Figure

II-10e: Postsecondary Enrollments in the Most Commonly Taken “Critical Need” Language Courses, 1965–2013

Data Source and Other Information

Source: Modern Language Association (MLA), Language Enrollment Database, https://apps.mla.org/enroll_data_comb, accessed 3/28/2016. For a description of the survey by which the MLA data were collected, see David Goldberg, Dennis Looney, and Natalia Lusin, Enrollments in Languages Other than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2013 (New York: Modern Language Association, Association of Departments of Foreign Languages, 2015).

About the Data

This graph charts enrollment trends for the most commonly taken languages identified in 2006 by the George W. Bush administration as “critical need” from a national security standpoint.

Related Indicators

For information regarding less commonly taken “critical need” languages, see Indicator II-10f, Postsecondary Enrollments in Less Commonly Taken “Critical Need” Language Courses, 1965–2013.

For trends at the high school level, see “Language Instruction in Elementary and Secondary Schools.”

For general information regarding postsecondary course-taking, see “Most Frequently Taken College Courses.”

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The Humanities Indicators and Departmental Survey have been made possible in part by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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