Last Tuesday, it was announced that SFS students beginning with the class of 2017 are to have access to the language minors offered by the College. This is overwhelmingly positive news for most SFS students. Since it is compulsory for students within the school to pass a language proficiency test, these minors are relatively easy to acquire. These minors will reward undergraduates who develop crucial language skills with tangible credentials for employment after graduation.
Photo: Taryn Shaw/The Georgetown Voice
While this Editorial Board has no qualms about this specific decision, it does not address some of the more pressing concerns regarding the SFS curriculum. As it stands, the 17 courses required by the SFS core curriculum remain an incredible burden for students in the school. Comparatively, students in the College are only required to take 12 classes for their core. Further, specified classes make up about half of the SFS’ core, providing little academic freedom when compared to the College core, which is instead largely organized in general fields that allow you to tailor your coursework to your interests. As Georgetown moves to further prevent students from transferring AP/IB credits, this burden required by the SFS core curriculum only becomes more onerous and must be addressed.
Furthermore, language minors are not the only College minors that are of interest to SFS students. Students might certainly bene t from the inclusion of other minors in this program, like computer science, psychology, or journalism. While students interested in specific regions and some limited topics have access to certificates, students interested in codifying their achievement in many other subjects are still unable to do so.
These are only some of the many complaints students have had in the past regarding the SFS. Other criticisms include the quality of the services provided by the Career Center, and the time students have to wait in order to get appointments for career counseling. Another problem includes the lack of science classes within the SFS curriculum, the list goes on. These are the changes students really need.
While most students will certainly welcome the addition of language minors, it is hard not to see it as appeasement for overdue changes that still haven’t been made. That being said, while the larger problems within the SFS could be fixed without the addition of language minors, these might serve as a basis to address some larger concerns. We are encouraged by the University’s willingness to accept student input in crafting the program. Hopefully, this addition will serve as a model for pursuing the many needed reforms within the SFS in the near future.
