Introduction

UMBC's Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics (MLL) offers a program that has received national recognition for its creative and innovative curriculum.

Of course, our courses in French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Wolof, and American Sign Language focus on language use and on day-to-day cultural life.

But, in addition, every language major at UMBC takes a core of classes that put language and culture into context.

• The first of these introduces the nature of language: how it is structured; how we acquire it; how it compares to nonverbal communication and animal signals.
• The second class examines the ways in which language creates and reflects society and includes discussion of language policy, cultural politics, and language death.
• The third course explores the language of texts—linguistic, visual, and musical—and provides students with the tools they will need to analyze everything from a telephone conversation to a feature film.

Upper-level students take courses on subjects like Don Quijote, French culture in the Caribbean, and the German media, but there are also classes in linguistics, anthropology, and cultural studies that examine a broad range of issues in human communication.

The excitement of an interdisciplinary language program has translated into an M.A. curriculum in Intercultural Communication, the only such degree program in the U.S. located in a language department. Graduates of this program go on to complete doctoral degrees in media, language, anthropology, education, etc., and take jobs as language teachers, intercultural trainers in the health professions, study abroad coordinators, and business consultants.

Finally, the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics plays a central role in a cooperative Ph.D. program in Language, Literacy, and Culture, which is designed for professionals in education, industry, business, government, and other organizations who want to work on questions of discourse and diversity in the context of the cultural issues that they raise.

A Student's To-Do List: What You Need to Know and Do Along The Way

By the end of your FIRST OR SOPHOMORE YEAR you should be able to:

By the end of your JUNIOR OR SENIOR YEAR you should be able to:

Career Boosters

Freshman Year:

Sophomore Year:

Junior Year:

Senior Year:

Curriculum

For official curriculum for this major, please visit the online undergraduate catalog. This site is your one-stop location for academic policies, major requirements, academic support services, and the first year experience.

Other links you may find of use:

• Academic Programs
• Course Descriptions
• Academic Requirements
• Academic Regulations
• Academic Resources
• Special Opportunities
• Faculty Index

Resources

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Main Office: ACIV 146
Phone: 410-455-2109
Email: hines@umbc.edu
Department Website: http://www.umbc.edu/mll/
Department Head: Ana Maria Schwartz Chair and Associate Professor

Sample Resumés:

Modern Languages & Linguistics