About the School of Languages and Cultures

Our school offers undergraduate courses in language, literature, linguistics, culture, civilization, and film. Instruction is provided in 12 languages, with major and concentration programs in French, German, Italian Studies, Russian and Spanish. Minors are offered in Asian Studies (Chinese and Japanese), and Classical Studies.

For students interested in elementary or secondary school teaching of French, German, Russian, or Spanish, a teaching major and minor is offered that, in combination with certain mandated courses in the School of Education, leads to state certification. Language clubs and honoraries, language tables in the dormitories, guest lectures, international film series, and theater performances are also available to our students to enhance their knowledge and experience of other languages and culture

For graduate study, the school offers M.A. and M.A.T. degrees in French, German, and Spanish literature and linguistics; and the Ph.D. degree in French, German, and Spanish. Courses are also offered in this school for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees granted by the Program in Comparative Literature. A Ph.D. degree in foreign language education with a concentration in one of the three languages is also available.

Our faculty members are highly qualified with a richly diverse range of research interests. The following notable scholarly publications are edited by faculty and staff in the department: Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures (PSRL); Romance Languages Annual (RLA); Espelho; and Global Business Languages.

Professor Keck, former Head of the department, has led the development and promotion of Business German courses in the US, and is associate director of CIBER (The Center for International Business Education and Research) at Purdue. Courses in Business Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish are very popular with Purdue's international business, science, and engineering students. Business Italian and Portuguese courses are being developed.

The School of Languages and Cultures is fully wired with fiber optics that link all our computers to the campus "backbone" and to the Internet. We have two large state-of-the-art computer laboratories specially equipped to enhance Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Other innovative computer assisted learning programs being developed by our faculty include CALET (Computer-Aided Language Education Tools) Multi-Media, a very user-friendly authoring system for interactive video in all languages, and unique instructional software for Purdue's Japanese courses. Study abroad is an important part of a language education, and our faculty and staff work in close collaboration with the International Programs For Study Abroad to find our students the best university programs in other countries.

Master's degree students with teaching assistantships can apply to spend a semester abroad during which they will continue to be funded as well as receive credit toward their degree. Academic performance determines those students selected annually to participate in this independent foreign study program.

Please check out the other information sites on our WWW page. For a taste of our school, we invite you to join us for our weekly Coffee and Tea Conversation Hours, held in the Staaks Lounge, Room 131 in Stanley Coulter Hall.

We are housed in Stanley Coulter Hall, a beautifully renovated building fully accessible to physically challenged students and staff with an elevator, automatic exterior door openers, Braille signage, and wheelchair accessible washrooms and drinking fountains.

We look forward to meeting you and sharing our languages and cultures with you.

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