Foreign Language Skills

Working across cultures often entails verbal and nonverbal languages distinct from your own. Building foreign language skills is thus a second key component of the PC Prep curriculum.

Requirements vary by language.

Where would you like to serve? PC Prep minimum course requirements align with those needed by applicants to the Peace Corps itself, which vary by linguistic region.

Latin America: Students indicating an intention to serve in Spanish-speaking countries must apply with strong intermediate proficiency. This typically means completing two 200-level courses.

West Africa: Students indicating an intention to serve in French-speaking African countries should be proficient in French (or, in some cases, any Romance Language), usually through at least one 200-level course.

Everywhere else: The Peace Corps has no explicit language requirements for individuals applying to serve in most other countries. However, you will still likely learn and utilize another language during service, so it is helpful to have taken at least one foreign language class.

Note: if you are a strong native speaker and hope to serve in a country that speaks your same language, you can skip this requirement!