Majors and Minors in Cultural Studies

The Cultural Studies division of the Department of World Languages and Cultural Studies offers major and minor programs that encourage and nurture a productive dialog between the cultures of the past and the contemporary world. The department offers the BA degree. Majors and minors are available in Humanities, Art History, or Music History. For a list of the requirements for each of these degrees, please follow the links at left.

Majors and Minors in World Languages

Communication is at the center of all culture. Language is the main vehicle for communication, but it is also much more. It transfers not only the essential information of everyday life, but also civilization, history, memory, and myth. Learning a second language involves the examination of one’s own identity, and it opens a window to the behavior patterns, emotions, and thoughts of human beings from different – sometimes radically different – backgrounds and cultural contexts.

The World Languages division of the Department of World Languages and Cultural Studies offers full degree programs and minors in French, French Studies, and Spanish; a minor in German Studies; and instruction in American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Japanese, and Italian. Language study is also an integral part of the majors in Global Business, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and International Economics (BA). Government majors on the International Affairs Track also study a second language.

For a list of the requirements for the various majors and minors in World Languages, please follow the links at left.

Study Abroad Programs

Language students interested in study abroad have many choices.  Of course, students interested in Spanish may study at the Suffolk campus in Madrid, Spain.  Students interested in French may study at CAVILAM (Centre d'Approches Vivantes des Langues et des Médias) in Vichy, France, or spend a semester or a full academic year studying at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV).  Students interested in Italian may study abroad at the Institute of Fine and Liberal Arts at the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, Italy.  Students of German may participate in the Vienna program administered by the University of Illinois.  For more information on study abroad opportunities in German-speaking countries, please contact Professor Jay Rosellini.

International Economics/International Business Studies

Under joint sponsorship with the Department of Economics, the Department of World Languages and Cultural Studies offers a Major program in International Economics that combines courses in French, German, Italian, or Spanish language with international economics and area studies. A similar major program in International Business Studies is offered jointly with the School of Management. Tutorial courses in French for Business or Spanish for Business are available to students in both of the above programs.

Foreign Language Placement

The Department of World Languages and Cultural Studies determines a student’s proficiency level in a foreign language. The department’s placement policy is as follows: students may continue a foreign language begun in high school or begin a new language. When the student continues a high school language, the department determines the student’s proficiency level through placement examinations, placement consultations or other measures. In general, students who have recently completed two or three years of high school foreign language with average grades of "B" or better continue their foreign language studies on the Intermediate level. Students with more than three years of high school foreign language as well as native speakers will consult with a foreign language advisor from the department for appropriate placement.