Second Language Requirement

[MBAer]

Must one posses reading and speaking abilities in a second language in order to obtain admissions to a PhD program in sociocultural anthropology? If so, just how fluent must one be?

[cowgirlsdontcry]

19 minutes ago, MBAer said:

Must one posses reading and speaking abilities in a second language in order to obtain admissions to a PhD program in sociocultural anthropology? If so, just how fluent must one be?

Not only is every university different, every program is different. On departmental websites, look under PhD section, where you will their requirements, as to how many languages, level of fluency needed and qualifications for passing that requirement. For instance, the program I'm entering did require two languages, but this past year changed to one. The ways I can meet the requirement, are by being a native speaker of a language other than English, having taken 4 semesters (through intermediate level) of a single language and making no less than a B (with my last semester having been within the last 5 years), or by taking a translation test of about 1-2 paragraphs (a dictionary is the only help you get) in a 2- hour period. These requirements are only for English Ph.D. at the university I will be entering this fall. Every program/university requirement is different.

Edited June 5, 2017 by cowgirlsdontcry

[ThousandsHardships]

Most people I know in sociocultural anthropology do possess skills in another language. As @cowgirlsdontcry pointed out, however, it varies widely according to the program. Some may require it, while others may not. It's also very common to require it as a program requirement but not as a prerequisite (i.e. you might not need it to get accepted, but you may need it by the time you graduate or by the time you start your fieldwork). Which also brings me to a point -- many programs are flexible. What you need can depend on your research and where you do your research. If you take your fieldwork to Colombia, for example, it would be hard to get by without Spanish. If you do it in Portugal, Portuguese would be natural. If you do it in Indonesia, learning Indonesian would be a worthwhile investment.

For the record, though, I think it's only fair to not require any more for grad student admissions than what is required of a typical undergraduate major in that field. I have a B.A. in anthropology, and the only language requirement we had could have been satisfied with a third year high school class or a second semester college-level class. Any graduate admissions requirement above that would seem a bit unreasonable to me, though knowing another language at a high level might give you an edge, especially if it's going to be relevant to your research. Sometimes they also take individual circumstances into consideration. If they have a prerequisite but your undergraduate school does not provide the resources to meet that prerequisite, then sometimes they will accept you anyway if the other parts of your application are strong and they believe that you're able to quickly catch up.

Edited June 5, 2017 by ThousandsHardships

[cowgirlsdontcry]

ThousandsHard is correct in that the language requirement is not required up front and can be acquired as you have time. I believe in my program it must be done by the time I take comps, but that's two years. I met my requirements by having an undergrad minor in foreign languages. For the field of literature, there is a good bit of research and essays in French, Spanish and German, so it's a good idea to at least have French so one can figure out if an essay is useful or not.