A student enrolled in a Penn State Altoona degree program that requires a foreign language can submit a request for core substitutions to meet that requirement if the student presents sufficient documentation of a learning disability. The request should be made to Student Disability Resources (SDR). Supporting documentation can be uploaded online. The documentation will be reviewed by SDR. Please allow for at least a two-week processing request. If the documentation meets University policies and is approved for a substitution, the student will receive an email from SDR informing the student that they will need to schedule an initial appointment with SDR to complete the process.
If approved, substitutions will be selected from a predetermined list of courses each of which will provide the student with a cultural immersion experience. Other courses may be considered in consultation with the head of the Division of Business, Health, Humanities, and Social Sciences and/or the senior DUS program coordinator.
Upon completion of the approved courses, the program coordinator and/or adviser will request modifications to the student's degree audit via the college registrar. It should be noted that these courses cannot double count with other program requirements. To ensure that courses can be completed for graduation the student should make the request as soon as the student enters a Penn State Altoona major. Ideally this review would take place no later than the end of the students fifth semester to allow sufficient time for completion of the twelve-credit requirement.
If the documentation does not meet the requirements for a foreign language substitution request, an email will be sent with this information to the student’s Penn State email.
Acceptable cultures-focused courses that may be substituted for the foreign language requirement*
- CMLIT 003: INTRO TO AFRICAN LITERATURE (GH/IL)
- ENGL 145: MODERN IRISH LITERATURE (GH/IL)
- FR 139: FRENCH AND THE FRENCH SPEAKING WORLD (GH/IL)
- GER 100: GERMAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION (GH/IL)
- HIST 100: ANCIENT GREECE (GH/IL)
- HIST 141: MEDIEVAL AND MODERN RUSSIA (GH/IL)
- HIST 178: LATIN AMERICA TO 1820 (GH/IL)
- HIST 181: INTRODUCTION TO THE MIDDLE EAST (GH/IL)
- JAPNS 120: JAPANESE LITERATURE IN ITS CULTURAL CONTEXT (GH/IL)
- RUS 100: RUSSIAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION (GH/IL)
- SPAN 130: IBERIAN CIVILIZATION (GH/IL)
* Other courses may be considered in consultation with the Division Head for Business, Health, Humanities, and Social Sciences and/or the Senior DUS Programs Coordinator