FAQs

We are in the McKinney Humanities Building on the main UTSA Campus in room 4.01.01.

We are available to help you during the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Please either stop by the Chair’s office in 4.01.06 McKinney or call (210) 458-4377.

There is a complete directory on our website and on the wall outside the department office. Each instructor has his or her office hours posted on his or her door. If you need more help than that, stop by the department office.

In order to audit a class, you need to complete an Audit Course Form. You must seek permission and get signatures from the class instructor and the Department Chair -- in that order. Audit forms are not approved by the chair until the first day of classes in order to ensure that space is available and that all students who are taking the class for credit have a seat.

Once all signatures are obtained, take the form to Enrollment Services and pay the audit fee ($50 for non-students; $25 for students). This will allow you access to Blackboard Learn, the online classroom resource. Seniors 65 and older may audit classes at no cost. Anyone who audits a class does not get class credit or a grade. The class participation level is left to the discretion of the instructor.

No, you do not have to be a registered UTSA student.

The Dean’s office is located around the corner from us in room 4.01.23 McKinney.

You should first contact the COLFA Advising center at (210) 458-4900, located next door in the Multi-Disciplinary Building in room 4.01.50. Your advisor will work out a degree plan with you and monitor your progress. If you have questions that remain unanswered, please stop by the Department Chair’s office in 4.01.06 McKinney.

We offer classes in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, linguistics, translation and interpretation, and comparative literature.

We no longer use placement tests to determine your skill level. If you are unsure, please contact the department office and you will be referred to an instructor who can evaluate you.

Testing Services at UTSA offers the CLEP test for the following languages: French, German, and Spanish. More information can be found at (210) 458-4125 or at https://utsa.edu/testing/clep.html.

CLEP tests are available for French, German, and Spanish.

You will receive credit for courses based on your score on the test. The numbers that UTSA currently recognizes are:

French

  • Score of 50, credit for FRN 1014 (4 credit hours)
  • Score of 53, credit for FRN 1014 and 1024 (8 credit hours)
  • Score of 56, credit for FRN 1014, 1024, and 2013 (12 credit hours)
  • Score of 62, credit for FRN 1014, 1024, 2013, and 2013 (16 credit hours)

German

  • Score of 50, credit for GER 1014 (4 credit hours)
  • Score of 53, credit for GER 1014 and 1024 (8 credit hours)
  • Score of 56, credit for GER 1014, 1024, and 2013 (12 credit hours)
  • Score of 63, credit for GER 1014, 1024, 2013, and 2023 (16 credit hours)

Spanish

  • Score of 50, credit for SPN 1014 (4 credit hours)
  • Score of 53, credit for SPN 1014 and 1024 (8 credit hours)
  • Score of 58, credit toward SPN 1014, 1024, and 2013 (12 credit hours)
  • Score of 66, credit toward SPN 1014,1024, 2013, and 2023 (16 credit hours)

We offer online courses in Spanish and occasionally in other languages. Check the course schedule on ASAP for more information.

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offer a variety of clubs: French Club, German Club, Japanese Club, Italian, Chinese, Russian Club, and Spanish Honor Society (Sigma Delta Pi).

For more information on these clubs, check the Activities tab on this website.

I need to hire a language teacher (or a translator). How can I find someone qualified?

There are several actions you can take if you have a job available:

  • Send your information to the department office via email and it will be disseminated to the appropriate instructors
  • Contact instructors directly who teach the language you are seeking and ask for recommendations
  • Send us a flier that we can post on one of our bulletin boards
  • Send us information that we can post on our Facebook page

We are unable to provide professional translation services for documents, as these are time consuming and may interfere with our teaching schedules.

But if you need help with a sentence or phrase, feel free to give us a call. Many of our faculty speak other languages in addition to the ones they teach.

The Tomas Rivera Center provides tutoring services for UTSA students and maintains the tutoring schedule.

We will be happy to help advertise available employment for our students on our bulletin board and facebook page. Please send a flier with all of the pertinent information to Annele Gonzalez.

Your first responsibility is to bring the situation to the attention of the instructor and discuss it with him or her. Often it is a misunderstanding and can be easily worked out. However, if you cannot come to an agreement, you will need to contact the Department Chair in writing via email and then make an appointment to discuss it with her. But always go to your instructor first.

Please contact Student Disability Services when you first become aware of a problem. Student Disability Services will work with your instructor to ensure that accommodations are made.