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

unitID	Institution	TAG	Foreign Language Units (Required)	Foreign Language Units (Recommended)
138600	Agnes Scott College	-	2
210669	Allegheny College	2	-
131159	American University	AU	2	3
164465	Amherst College	-	3
197869	Appalachian State University	App State	2	-
104151	Arizona State University	ASU	2	-
100858	Auburn University	-	1
164580	Babson College	-	4
189088	Bard College	4	4
189097	Barnard College	-	3
160977	Bates College	2	4
223232	Baylor University	-	2
238333	Beloit College	-	2
230816	Bennington College	-	3
164739	Bentley University	3	3
156295	Berea College	-	2
164748	Berklee College of Music	Not Reported	Not Reported
196079	Binghamton University	3	-
142115	Boise State University	-	2
164924	Boston College	BC	4	4
164988	Boston University	BU	2	4
161004	Bowdoin College	-	4
165015	Brandeis University	-	4
230038	Brigham Young University-Provo	BYU	2	2
217156	Brown University	3	4
217165	Bryant University	2	2
211273	Bryn Mawr College	4	4
211291	Bucknell University	2	4
150163	Butler University	2	-
110404	California Institute of Technology	Caltech	-	3
111081	California Institute of the Arts	-	2
110422	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	Cal Poly	2	4
110529	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	2	-
110556	California State University-Fresno	2	-
110565	California State University-Fullerton	2	2
110583	California State University-Long Beach	2	2
110592	California State University-Los Angeles	2	-
173258	Carleton College	-	3
211440	Carnegie Mellon University	CMU	2	2
201645	Case Western Reserve University	2	3
131283	Catholic University of America	0	3
156408	Centre College	2	4
230852	Champlain College	2	3
111948	Chapman University	2	4
112260	Claremont McKenna College	CMC	3	3
165334	Clark University	-	2
190044	Clarkson University	Not Reported	Not Reported
217882	Clemson University	3	3
161086	Colby College	3	3
190099	Colgate University	3	4
217819	College of Charleston	2	-
160959	College of the Atlantic	-	2
166124	College of the Holy Cross	-	4
231624	College of William and Mary	W&M	-	4
126678	Colorado College	CC	0	0
126775	Colorado School of Mines	1	2
126818	Colorado State University	CSU	1	2
190150	Columbia University in the City of New York	3	4
128902	Connecticut College	Not Reported	Not Reported
190372	Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	-	2
153162	Cornell College	0	2
190415	Cornell University	-	3
181002	Creighton University	2	3
190512	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	2	2
190594	CUNY Hunter College	-	2
182670	Dartmouth College	-	4
198385	Davidson College	2	4
202523	Denison University	-	4
144740	DePaul University	0	2
150400	DePauw University	2	2
212009	Dickinson College	2	3
153269	Drake University	-	2
184348	Drew University	2	2
212054	Drexel University	-	1
198419	Duke University	-	3
212106	Duquesne University	2	-
150455	Earlham College	2	2
198464	East Carolina University	ECU	2	2
133492	Eckerd College	-	2
212197	Elizabethtown College	2	2
198516	Elon University	2	3
133553	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	-	1
165662	Emerson College	3	3
165671	Emmanuel College	2	3
139658	Emory University	-	4
129242	Fairfield University	2	4
191126	Fashion Institute of Technology	FIT	Not Reported	Not Reported
133669	Florida Atlantic University	FAU	2	-
133881	Florida Institute of Technology	0	2
133951	Florida International University	FIU	2	-
134079	Florida Southern College	-	2
134097	Florida State University	FSU	2	4
191241	Fordham University	2	4
212577	Franklin and Marshall College	F&M	2	4
441982	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering	-	2
218070	Furman University	2	3
232186	George Mason University	GMU	2	3
131469	George Washington University	GWU	2	4
131496	Georgetown University	2	4
139861	Georgia College & State University	2	2
139755	Georgia Institute of Technology	Georgia Tech	2	-
139940	Georgia State University	2	2
212674	Gettysburg College	3	4
235316	Gonzaga University	2	3
162654	Goucher College	2	4
153384	Grinnell College	-	3
212805	Grove City College	-	3
173647	Gustavus Adolphus College	2	-
191515	Hamilton College	-	3
166018	Hampshire College	3	4
150756	Hanover College	2	4
166027	Harvard University	-	4
115409	Harvey Mudd College	HMC	-	2
212911	Haverford College	3	3
107080	Hendrix College	2	2
170286	Hillsdale College	0	3
191630	Hobart William Smith Colleges	2	3
191649	Hofstra University	2	3
170301	Hope College	4	4
131520	Howard University	HU	2	2
145725	Illinois Institute of Technology	IIT	0	2
145646	Illinois Wesleyan University	-	3
151351	Indiana University-Bloomington	IUB	4	-
153603	Iowa State University	2	3
191968	Ithaca College	2	3
232423	James Madison University	JMU	3	3
162928	Johns Hopkins University	JHU	-	4
213251	Juniata College	2	2
170532	Kalamazoo College	2	3
155399	Kansas State University	2	-
203535	Kenyon College	3	4
169983	Kettering University	0	0
146427	Knox College	-	3
213385	Lafayette College	2	2
146481	Lake Forest College	2	4
239017	Lawrence University	-	2
192323	Le Moyne College	-	3
213543	Lehigh University	2	2
209056	Lewis & Clark College	0	2
159391	Louisiana State University	LSU	2	-
117946	Loyola Marymount University	LMU	-	3
146719	Loyola University Chicago	LUC	2	2
163046	Loyola University Maryland	3	4
173902	Macalester College	-	3
161299	Maine Maritime Academy	-	2
192819	Marist College	2	3
239105	Marquette University	-	2
166683	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MIT	-	2
140447	Mercer University	2	-
204024	Miami University-Oxford	-	2
171100	Michigan State University	MSU	2	2
171128	Michigan Technological University	-	2
230959	Middlebury College	-	3
239318	Milwaukee School of Engineering	MSOE	0	-
176080	Mississippi State University	-	-
178411	Missouri University of Science and Technology	MUST	2	-
180461	Montana State University	-	2
140553	Morehouse College	0	2
166939	Mount Holyoke College	MHC	-	3
214175	Muhlenberg College	2	4
262129	New College of Florida	2	4
185828	New Jersey Institute of Technology	NJIT	-	2
187967	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	NMIT	0	2
193900	New York University	NYU	3	4
199193	North Carolina State University	NC State	0	2
167358	Northeastern University	2	4
147767	Northwestern University	-	2
204501	Oberlin College	3	3
120254	Occidental College	Oxy	-	3
204796	Ohio State University	OSU	2	3
204857	Ohio University	OU	2	-
204909	Ohio Wesleyan University	0	2
209542	Oregon State University	OSU	2	-
214777	Pennsylvania State University	PSU; Penn State	2	3
121150	Pepperdine University	-	-
121257	Pitzer College	-	3
121345	Pomona College	3	3
194578	Pratt Institute-Main	-	-
186131	Princeton University	-	4
217402	Providence College	3	4
243780	Purdue University-Main Campus	2	-
130226	Quinnipiac University	2	3
186201	Ramapo College of New Jersey	2	2
209922	Reed College	-	3
194824	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	RPI	Not Reported	Not Reported
217493	Rhode Island School of Design	RISD	Not Reported	Not Reported
221351	Rhodes College	2	-
227757	Rice University	2	-
195003	Rochester Institute of Technology	RIT	0	1
136950	Rollins College	2	3
152318	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	RHIT	-	-
184782	Rowan University	2	-
186371	Rutgers University-Camden	2	-
186380	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	RU	2	2
186399	Rutgers University-Newark	2	-
183239	Saint Anselm College	2	4
179159	Saint Louis University	SLU	3	3
231059	Saint Michael's College	2	4
122409	San Diego State University	SDSU	2	-
122755	San Jose State University	SJSU	2	2
122931	Santa Clara University	SCU	2	3
195304	Sarah Lawrence College	SLC	2	4
123165	Scripps College	3	-
236595	Seattle University	2	2
195474	Siena College	2	3
167783	Simmons University	3	4
195526	Skidmore College	-	4
167835	Smith College	-	3
399911	Soka University of America	-	2
228246	Southern Methodist University	SMU	2	3
228343	Southwestern University	2	3
195216	St Lawrence University	SLU	-	3
174844	St Olaf College	-	4
163976	St. John's College	2	4
245652	St. John's College	2	4
163912	St. Mary's College of Maryland	-	4
243744	Stanford University	-	3
196176	State University of New York at New Paltz	2	4
137546	Stetson University	2	2
186867	Stevens Institute of Technology	2	4
167996	Stonehill College	3	4
196097	Stony Brook University	-	3
196219	SUNY at Purchase College	3	-
196167	SUNY College at Geneseo	-	4
196103	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry	-	3
216287	Swarthmore College	-	3
196413	Syracuse University	-	3
216339	Temple University	2	2
228723	Texas A & M University-College Station	2	2
228875	Texas Christian University	TCU	2	4
229115	Texas Tech University	2	2
187134	The College of New Jersey	TCNJ	2	2
206589	The College of Wooster	2	2
193654	The New School	-	4
100751	The University of Alabama	1	2
180489	The University of Montana	-	2
137847	The University of Tampa	2	2
221759	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	UTK	-	2
228778	The University of Texas at Austin	UT Austin	2	-
228787	The University of Texas at Dallas	UTD; UT Dallas	2	3
221519	The University of the South	2	4
124292	Thomas Aquinas College	2	-
216366	Thomas Jefferson University	0	0
164076	Towson University	2	-
130590	Trinity College	3	-
229267	Trinity University	2	2
178615	Truman State University	2	2
168148	Tufts University	3	4
160755	Tulane University of Louisiana	-	4
196866	Union College	2	3
128328	United States Air Force Academy	USAFA	0	2
130624	United States Coast Guard Academy	USCGA	0	2
197027	United States Merchant Marine Academy	-	2
197036	United States Military Academy	USMA	-	2
164155	United States Naval Academy	-	2
196088	University at Buffalo	3	3
100663	University of Alabama at Birmingham	UAB	1	-
104179	University of Arizona	UA	2	2
106397	University of Arkansas	0	2
110635	University of California-Berkeley	UCB: UC Berkeley	2	3
110644	University of California-Davis	UCD; UC Davis	2	3
110653	University of California-Irvine	UCI; UC Irvine	2	3
110662	University of California-Los Angeles	UCLA	2	3
445188	University of California-Merced	UC Merced	2	3
110671	University of California-Riverside	UCR; UC Riverside	2	3
110680	University of California-San Diego	UCSD; UC San Diego	2	3
110705	University of California-Santa Barbara	UCSB; UC Santa Barbara	2	3
110714	University of California-Santa Cruz	UCSC; UC Santa Cruz	2	3
132903	University of Central Florida	UCF	2	-
144050	University of Chicago	UChicago	-	3
201885	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	-	-
126614	University of Colorado Boulder	-	1
129020	University of Connecticut	UConn	2	3
224323	University of Dallas	2	3
130943	University of Delaware	UD	2	4
127060	University of Denver	UD	-	2
134130	University of Florida	UF	2	4
139959	University of Georgia	UGA	2	3
225511	University of Houston	-	2
142285	University of Idaho	-	-
145600	University of Illinois at Chicago	UIC	-	2
145637	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	UIUC	2	4
153658	University of Iowa	2	4
155317	University of Kansas	KU	-	2
157085	University of Kentucky	UK	2	-
157289	University of Louisville	2	3
161253	University of Maine	-	2
232681	University of Mary Washington	3	4
163268	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	UMBC	2	-
163286	University of Maryland-College Park	UMD	2	2
166629	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	UMass Amherst	2	-
166638	University of Massachusetts-Boston	UMass Boston	2	-
166513	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	UMass Lowell	2	2
135726	University of Miami	UM	4	4
170976	University of Michigan	UMich	2	4
174233	University of Minnesota-Duluth	-	2
174251	University of Minnesota-Morris	2	-
174066	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	UMN	2	2
176017	University of Mississippi	Ole Miss	-	-
178396	University of Missouri-Columbia	Mizzou	2	-
181464	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	UNL	2	-
182281	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	UNLV	-	-
182290	University of Nevada-Reno	UNR	-	-
183044	University of New Hampshire	UNH	0	2
199111	University of North Carolina at Asheville	UNC Asheville	2	-
199120	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	UNC Chapel Hill	2	-
199139	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	UNCC; UNC Charlotte	2	3
199148	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	UNCG; UNC Greensboro	2	2
199218	University of North Carolina Wilmington	UNC Wilmington	2	-
152080	University of Notre Dame	UND	2	4
207500	University of Oklahoma	OU	-	2
209551	University of Oregon	2	-
215062	University of Pennsylvania	UPenn	-	4
215293	University of Pittsburgh	2	3
209825	University of Portland	2	3
236328	University of Puget Sound	-	2
121691	University of Redlands	2	3
217484	University of Rhode Island	URI	2	-
233374	University of Richmond	2	4
195030	University of Rochester	Not Reported	Not Reported
122436	University of San Diego	USD	3	4
122612	University of San Francisco	USF	2	-
215929	University of Scranton	2	2
218663	University of South Carolina	USC	2	-
137351	University of South Florida	USF	2	2
123961	University of Southern California	USC	2	3
174914	University of St Thomas (MN)	-	4
231174	University of Vermont	UVM	2	-
234076	University of Virginia	UVA	2	4
377555	University of Washington-Bothell Campus	2	-
236948	University of Washington-Seattle	UW	2	-
240444	University of Wisconsin-Madison	UW-Madison	2	3
216524	Ursinus College	2	3
221999	Vanderbilt University	Vandy	2	2
197133	Vassar College	-	4
216597	Villanova University	3	4
234030	Virginia Commonwealth University	VCU	2	3
233921	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech	-	3
152673	Wabash College	-	2
199847	Wake Forest University	2	4
234207	Washington and Lee University	W&L; WLU	3	4
164216	Washington College	2	4
236939	Washington State University	WSU	2	2
179867	Washington University in St Louis	WashU	2	4
168218	Wellesley College	-	4
168227	Wentworth Institute of Technology	-	-
130697	Wesleyan University	-	4
216764	West Chester University of Pennsylvania	-	2
238032	West Virginia University	WVU	2	-
125727	Westmont College	2	3
149781	Wheaton College	2	3
168281	Wheaton College (MA)	-	4
237057	Whitman College	-	2
125763	Whittier College	2	3
210401	Willamette University	-	4
168342	Williams College	-	4
218973	Wofford College	3	3
168421	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	WPI	-	2
130794	Yale University	0	-
197708	Yeshiva University	YU	Not Reported	Not Reported