867Washington University in St LouisWashU24
168218Wellesley College-4
168227Wentworth Institute of Technology--
130697Wesleyan University-4
216764West Chester University of Pennsylvania-2
238032West Virginia UniversityWVU2-
125727Westmont College23
149781Wheaton College23
168281Wheaton College (MA)-4
237057Whitman College-2
125763Whittier College23
210401Willamette University-4
168342Williams College-4
218973Wofford College33
168421Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWPI-2
130794Yale University0-
197708Yeshiva UniversityYUNot ReportedNot Reported

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