Foreign language study allows students to deepen their understanding of other cultures, engage in an important form of critical thinking, and experience small, discussion-based classes.
A range of business-language courses are offered beyond proficiency level and provide specific perspectives on other markets and business cultures. Intermediate- and advanced-language courses fulfill the Cross-Cultural Perspectives requirement and may double-count with other Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements.
Students must complete two semesters at the beginner level or the equivalent in a language other than English in order to graduate. Students who plan to continue with their high school language are urged to do so beginning in the fall semester of the first year. For more information on foreign language placement, please click here.
Students may satisfy the foreign language requirement in any of the following ways:
- By receiving a required score on one of the AP or IB exams*
- By completing the appropriate Cambridge A-Level Examination at a grade deemed satisfactory by the language group¹
- Successful completion of a test given by a language department or by the Penn Language Center
- Completion of two semesters at the beginner level in a Penn foreign language or American Sign Language (ASL)²
Please note the following:
- Courses taken toward the language requirement may be applied to the Humanities, Flex Gen Eds, or Unrestricted Electives requirements.
- Some study abroad programs require knowledge of a language beyond the minimum competency requirements. Consult with an academic advisor about language requirements for specific programs.
- Wharton students are permitted to take language courses pass/fail, but students should be sure to review the pass/fail policy for certain restrictions.
- It is each student’s responsibility to make sure that the Undergraduate Division has a record of the fulfillment of their language requirement.
| Language Department | Languages Taught |
| African Languages Penn Language Center |
Afrikaans Amharic Igbo Kiswahili Malagasy Shona Twi Wolof Yoruba Zulu |
| Classical Studies |
Greek (Classical) Latin |
| East Asian Languages & Civilizations |
Chinese Japanese Korean |
| Eastern European and Eurasian Languages Penn Language Center |
Czech Hungarian Polish Serbo-Croatian Ukrainian |
| Francophone, Italian, & Germanic Studies (FIGS) department |
Dutch French Italian German Swedish Yiddish |
| Greek (Modern) Penn Language Center |
Modern Greek |
| Near East Languages & Civilizations |
Akkadian Arabic Egyptian Hebrew Persian Sumerian Turkish |
| Russian and East European Studies | Russian |
| South Asia Studies |
Hindi Sanskrit Teluga Urdu |
| South Asian Languages Penn Language Center |
Bengali Gujarati Panjabi Pashto Tamil Kannada Malayalam Marathi |
| Spanish & Portuguese | Portuguese Spanish |
¹ External exams must be taken prior to matriculation at Penn.
² ASL was approved to fulfil the language requirement in fall 2022.