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World Languages & Cultures Major

Major

The Department of World Languages and Cultures offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in World Languages and Cultures that allows students to pursue one of the following options:

  • French Option
  • French/Italian Option
  • French/Spanish Option
  • Italian/Spanish Option
  • Portuguese/Spanish Option
  • Spanish Option

Each option requires specific foundation courses that prepare students for advanced study; students then select specialized courses that complement this core and allow for exploration of individual interests.

The main purpose of the World Languages major is to provide students with the ability to function more effectively in the multicultural world we live in. The courses offer students the opportunity to acquire an ability to use a second language and to become aware of the cultures in which they flourish. 

The options focus on the major intellectual concerns, culture and communication. Serving as the paradigmatic model for thinking in the human sciences, language occupies a high rung in the conceptualization of numerous disciplines. Language courses offer an understanding of language as a system and a model of communication in its cultural context, in addition to providing skills in a number of languages. The learning of languages facilitates the cultural connections with the various linguistic groups of a region. The specific areas of study include instruction in language, literature, linguistics, civilization and culture.

To graduate, all World Languages and Cultures majors must earn a minimum of 120 credits appropriately distributed:

  • Core Curriculum requirements (33-38 credits) which all university students must fulfill;
  • World Languages and Cultures Department requirements (maximum 54 credits); and
  • Requirements which you must fulfill as a student in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. At least 75 credits must be for courses taken outside of the World Languages and Cultures Department.

World Languages and Cultures: French Option

The French option consists of a minimum of 37 credits in the major, with at least 25 credits at the 3000 level or above. The required course is WLAN.4000 Senior Capstone in WLC. Students may not exceed a total of 54 credits in the major.

World Languages and Cultures: French/Italian Option

The French/Italian option consists of a minimum of 37 credits, with 18 credits in each language; a minimum of 6 credits in each language must be at the 3000 level or above, plus WLAN.4000 in one of the languages of this major option. Students may not exceed a total of 54 credits in the major.

World Languages and Cultures: French/Spanish Option

The French/Spanish option consists of a minimum of 37 credits, with 18 credits in each language; a minimum of 6 credits in each language must be at the 3000 level or above, plus WLAN.4000 in one of the languages of this major option. Required courses are WLSP.3500 Introduction to Literary Analysis and WLAN.4000 Senior Capstone in WLC. Students may not exceed a total of 54 credits in the major.

World Languages and Cultures: Italian/Spanish Option

The Italian/Spanish option consists of a minimum of 37 credits, with 18 credits in each language; a minimum of 6 credits in each language must be at the 3000 level or above, plus WLAN.4000 in one of the languages of this major option. Required courses are WLSP.3500 Introduction to Literary Analysis and WLAN.4000 Senior Capstone in WLC. Students may not exceed a total of 54 credits in the major.

World Languages and Cultures: Portuguese/Spanish Option

The Portuguese/Spanish option consists of a minimum of 37 credits, with 18 credits in each language; a minimum of 6 credits in each language must be at the 3000 level or above, plus WLAN.4000 in one of the languages of this major option. Required courses are WLSP.3500 Introduction to Literary Analysis and WLAN.4000 Senior Capstone in WLC. Students may not exceed a total of 54 credits in the major.

World Languages and Cultures: Spanish Option

The Spanish option consists of a minimum of 37 credits in the major, with at least 25 credits at the 3000 level or above, plus WLAN.4000 in one of the languages of this major option. Required courses are WLSP.3500 Introduction to Literary Analysis and WLAN.4000 Senior Capstone in WLC. Students may not exceed a total of 54 credits in the major.

View all the complete Degree Pathways.

For more information, contact the Department of World Languages and Cultures.