Department of Foreign Languages

The Department of Foreign Languages offers major and minor concentrations in French, German and Spanish. Course work and extracurricular activities in the department are designed to provide the student with a solid command of a foreign language, as well as a thorough understanding of the literature and culture expressed through that language.

And, in Fall 2006, classes in Portuguese were added to the curriculum.

    Program of Study 

Students interested in pursuing a foreign language degree may major in French, German or Spanish. The Bachelor of Arts degree program requires the completion of 27 hours of upper-level courses selected from a wide range of offerings in advanced language, literature, culture and civilization. A minor consists of 18 hours of course work at the advanced level. Students interested in teaching a foreign language have the option of pursuing their licensure.

When the need arises or when there is sufficient community interest, elementary and intermediate courses in a language other than the standard departamental tracks are offered. In recent years, Japanese, Italian and Russian have been included in the curriculum.

The department offers a wide range of activities to enhance formal language study, and actively encourages travel and study abroad through summer programs sponsored by UNCA and other universities. Students have studied in Europe and South America and, in almost all cases, have received academic credit for their experience. The Department of Foreign Languages regularly sends students for a semester or summer study to Ecuador, where UNCA has a formal exchange relationship with a university in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Faculty members are either native speakers of the language they teach or have extensive experience abroad, and most travel regularly overseas. A favorable teacher-student ratio facilitates small classes and provides students with personalized instruction. There are no teaching assistants.  Job Opportunities

A bachelor's degree in any foreign language offered at UNCA is excellent preparation for teaching positions and careers in business and industry. One of our graduates has found employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Several Foreign Languages majors have won Fulbright Scholarships for study abroad. Many others have gone on to graduate school. Double majors such as management and Spanish, chemistry and German, and political science and French are excellent preparatory programs for graduate work in medicine and law.