Enhance Your Education

Distinctive Programs in Modern Languages

There are ample opportunities to enhance your studies in modern languages through independent research, off-campus study, and internships. These programs are integral to a Knox education, teaching you how to apply your skills in "real world" situations.

Student Research and Creative Projects
Knox is a leader in promoting top-notch undergraduate research. In fact, more than 90% of all Knox students complete an independent research or creative project by the time they graduate. Many students' projects are supported by an unusually rich array of Knox College funding programs that together provide students more than $200,000 each year in support of their work. These sources include: Richter Memorial Scholars Program, Ford Foundation Research Fellows Program, Ronald E. McNair Fellows Program, ACM Minority Fellows Program, and departmentally supported independent studies. In addition, special fellowships awarded to Knox through national competitions and through the research grants of Knox faculty make Knox a leader in promoting top-notch undergraduate research. Many students will be invited to present their research at national conferences.

College Honors
Outstanding students may elect to undertake College Honors in their senior year, carrying out an advanced research project presented and defended to a faculty committee that includes a distinguished outside examiner. A sampling of student scholarship in language and literature includes:

• "Étude comparée des expressions africaines présentes dans L'étrange destin de Wangrin de Amadou Hampate Ba," Jacintha Elikem Akuetey, '07.
• "Statut et enjeux de la langue française en Afrique francophone: le cas du Sénégal," Maureen Elizabeth Olesen, '07.
• "The Epistolary Novel: A Study on the Constitution of a Letter," Jessica Brumley, '02.
• "Le Front National: The Impact of an Extreme Right Political Party on French Politics." Joseph Whitmore, '99. Honors in French.

Off-campus Study
Knox offers you plenty of opportunities to begin exploring the world while still a student. Almost 50% of Knox students participate in off-campus study and consider their studies abroad to be the highlight of their college experiences. Each program has its own prerequisites and academic requirements.

• Argentina: Knox Program in Buenos Aires
• Costa Rica: Latin American Culture and Society
• France: Knox Program in Besançon
• Germany: Humboldt University in Berlin; Freiburg Program; University of Flensburg
• St. Petersburg Cooperative Russian Program: Pushkin Institute in Moscow
• Spain: Knox Program in Barcelona

Other international programs are offered in, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Hong Kong, England, Scotland, Greece, India, China, Hungary, and Tanzania.

Quick-Start Languages
The department offers context-based elementary language courses. Quick-Start students enroll in an intensive two-term sequence that includes a two-week immersion program abroad. Quick-Start programs have taken students to Germany, Mexico, and France. Students return to campus in the winter to continue their studies with an enriched understanding of a language's cultural day-to-day context.

Internships
As a student of modern languages at Knox, you'll have the opportunity to expand your education—to get that valuable experience you hear so much about—by completing an internship. Internships provide an opportunity to explore and test career options, to gain experiences and skills needed to succeed as a professional, to build a resume, to network and make critical connections, and to experience a work environment. More and more employers are looking for college graduates with career-related experience. Knox's Center for Career and Pre-Professional Development specializes in helping you find an internship that best matches your goals and interests. A recent internship by a student majoring in modern languages was:

• Teaching Assistant for Gale Scholars Program at Galesburg High School, Galesburg, Illinois. Lynn Lewis '05.

Area Studies
Japanese Studies and Latin American Studies combine advanced work in their respective languages with economics, history, political science and related disciplines. If your goals include a career in law, government, foreign service, business, international trade or international journalism, these programs may be of special interest.

Other Languages
The program in critical languages enables students to study languages not normally offered in a small college. Students normally pursue this study in preparation for off-campus study or for advanced research projects. Students study these languages independently through the use of audio-visual materials made available through the Language Learning Center. In addition, weekly pronounciation and conversation practice is arranged with native speakers of the target languages. No academic credit is awarded for this study.