Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC)

Graduate Certificate in LAC Instruction

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Objectives

The new Graduate Certificate in Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) Instruction offers graduate students a means to document their ability to teach in an interdisciplinary multilingual context, thereby giving UNC doctoral candidates an advantage in the academic job market, as more U.S. institutions seek candidates with strong multicultural and interdisciplinary experience. Completion of the graduate certificate provides:

• A strong background in foreign language pedagogy
• Knowledge of teaching methods and techniques within an additional discipline outside the foreign languages and literatures
• Training in LAC pedagogy, including:
  • Strategies to balance meaningful linguistic practice with complex academic content
  • Hands-on experience in LAC course, syllabus, and webpage design
  • Classroom observations and practical instructional experience
  • An understanding of the history and goals of the national LAC movement
  • An overview of the diverse LAC programs and courses offered nationwide
  • Familiarization with administration and funding for LAC programs

Requirements

To earn the certificate, UNC graduate students must meet the following requirements:

• Documentation of advanced foreign language proficiency, through completion of a foreign language evaluation form, filled out by a UNC faculty member;
• Participation in at least one LAC pedagogy workshop, usually held each spring semester;
• Completion of a minimum of three approved graduate-level courses (totaling at least 9 credit hours), only one of which may be double-counted toward both the student's graduate degree and the certificate:
  • 1) An approved course on foreign language pedagogy;
  • 2) An approved course on teaching within a discipline outside the departments of languages/literatures;
  • 3) INTS 789: Teaching Languages Across the Curriculum, which covers LAC objectives, methods, and best practices, and requires classroom observations and hands-on instructional experience. In addition, the course provides a history of the LAC movement, an overview of programs nationwide, and administration of LAC programs.

Application Procedure

Graduate students interested in pursuing the certificate should submit an application form to the LAC Program Coordinator, who will arrange an interview to discuss the student's academic background, determine adequate foreign language proficiency, and develop a course plan for meeting the certificate requirements.

Each semester, students who have completed the certificate requirements will submit a completed application form to the Steering Committee for review to determine satisfactory completion.

Contact Information

For further information about the Graduate Certificate, contact the LAC Program Coordinator, Tanya Kinsella, at lac@unc.edu or 962-1602 or visit her in room 3213 at the Center for European Studies in the FedEx Global Education Center.

Certificate Steering Committee

Martine Antle, Professor of French, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures

Glynis Cowell, Director of Spanish Language Program, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures

Jonathan Hartlyn, Professor, Department of Political Science

Hannelore Jarausch, Director of French Language Program, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures

Richard Langston, Director of Elementary Language Instruction, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures

John Stephens, Director, Center for European Studies; Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology

Beatriz Riefkohl Muñiz, Associate Director, Institute of Latin American Studies

Niklaus Steiner, Director, Center for Global Initiatives

Certificate Advisory Board

Carol Klee, Director of the European Studies Consortium and Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Minnesota

Judy Krutky, Associate Academic Dean, Director of International Education, and Professor of Political Science and International Studies; Baldwin-Wallace College

Deborah Piston-Hatlen, Assistant Director, Outreach Coordinator, and Academic Advisor of the West European Studies Center; Indiana University

Robert Sanders, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Portland State University

H. Stephen Straight, Senior Adviser for International Initiatives, Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, Binghamton University