Languages approved by the Graduate Division to satisfy the Ph.D. language requirement are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. It is possible, however, to substitute other languages if relevance to the student's research can be demonstrated.

The language requirement may be fulfilled in one of two ways. The first is to master one language with high proficiency. The student will need to pass an examination for high proficiency (translation of a difficult passage of 1000 words in three hours without the aid of a dictionary). The student can also demonstrate that she/he is a native speaker of one of the languages above or a language in which primary research will be carried out. Alternatively, the student can know two languages with low proficiency. The student will need to pass the examinations at low proficiency level in two languages. This consists of the translation of a 300 word passage in 90 minutes with the aid of a dictionary.

The language requirement must be fully completed prior to applying for the qualifying examination.