Modern Languages

Chair: Devin Jenkins
Program Assistant: Agnes Romero-Moore
Office: Plaza Building, Room 118
Mailing Address:
Campus Box 178
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364
Telephone: 303-315-7234
Fax: 303-315-7233

Arabic Faculty

Lecturer:
Tamara el-Masri, MLS, University of Denver

Chinese Faculty

Assistant Professor:
I-hao Victor Woo, PhD, Boston University

Senior Instructor:
Kuan-Yi Rose Chang, PhD, Purdue University

French Faculty

Associate Professor:
Diane Dansereau, PhD, University of Michigan

Associate Professor, Clinical Track:
Linda Alcott, PhD, University of Colorado

Senior Instructor:
Lori Willard, PhD, University of Colorado

Instructor:
Jocelyne Hunsinger, BA, University of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada)

French Advisor:
Diane Dansereau

German Faculty

Senior Instructor:
Tim Phillips, MA, University of Colorado

Latin Faculty

Lecturer:
Mary De Forest, PhD, University of Colorado

Spanish Faculty

Associate Professors:
Michael Abeyta, PhD, University of California-Davis
Kathleen Bollard, PhD, University of California-Berkeley
María Luisa Fernández Martínez, PhD, University of California, Irvine
Devin Jenkins, PhD, University of New Mexico
Andrés Lema-Hincapié, PhD, Cornell University and PhD, University of Ottawa

Assistant Professors:
Alyssa Martoccio, PhD, University of Illinois

Instructors:
Ileana Gross, MA, University of Georgia
Amanda Ritchie, MA, University of Akron

Undergraduate Advisors (by student’s last name):

A-F: Andrés Lema-Hincapié
G-O: Alyssa Martoccio
P-Z: María Luisa Fernández Martínez

Graduate Advisor:
Michael Abeyta

Study Abroad Advisor:
Devin Jenkins

Internship Director:
Andrés Lema-Hincapié

General Information

The Department of Modern Languages includes Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Latin and Spanish. Majors are available in French and Spanish, and minors are available in Chinese, French, Linguistics and Spanish. Certification is available in Spanish for International Business. Students must declare a major prior to their final semester of coursework. The department recommends that majors and minors include some study abroad while they are fulfilling their degree requirements at CU Denver. Please see a departmental advisor about study abroad opportunities. Credit earned abroad will normally count toward satisfaction of the major and minor requirements at CU Denver, but to assure full transfer of credit, students must see an advisor in the department before enrolling in programs abroad. Courses taken abroad and designated as upper division in Chinese, French, German or Spanish are subject to the 48-hour maximum of semester hours from a single discipline in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Departmental Honors

Students who meet certain criteria and have been invited by the faculty of the appropriate language are encouraged to participate in the Department of Modern Languages honors program. Successful completion of this program by students majoring in French or Spanish leads to graduation with the distinction of cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude. See French and Spanish sections for details.

Relevance to Other Programs

In addition to fulfilling major and minor requirements, courses in the Department of Modern Languages prepare students in the language, literature and civilization of the countries and peoples they are studying. Certain courses may apply to the fulfillment of core curriculum requirements in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Foreign Language Requirement

All students with majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language at the second semester level. This is accomplished through course work, by examination or by completion of second-year high school credit. Students must receive a grade of C- (1.7) or higher in the final semester of the second-year course in high school or the second-semester college-level course in order to fulfill the foreign language requirement. The prerequisite for the second-semester college course is a grade of C- (1.7) or better in the first-semester course. There is no pass/fail option for any course taken for the foreign language requirement.

Students may show their level of proficiency by taking the placement/proficiency exam. The languages tested are French, German and Spanish. For other languages, consult the CLAS Advising Office. For information on the placement/proficiency exam, check the Modern Languages website or call the Department of Modern Languages, 303-315-7234. The number of times a student may take the exam is limited to once per semester.

For information on fulfilling part of the foreign language requirement through study abroad, see the Study Abroad section of the catalog or call 303-315-2232, or consult a Modern Languages advisor.

Department of Modern Languages Policy on Student Placement in Lower-Division Courses

A student may not enroll in a lower-division (1000/2000) language course that is below his/her level of language proficiency. Students wishing to enroll in a lower-division language course that does not directly follow their last completed course in the regular sequence must consult with an appropriate faculty member of the Department of Modern Languages prior to enrollment. Students who have achieved some proficiency in a foreign language through other means than academic courses must also consult with an appropriate faculty member of the Department of Modern Languages prior to enrollment. Call 303-315-7234 for further information.

Departmental Advising

Upon declaring a major or minor in modern languages, each student will be assigned to a faculty advisor with whom the student should consult at least once per semester thereafter. It is especially important that modern language majors have their transcripts reviewed by a departmental advisor before enrolling in their final 30 semester hours at CU Denver. Failure to do so may result in delay of graduation. Students presenting four years of high school foreign language (Level IV) for admission must see a departmental advisor before enrolling in courses for the major or minor. Students with CLEP credits or advanced placement credits from high school should see a departmental advisor about course equivalencies.

Before enrolling in their final semester, seniors demonstrate advanced oral and written proficiency in the language that they are studying through an oral proficiency interview and a written outcomes assessment exam. Students must see a departmental advisor to schedule proficiency tests in their language.

Residency Requirement

A minimum of 18 semester hours of course work leading to a major in French or Spanish must be taken from modern languages faculty at CU Denver. For a minor in Chinese, French, Linguistics or Spanish, 9 semester hours must be taken from modern languages faculty at CU Denver. Courses taken at other institutions while a student is enrolled at CU Denver may be applied to the major or minor only with departmental approval before enrollment in those courses.

Undergraduate Information

Arabic

The Department of Modern Languages offers first- and second-year Arabic courses.

Chinese

Click here to learn about the requirements for the Chinese Studies Minor.

French

Click here to learn about the requirements for the French Major.

Click here to learn about the requirements for the French Minor.

Greek

The Department of Modern Languages offers first- and second-year courses in Classical Greek.

Linguistics

Click here to learn about the requirements for the Linguistics Minor.

Latin

The study of Latin can help build a bridge between the rote learning of verbs and nouns, and the deeper meaning and history of many Western languages. Latin also continues to be widely employed as a source of vocabulary in such fields as medicine and science, academia and law. The Department of Modern Languages offers first- and second-year Latin language courses.

Spanish

Click here to learn about the requirements for the Spanish Major.

Click here to learn about the requirements for the Spanish, International Language and Culture for the Professions Major Option.

Click here to learn about the requirements for the Spanish Minor.

Graduate Information

Please go to the Graduate catalog to read about our graduate programs.