Students enrolled in NIU foreign language classes will be able to earn master’s degrees in foreign languages and literatures beginning in the fall of 1990.

Approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education at its December meeting, the new degree will be available to students majoring in French, German, Russian or Spanish, said Raymond Tourville, master’s committee chairman.

Requirements for the master’s degree include 30 credit hours, with 24 of these in courses emphasizing linguistics, oral proficiency and translation. A minimum of 15 hours must consist of graduate seminars. Students also must complete a thesis or practicum and a comprehensive oral examination before graduation.

The goals of the program are to provide intensive graduate training in translation and communication skills and an understanding of the economic, political and social culture of a specific foreign country. The master’s degree also will enable students to specialize in a second foreign language to complement the primary language the person is studying.

Master’s degree enrollment is expected to consist of 20 students and grant eight degrees annually by its fifth year of operation.

About 70 percent of students currently in NIU foreign language programs select the translation and business emphasis, according to Marilyn Skinner, chairman of the foreign language department. The master’s degree will provide students with the skills necessary for this increasing occupational demand.

Tourville said the committee has been developing the program for the past two-and-a-half years.

Past efforts to form a similar program were denied. However, “the general thrust of the degree” and no necessity for new funds to support this program contributed to its acceptance, he said.

The research and development of language skills and study on an advanced level are additional aspects of the degree, Tourville said.