About

Welcome to the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at ISU! We are a group of world-class, internationally connected faculty and staff committed to providing our students with the very best education to navigate a diverse world in the 21st century.

We teach seven languages: Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Latin, Japanese, and Spanish. Our small, engaging language classes teach language skills, build community, and introduce you to diverse cultural practices and perspectives. We welcome students who are continuing a language they have studied before or know as a native or heritage speaker (and we offer college credit for the skills you bring!), as well as those looking to start learning a new language.

We offer majors in French, German, and Spanish. Each of these majors has an accredited teacher education track offering K-12 licensure in world language teaching as well as a general track that offers students the opportunity to delve deeper into study of the language itself and the rich and diverse cultures that speak it, preparing students broadly to navigate our multilingual, multicultural world.

We house minors in French, German, and Spanish as well as interdisciplinary minors in Classical Studies, East Asian Studies, and Italian Studies, and our classes count toward interdisciplinary programs in European Studies, Latin American and Latino/a Studies, and more. By minoring in a language, you will build on the foundational skills taught in our 100-level courses, developing both your linguistic proficiency and your cultural knowledge.

We encourage students majoring in any program across campus to Internationalize Your Major by adding a second major or minor and/or a study abroad to any other major. We have developed sample plans of study to show you how you can do this and still graduate in four years! If we don’t already have a plan of study for your program, our academic advisor will work with you and your advisor to create one. Roughly a third of all language majors are second/third majors who know the benefits of studying a language for both professional and personal gain. Join us!

Our MA in Spanish offers students advanced study in linguistics, pedagogy, literary and cultural studies and deeper knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world. Most of our full-time graduate students are GTAs with the opportunity to teach an introductory-level Spanish course.

Above and beyond our classes, our programs offer study abroad opportunities all over the globe and student organizations fostering community on campus. Our faculty of teacher-scholars have personal and professional connections throughout the world and our classes at every level give you the chance to get to know them. Our graduates go on to pursue successful careers as bilingual professionals in a variety of educational, medical, civic, and business career paths. Peruse this website or stop by Stevenson Hall to learn more!

Juliet Lynd, Ph.D.
Chair of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies