Modern Languages

Chair: Diane Dansereau
Coordinator: Tim Phillips
Program Assistants: Jaynie Muggli, Julie Blunck
Office: Plaza Building, 118
Mailing Address:
Campus Box 178
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364
Telephone: 303-556-4893
Fax: 303-556-6038
Web site: clas.ucdenver.edu/modLang/

General Information
French Programs
German Programs
Spanish Programs

Chinese Faculty

Senior Instructor:

Kuan-Yi Rose Chang, PhD, Purdue University

French Faculty

Associate Professor:

Diane Dansereau, PhD, University of Michigan

Senior Instructors:

Linda Alcott, PhD, University of Colorado

Lori Willard, PhD, University of Colorado

Instructor:

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

French Advisor:

Diane Dansereau

German Faculty

Associate Professor:

Carsten E. Seecamp, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

Senior Instructor:

Tim Phillips, MA, University of Colorado

German Advisor:

Carsten E. Seecamp

Latin Faculty

Instructor:

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

Devin Jenkins, PhD, University of New Mexico

Assistant Professors:

Andrés Lema-Hincapié, PhD, Cornell University and PhD, University of Ottawa

Maria Luisa Fernandez Martinez, PhD, University of California, Irvine

Amy Von Canon, PhD, University of Iowa

Instructors:

Conxita Domenech, MA, Universidad Autonoma Barcelona, Spain

Ileana Gross, MA, University of Georgia

Ted Wendelin, MA, University of Southern Mississippi in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

Instructor, Attendant Rank:

Danny Martinez, MA, University of Colorado

Undergraduate Advisors (by student’s last name):

A—F: Andrés Lema-Hincapié

G—O: Devin Jenkins

P—Z: Amy Von Canon

Graduate Advisor:

Michael Abeyta

Study Abroad Advisor:

Amy Von Canon

Internship Director:

Andrés Lema-Hincapié

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General Information

The Department of Modern Languages includes Chinese, French, German, Latin and Spanish. Majors are available in French and Spanish, and minors are available in French, German and Spanish. Certification is available in German. Students must declare a major by the time they have completed 60 semester hours of course work. The department recommends that majors and minors include some study abroad while they are fulfilling their degree requirements at UC 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 UC 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 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. Other courses lead to a secondary-school teaching certificate, the master of humanities degree and the master of arts degrees in Spanish and education at the Downtown Campus, and to the master of arts degree in French or Spanish on the Boulder campus. Only courses numbered 5000 and above apply to the master’s degree; students enrolled in a master’s program in Boulder should consult with their advisor before enrolling in courses on the Downtown Campus.

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 (2.0) 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 (North Classroom, 4002). For information on the placement/proficiency exam, check the Modern Languages Web site or call the Department of Modern Languages, 303-556-4893. 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 Web site 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 303-556-4893 for further information.

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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 UC 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 advanced placement credits from high school should see a departmental advisor about course equivalencies. The Department of Modern Languages does not accept CLEP credits.

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 UC Denver major in French or Spanish must be taken from modern languages faculty at the Downtown Campus. For a UC Denver minor in French, German or Spanish, 9 semester hours must be taken from modern languages faculty at the Downtown Campus. Courses taken at other institutions while a student is enrolled at UC Denver may be applied to the major or minor only with departmental approval before enrollment in those courses.

French

Undergraduate

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FRENCH MAJOR

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FRENCH MINOR

Graduate

At present, UC Denver offers no French courses above 5999. The courses at the 5000 level are applicable to an MA degree through the University of Colorado at Boulder and to the master of humanities program at UC Denver, depending upon degree plan approval by the appropriate graduate advisor.

German

Undergraduate

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GERMAN MINOR

UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN APPLIED GERMAN LANGUAGE SKILLS

Graduate

UC Denver offers no German courses above 5999. Courses at the 5000 level are applicable to an MA degree in German through the University of Colorado at Boulder and to the master of humanities program at UC Denver, depending upon degree plan approval by the appropriate graduate advisor.

Spanish

Undergraduate

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SPANISH MAJOR

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SPANISH MINOR

Graduate

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MA IN SPANISH

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