Among the eight undergraduate colleges at Cornell, the College of Arts and Sciences holds the most robust foreign language requirement. Students can fulfill the requirement in two methods — either by completing one course taught at the non-introductory level or taking 11 language credits, starting with an introductory level class.
Approved on Oct. 30, 2018 by the Arts and Sciences faculty and implemented in 2020, the new curriculum focuses on a theme of exploration and reaffirms the college’s commitment to a liberal arts education.
The new curriculum was designed to encourage early exploration of academic disciplines, expanding language classes to include any living or extinct human language. This expansion meant students could now take languages like American Sign Language to fulfill the language requirement.
“These changes made the curriculum easier for students to navigate,” wrote the Arts and Sciences Student Services in a statement to The Sun. “[The changes] simplified the graduation requirements and expanded student opportunities for interdisciplinary work and faculty opportunities for innovative teaching.”
Though the updated curriculum included some changes to the language requirement, it remained largely unaltered. However, some students believe the requirement needs further modifications.
Delaney Holland ’26, a student in Arts and Sciences, explained that she believes that other relevant courses should count towards the language requirement.
“I think that maybe they should make the language requirement a broader umbrella and allow other classes that are similar, like learning about the cultures of other countries, but not explicitly language classes, to fulfill the liberal arts idea that they have,” Holland said.
Moreover, Holland expressed her desire for a shorter language requirement, proposing that students be tasked with completing only one full year of instruction instead of a specific number of credits.
“Taking it your freshman year makes a lot of sense because right now, as a second-semester sophomore, the fact that I’m still taking languages is annoying because I’m trying to start concentrating in my studies, my major and my minor,” Holland said.
Based on the expectations of the requirement, students in Arts and Science might find themselves taking a language course for up to three years. Depending on the level, their class schedule and the weekly schedule of a language course, students may struggle to take all 11 language credits, since certain levels are offered during only the fall or spring semester.
Kayla Knupfer ’25, a student in Arts and Sciences, believes language classes have too many assessments for an introductory course, demanding too much from beginner students.
“I feel like having a quiz, a written exam and a normal exam all in the same week is kind of ridiculous,” Knupfer said. “I get that it is a rigorous school and everyone is supposed to be an academic weapon but on top of a normal course load, it’s just not feasible.”
Knupfer believes one way the structure can be improved is with the adoption of a pass/fail grading system.
“I definitely think you should be able to do pass or fail,” Knupfer said. “I would be 100 percent less stressed.”
Additionally, Knupfer is unsure why there is a need for the requirement when most students take a language in high school.
“I thought it was kind of ridiculous because I took a language in high school at essentially the same level that I’m taking now,” Knupfer said. “It just seems like a pointless requirement if you’re not going to do anything actually related to the language that you’re taking.”
Holland feels that since many students in language classes are there only to satisfy the requirement, the environment is stifled by students’ lack of motivation to learn.
“No one really wants to be there,” Holland said. “So the classes feel more like a hassle than an actual environment conducive to learning.”
Holland also believes the current structure does not enable students to explore new languages but rather deters students from doing so.
“I can’t even imagine starting an entirely new language and having no framework or fundamentals going into it,” Holland said. “It’s so much so fast that I’m definitely drawing on stuff that I knew before.”
Similar to Knupfer, Holland believes that if the grading was changed to pass or fail her experience taking a language would be quite different. She explained that she would have felt more motivated to learn and might have even chosen a new language to learn.
Tiffany Felix ’27, a student in Arts and Sciences, explained that while she enjoys the language requirement, the current letter grade system might limit exploration.
“I think there should definitely be some system that makes people more comfortable to jump into the deep end, because how else are we going to learn?” Felix said.
The Arts and Sciences’ curriculum strives to foster an environment of exploration for students by requiring them to take a wide range of courses in different academic disciplines. However, it is unclear whether the current language requirement successfully achieves this goal or if some modifications — such as the adoption of a pass/fail grading policy — could be made to more freely allow students to learn languages.
“At an Ivy League School, grades are really important to people — so if [there is] some risk and they [students] think the reward is just not enough, it may deter them to take a language they are more comfortable with,” Felix said. “And what’s the point of that if you’re not learning something new.”
Correction, March 27, 9:40 a.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the College of Arts and Sciences is the only college with a foreign language requirement, when the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy also has a language requirement. The article also stated that students cannot place out of taking a language, when some students may be exempt. The Sun regrets these errors, and the article has been corrected.