Students who major in French, German, Italian or Spanish, but who have no calling to teach the language in elementary or high school have the general "liberal arts" education, plus language/culture knowledge that are needed in many business, government, and not-for-profit jobs.  Our alumni's advice may be particularly useful for the B.A. language major.

The requirements for the non-certifying B.A. degree allow students many free electives, which they can use to explore other intellectual interests, or develop a minor or even two minors.  Certain minors can give foreign language majors the crucial extra skills required to get more responsible, satisfying, and higher paying jobs.  If at all possible, the B.A. major, like the B.S. (certifying for teaching) major should try to study abroad for at least a summer, or if possible a semester or a year.  the B.A. student should also keep his/her computer skills up to date, and should have a basic understanding of how the world works.  All of these critical areas are described in the section of this web page called  "Essential Knowledge." 

In order to know which non-teaching jobs will ultimately lead to a rewarding career, a student must know quite a bit about himself or herself.  Resources at Southern can help.  Click on  Know Yourself! for more information.  Also, it helps to start sooner rather than later.  Click on Start Today for tips on what to do when you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior to speed up and simplify the transition from college to the world of work.

The student needs to  research the world beyond the university to find the best match between his/her ability, values, and interests and possible jobs.

Whenever our department is contacted by outside organizations seeking graduates (or undergraduates) with foreign language skills for full-time or part-time employment, we will post that information on the page of this web page called:  What's New?