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Adequate preparation for any career in international relations requires the ability to use at least one foreign language for general and professional purposes. The Language Program offers courses that help prepare students for the required oral and written language proficiency examinations. Furthermore, language classes offer a unique opportunity to develop communication skills that are relevant to students' academic studies and career goals. A student's background, area of concentration and career objectives determine the language studied.
The Modern Foreign Languages taught at SAIS, Bologna Center, are Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, and are taught from Novice (beginner) to Intermediate High levels. English is taught at the Advanced level only.
Course credit
Language courses do not count as one of the eight courses required for the one-year Bologna Center diploma or as one of the 16 courses for the M.A. degree. However, credit is given in the form of letter grades recorded on the student's transcript.
Placement Tests
Placement tests are administered to determine the level at which students may enroll in a specific language course. Placement tests are held in Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish at the very beginning of each semester.
If a student has had no previous instruction in the language that s/he intends to take, and wishes to begin studying the language at the beginner level, s/he must NOT take the placement test. It will suffice to enroll in the "Novice" course.
Students who attended the pre-term Italian courses and wish to continue studying Italian do not need to take the placement test in October, as they will have already taken it in the form of their Final Exam at the end of the pre-term course.
Proficiency exams
Language proficiency exams are required for graduation purposes, and are offered three times a year: in October, January and May. Please refer to the current year academic calendar for the exact dates. Proficiency Exams consist of four separate sections: Listening Comprehension, Oral Expression, Reading Comprehension, and Written Expression.
All non-native English-speakers* are required to take the English-proficiency written examination during the Orientation Week (see Orientation Schedule for the current academic year). Students who do not perform satisfactorily will be required to take the Advanced English language course during their first semester.
* At SAIS, a native-English speaker is a person who meets TWO of the following criteria:
- English is the main language of communication between you and one of your caregivers;
- English is an official language in the community where you grew up;
- English is the language of instruction in the high school you attended
Any questions about this requirement/definition should be addressed to the English Language Instructor, Dr. Rebecca Hopkins  .
Language Lab
The Language Lab is an integral part of the Language Program. Its goal is to provide support for students to achieve their required language proficiency level. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the center's resources, which include various language-learning software and an audiovisual lending library.
Language Faculty
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