Create global opportunities through languages, literatures, and cultures
Master critical languages like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. Explore French, Italian, Arabic, and ASL. Develop as a global citizen through immersive learning, study abroad, and cultural exploration. Our graduates excel in international business, diplomacy, education, and creative fields—preparing you for tomorrow's interconnected world.
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Minors
Undergraduate to graduate (U2G)
Undergraduate Programs
Experience immersive learning in a vibrant community
Enter classrooms where conversation hours, cultural programming, and peer tutoring bring languages to life beyond textbooks. Our faculty—experts spanning literature, theoretical and applied linguistics, cultural theory, language acquisition, and creative writing—are deeply invested in your success, offering mentorship that extends from academic excellence to career preparation. You'll join a community of language learners exploring everything from French literary traditions and Italian cultural heritage to Asian cinema studies, Russian literary history, and cutting-edge linguistics research. Study abroad opportunities and rich co-curricular programming transform your education into real-world experience, while collaborative learning environments across more than a dozen languages ensure you develop not just as a proficient speaker, but as a critical thinker and multicultural interpreter.
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Academic areas
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Languages
Why study languages, linguistics, literatures, and cultures at Iowa?
Whether you're mastering critical languages designated by national security programs, exploring postcolonial and heritage literatures, conducting linguistics research on language acquisition, or engaging with translation and digital humanities, you'll graduate with the analytical skills, cultural fluency, and global perspective that today's employers value most.
Pathways for general education
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has multiple pathways for students to fulfill the General Education CLAS Core World Languages requirement. There are over 14 languages with approved coursework through LLLC and other departments.