College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences > Academics > Modern Languages > Student Resources > Academic Advising > Language Advising FAQ

Advising FAQ

Language Testing

You can take a DePaul language placement exam if you speak one of the following languages:   Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish.  For any other language, you must take a non-DePaul language proficiency exam.
We proctor language exams provided by Language Testing International and Brigham Young University.  Please thoroughly review and follow the instructions outlined in the non-DePaul language proficiency handout.

Take a DePaul language placement exam to help you determine the language class best suited to your level of proficiency.

Study Abroad

Study abroad advisors assist with program selection, course options in those programs, issues related to departure/arrival and any other issues that may arise while abroad.  A student's main point of contact and the person who will mostly likely be able to answer the majority of a student's questions while abroad would be the study abroad program advisor.  Academic advisors help students decide which degree requirements to consider fulfilling through a study abroad program and how specific study abroad courses  (students must supply the list of course options to their advisor) may satisfy degree requirements. Students must provide their academic advisors with a copy of their Transfer Credit Articulation Report (TCAR) or a list of the courses they are able to complete through the study abroad program in order for an academic advisor to explain where the courses may apply toward degree progress.  After this pre-departure discussion, students generally follow up with their academic advisor about degree progress only after the Study Abroad Office has updated the student's academic records (i.e., all classes with class titles are listed accurately in the student's transcripts).  Study abroad advisors post/update all student records so students must keep their study abroad program advisor informed of their class schedule.  Academic advisors assist with degree progress after credits are posted (typically 3 months after the program ends), so any necessary DPR adjustments can be made after a student's DePaul transcripts have been updated to accurately reflect the courses s/he completed abroad.

**Special Note** You may not earn the same number of credits spring semester, as you would winter and spring quarters. Semester-school students typically complete 5 classes/18 quarter hours. DePaul students typically complete 8 classes/32 quarter hours over winter and spring quarters. Please keep this in mind as you review your study abroad program options. It can also take 3+ months after the end of your program for your study abroad credit to be processed/updated and reflected on your DePaul transcripts. Please plan accordingly.

To apply study abroad courses taught in another language toward language major/minor requirements, students must complete advanced language courses (For French, German, Italian and Spanish, B1 or higher per the European Framework for 200 level or B2 for 300 level).

For non-DePaul study abroad programs, students must contact the DePaul Study Abroad Office. Students may work directly with universities abroad (probably the most cost-effective way to study abroad), go through another U.S. college/university's study abroad office as a non-degree seeking student with that institution or go through a study abroad company. Students must complete a significant amount of paperwork and thoroughly understand how the credit will transfer before embarking on a study abroad program (SAP). Please THOROUGHLY review the non-DePaul SAP webpages online here. The following information pertains to DePaul and non-DePaul study abroad programs.

  1. Students may review their Degree Progress Report (DPR) to determine which classes they need to fulfill, reference which class options are available through a study abroad program and match up requirements listed on the DPR with study abroad program class options. Once these classes (required through DPR + offered through SAP) are identified, students are recommended to SAVE those classes/requirements for the future study abroad program. **Students must plan their study abroad program far in advance in order to save class/degree requirements for a study abroad program.**
    1. For example: As a first-year student if you decide you want to go to Italy your sophomore year in college and you see that your desired study abroad program is the Rome (language & culture) program, you could save your Experiential Learning (EL) and Arts & Literature (A&L) requirements for this study abroad program since you could complete three ITA and one A&L course through this program.
  2. After choosing which courses/requirements outlined in the DPR to save for the study abroad program (e.g., A&L, SCBI, Und Past and two major courses), students should work with the Study Abroad Office to determine whether those requirements may be available through the study abroad programs of interest to them. Some study abroad programs have set courses that students must take, while some programs are very flexible and students may choose from a wide variety of course options.
    1. For example: As a double major in Political Science and Arabic Studies, you decide you want to go on a non-DePaul study abroad program that provides PSC course options. With Political Science as your primary major and Arabic Studies as your secondary major, you might be able to double count courses you take abroad in Arabic with some of your Liberal Studies Program or Political Science program requirements (provided the courses are approved to satisfy those requirements). For example, you might take a course called TS 5330 Politics in the Middle East while you're in Jordan. If the course is articulated as PSC 255 Middle East Politics at DePaul and the course is taught in advanced Arabic (requires at least two years of college-level Arabic as the prerequisite), you could double count the course with your PSC primary major and Arabic Studies double major requirements.
  3. Liberal Studies Program - learning domain courses and study abroad
    1. Students should familiarize themselves with the requirements for learning domain courses by reviewing the description of each domain and seeking courses that fit the description of the learning domain they wish to satisfy through a study abroad program.
    2. If a course is articulated as a direct equivalent of a course that is an approved learning domain course, students will automatically receive learning domain credit for the course. For example, you complete a course called Introduction to Philosophy and it's articulated as PHL 100 Philosophy and its Issues at DePaul. You would receive Philosophical Inquiry domain credit for the course because PHL 100 is already an approved Philosophical Inquiry course.
    3. If a study abroad course is not articulated as a course with learning domain credit (e.g., PHL TR100, instead of PHL 100) and the student still wishes to apply the course toward a learning domain requirement, the student could request a review through the Liberal Studies Program by emailing a copy of the course syllabus to the Liberal Studies Program Manager. If the course is not approved as a learning domain course after the Liberal Studies Program reviews the course, the student will most likely not be able to satisfy a learning domain requirement with the course. This is an excellent example of why students should have all study abroad courses reviewed prior to departure.
    4. Students should save all email exchanges with any course approvals and forward them to the Study Abroad Office.
  4. For approval to apply courses to degree requirements (major/minor/LSP) that are not articulated as direct course equivalents (e.g., HAA 130 European Art vs HAA TR100), or specific courses that are applicable to a major/minor requirement, students may need to send course descriptions and syllabi to their advisor, Department Chair or Program Director responsible for the major/minor program in question. For BUS and CDM major/minor requirements, students must contact the college advising office for assistance. For CSH major/minor requirements, students should contact their CSH advisor (for majors) or the CSH college office for CSH minors. For CMN major/minor requirements, student should contact the Director of Academic Advising. For LAS major/minor requirements, students should contact the Program Director or Department Chair directly and forward any approvals to their LAS academic advisor.
    1. For example, as an Anthropology major you have five anthropology electives and your DPR/course catalog requirements say you can complete any 200/300 level ANT to satisfy these requirements. You take anthropology-related courses through the Peru study abroad exchange program, but two of the courses are articulated as SPN 398, instead of ANT TR200. You would send the syllabi to the Anthropology Department Chair and ask if s/he would consider allowing you to count the SPN 398 anthropology-related courses toward your anthropology electives. The Department Chair will then decide whether or not the courses may be applied toward the major/minor requirements after reviewing the syllabi. Any faculty approvals should then be forwarded to the student's advisor or college advising office for a DPR update.

DePaul and Language-related Questions

There are too many options to list! To start, please think about what has attracted you to studying additional languages. Take some time to consider your interests, skills and values and review the Career Roadmap. Review the What Can I Do With Modern Languages handout and then review the Internship Opportunities list and Employment Opportunities list posted on the Modern Languages website. Employment ideas by language can also be found on the language resources webpages. Learn more through additional information posted on our homepage.
Whether you are a first-year student interested in learning how majors relate to careers, a senior contemplating graduate school or an alumnus considering a career change, it is crucial that you first identify your INTERESTS, VALUES, SKILLS and PERSONALITY PREFERENCES in order to make a well–informed decision. We have many resources at DePaul to help you explore and identify these areas.
  1. Check out the Career Center's major and career exploration page.
  2. Complete the Career Roadmap checklist.
  3. Meet with an advisor in the Office for Academic Advising Support and/or an advisor/faculty member in the departments that interest you.
  4. Attend Career Center workshops.
  5. Review the personal narratives of Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) mentors and connect with an ASK mentor who shares your interests.
Deciding whether to attend graduate or professional school is a big decision, and requires careful consideration and planning. Before you begin filling out applications, you must decide on a program of study, research what schools are the best fit and consider how you will finance your education.  If you are considering graduate school, visit the Career Center's page on graduate school.  Also check out this Kisses of Death in Graduate School Application Process article to better understand what you should NOT do in grad school applications.
These are the things you should do to make sure you meet all graduation requirements and receive your diploma:
  1. Review your Degree Progress Report (DPR) to make sure you're finishing up everything that's listed on your DPR within the time frame you want to graduate. Contact a staff advisor or college advising office (email address listed at the top of your DPR worksheet) for DPR updates if you notice anything amiss.
  2. Email your advisor to verify you're meeting graduation requirements within your desired time frame.
  3. Read DePaul's guide to graduation.
  4. Review the Frequently Asked Questions about graduation.
First, you’ll need to identify what you love (work on the Career Roadmap, step one). Next, review this Huffington Post article on Do What You Love, which includes links to other great resources.  Take UIP 240 Career Pathways to help you identify your values, interests and which careers would fit your personality style. Take UIP 241 Uncovering Your Skills to help you articulate who you are and what you have to offer future employers.

The science of languages is called linguistics and DePaul offers a Minor in Linguistics and a variety of courses on this topic. Click here for information about the linguistics minor or contact the Linguistics Program Director for more information.

Employment Related

Check out the Career Outcomes for LAS published by the Career Center. Some of the language programs have also collected a list of student success stories, which you can find on the language resource pages.
Visit the Career Center website to learn more about career planning and salary research tools. Review job descriptions online to better understand what employers expect, what you could/should be doing before you graduate to gain the expected experiences, knowledge, skills for the positions that interest you and learn more about the wide array of employment opportunities that exist in the world. Just keep in mind that the world is always changing. Jobs that exist today, may not exist when you graduate and there are jobs that have not yet been created, but will exist when you graduate. Focus on developing important skills, such as communication, interpersonal, conflict resolution, time management, organization and the ability to work well under pressure in order to keep yourself marketable and flexible in a rapidly changing global economy.

The Career Center offers assistance in search strategies. Set up an appointment to further explore your internship options with the Career Center. The Department of Modern Languages also has a list of ideas for internships with links to more information about how to apply to those internships.  You can also find internship opportunities through DePaul Handshake, our language resource pages and GoinGlobal (you'll need to log in with your Campus Connect username & password), to name a few. If you're interested in working in a specific location, you could look through Glassdoor reviews to see which companies are highly rated by their employees and check out those company websites to see if they have internship/part-time employment opportunities available.

The Office of Student Employment has a comprehensive website to help in your search for on-campus employment.
Handshake is the Career Center’s full-service online recruiting system for off-campus positions. Full- and part-time job and internship listings are posted daily. You can also explore on-campus interviewing opportunities, find a career mentor and register for job fairs, networking events, and workshops. Handshake is exclusively available to DePaul students and alumni. 
DePaul Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) is a network of alumni and friends who serve as career mentors, working with students one-on-one, in practice interviews and at job fairs, and speaking at networking events and open houses throughout the university.
Search for informational interview questions online and you'll find a list of several different pages from which to choose.  LiveCareer is one website that organizes questions by situation and category.

Student Involvement

DePaul has over three hundred student organizations to get you involved with our community.  Being involved with your campus community will enhance your DePaul experience.  DeHUB is DePaul's tool for engagement that assists students with getting involved and being successful within their organization.

The Office of Student Involvement fosters student learning and success by providing opportunities for engagement through a wide variety of campus activities and organizations, holistic and intentional advising of student leaders, and the development of purposeful and mutually beneficial partnerships across the University and City of Chicago to maximize access and resources to a rich DePaul campus experience.
As a DePaul Student you can buy Demon Tix through the Office of Student Involvement.

Students learn more about how to work effectively with others and to navigate the emotional upheavals that can take its toll in any work place by actively participating in a student organization. When students take on leadership roles, they're learning even more about how to work in a professional setting.  Navigating bureaucracy, making sure tasks are completed in a timely manner, keeping people motivated, etc., are all experiences that students gain through student organization involvement.  Student leadership experiences can often be considered as equivalent in value with internship experiences.

Tutorials

Follow these instructions and review a list of possible courses to consider!
Your tuition covers the cost of Lynda.com membership. Try to review at least 2-3 instructional videos per month in order to increase your technical literacy in various software programs. Your target employment industry may already expect or desire technical expertise with industry specific software programs. Research this and learn what is expected before you graduate.
Check out the video tutorial on how to register for classes and learn more about the online waitlist.
Students may review the upcoming quarter class schedule about 4 weeks into the current quarter and begin registering for classes in the upcoming quarter about 6 weeks into the current quarter. e.g., The winter quarter class schedule is available for viewing early October and winter quarter registration begins late October. Students have time between when the schedule is available for viewing and when they can register, in order to provide time to resolve any class registration issues before registration begins. Click here to learn more about using the course cart and validating courses/resolving class issues before registration begins.

​