120 credit hoursThe number of total credit hours was reduced to 120, this translates into 15 credit hours, or 5 courses each semester. There are fewer general education requirements and a greater variety of courses to choose from. You will have more time to focus on your major and extra-curricular activities, such as German Club and internships.
One full year study abroadStarting in the Fall, every German major is required to spend two full semesters at a German, Austrian or Swiss university. This will give your degree greater credibility and will advance your chances of finding a job.
More courses to choose fromThere are more courses to chose from, both within and outside the major. E.g. there are now German history and philosophy classes as part of the requirements and you don’t have to use precious electives for these classes, which are essential to understanding German literature, film, music, art, etc.
New course LANG 303So, you want to take a really intriguing class offered at Marburg but you cannot transfer it since it is not offered at Clemson and it won't transfer? Now you can! We want our students to take one class abroad that they would not be able to transfer.
Greater flexibility and varietyA more visible major
The senior dossier = digital portfolio (ePortfolio)The department is required to assess all programs with an exit exam and a digital portfolio (new). While your participation is mandatory, a bad grade or even a failing one does not have an effect on graduation or GPR. The new senior dossier can be valuable to you if you put the work into it. More and more companies ask for digital portfolios when students apply and more and more universities offer this as an option or even require it.
Your digital portfolio is a “living document” for which you start collecting material from the very first semester of study. It will include documentation of classes you took at Clemson and abroad, your internship or study abroad experience, extra-curricular activities, your research, and will demonstrate your ability to apply technology, ethical judgment, critical thinking and cross-cultural awareness. Students will be given a chance to finalize their portfolios in their last semester and present it in an appropriate fashion. Advisors will be assigned to graduating seniors to guide the students and provide feedback.
The senior dossier can become an important tool for your application process and your career after graduation. It will also provide student advisors with material for possible recommendations.
Cultural inquiryThe new curriculum will require and allow you to conduct your own independent research. This is becoming more important to Clemson University, and we will support the students with classes and advising in this matter. This is not only a preparation for graduate work but for the global workplace after graduation. Careers in an international setting increasingly require students to adapt quickly to new situations and to self-train if needed. We feel that we need to educate our students to be able to conduct research on any possible topic, even outside their field and to investigate the most difficult problems independently.
Extra-curricular activitiesThe new curriculum will allow students to spend more time for extra-curricular activities including the German Club (throughout the year) or our German Play (every Spring). Students will have more time to prepare for classes and learn, but, at the same time, we want them to experience as much German culture as possible, here and abroad. We will offer more evening lectures and social events than before, and we want to invite you to participate as much as possible.
New catalogue descriptionThe Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages provides a broadly humanistic course of study in four areas of concentration: French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. This course of study seeks to provide students with basic competence in both the relevant language and the literary and cultural heritage pertaining to that language. Moreover, students will be required to take at least two courses in cultural inquiry which are designed to sharpen their sense of cultural difference, to enhance their critical thinking skills, and to prepare them for citizenship in a global community of diverse cultural precepts and practices. In this respect, the Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages is intended to prepare students for a wide range of careers in the international arena as well as for the kinds of graduate programs that are an appropriate starting point for such careers.
All students in Modern Languages will be required to study abroad with a Clemson-approved program for at least one semester (or equivalent summer course of study) in the case of Japanese and Spanish or for at least two semesters in the case of French and German.
As a condition of graduation, students in the Modern Languages program will be required to pass a noncredit examination and to submit a senior dossier in the relevant language to assess their competence in that language. Both assessments take place in the student’s last full semester of study.
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