Section I

1.1  WHEREAS current university policy requires second year level of proficiency in a language other than English (LOTE) for the Master of Arts (MA) degree (https://graduatestudies.uoregon.edu/academics/completing-degree/masters…), this mandate does not adequately give some graduate programs the flexibility needed to determine what level of language proficiency, if any, is most appropriate for their specific programs, and to determine the best ways to assess their students’ language proficiency. Among the considerations include:

• Requiring two years of language work that may not be relevant to their graduate studies can be burdensome for students who may have come from undergraduate programs that did not require an LOTE, or only required one year of language.

• A Master of Arts does not universally signal that the program included a LOTE requirement. Many colleges and universities do not have a language requirement for the MA degree.

1.2 WHEREAS the Graduate Council voted unanimously in favor of revising the current MA Language Requirement Policy  and replacing it with the Revised MA Language Requirement.

Section II

2.1 THEREFORE BE IT MOVED that the University Senate approves repealing the current MA Language Requirement Policy and replaces it with the Revised MA Language Requirement Policy, effective Fall 2023, as outlined in the Related Document: