“Knowing another language enriches your personal life, expands the range of professional opportunities open to you, and increases your power to act as a citizen of the world. ”
— Source: Modern Language Association, “Language Study in the Age of Globalization: The College-Level Experience.”

Language Study at UCSB

We invite you to discover the rich foreign language offerings at UCSB. The campus offers a wide variety of programs where you can study one or more languages. Language departments host a range of events and talks related to language study, all announced on their websites (links below).

Languages offered

Germanic and Slavic Studies
www.gss.ucsb.edu
Languages: German, Russian
Majors: German, Russian & East European Studies
Minors: German Studies, Russian

Religious Studies
www.religion.ucsb.edu
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit, Tibetan
Minors: Iranian Studies, Jewish Studies


Spanish and Portuguese
www.spanport.ucsb.edu
Languages: Basque, Catalan, Portuguese, Spanish
Majors: Portuguese, Spanish
Minors: Portuguese, Spanish

Classics
www.classics.ucsb.edu
Languages: Ancient Greek, Latin
Major: Classics
Minor: Classics

East Asian Languages and Cultures
www.eastasian.ucsb.edu
Languages: Chinese, Japanese, Korean
Majors: Chinese, Japanese, Asian Studies
Minors: Chinese, Japanese

French and Italian
www.frit.ucsb.edu
Languages: French, Italian
Majors: French, Italian Studies
Minors: French, Italian Studies

Other departments where language study is a vital component: Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Film and Media Studies, Global and International Studies, History, History of Art and Architecture, Linguistics, and others.

The UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) offers many opportunities to start or continue language study. Visit their website and hear from fellow students about how their experiences have shaped their studies since returning from abroad as well as their post-college goals.

Career oriented resources and research on language study

…

“As many languages one speaks, as many times one is a human being.”

The UC Education Abroad Program offers many opportunities for you to immerse yourself in the study of your language.

Student quotes (under video)

Languages at UCSB - News and Features

Featured
Bringing Basque Language and Culture to Students
Focus on Faculty
Bringing Basque Language and Culture to Students
Focus on Faculty

Euskara, the oldest language of the Basque Country, is a symbol of cultural survival. At UC Santa Barbara, lecturer Maitane Murumendiaraz Arana teaches students in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese about the language and culture of her own heritage. Through her classes and events, she keeps the Basque spirit alive and growing at UCSB.

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Focus on Faculty
From UCSB to ESPN: Language Education Leads to a Global Career
Alumni All-Stars
From UCSB to ESPN: Language Education Leads to a Global Career
Alumni All-Stars

UCSB alumna Ardi Dwornik has been working at ESPN for over 17 years. Before then, Dwornik got her Masters in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature at UCSB, and became fluent in both languages. She also studied abroad for a year in Brazil through UCSB’s Education Abroad Program. She says her education and study abroad experience were a pivotal moment in her career, as ESPN was hoping to expand to Brazil when she was hired.

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Alumni All-Stars
For the Love of Language
News
For the Love of Language
News

“HFA Speaks: For the Love of Language” brought together Sabine Frühstück, a UCSB professor of modern Japanese cultural studies, Magda Campo, an Arabic continuing lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies, and Laura Marqués-Pascual, the language program director in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese for a panel discussion. Moderated by Jackie Jauregui, the panel had a conversation about the importance of learning languages, and the related struggles of teaching it at a time of dropping enrollment nationally.

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News
Taking Flight with German
Student Spotlight
Taking Flight with German
Student Spotlight

Thomas Heine, a fourth-year student in UC Santa Barbara’s Germanic and Slavic Studies department will be combining his knowledge of German language, culture, and business with his passion of aviation. He is working towards flying for Lufthansa, the largest airline in Europe.

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Student Spotlight
Falling in Love with French
News, Focus on Faculty
Falling in Love with French
News, Focus on Faculty

UCSB French lecturer Marion Labatut sat down to discuss her efforts to build up enrollment in UCSB French courses after COVID-19 related drop. During a Q&A session, she described new ways the department in encouraging students to fall in love with French.

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News, Focus on Faculty
The Mind Between Languages: Translation and its Newest Tools
Cool Courses, Focus on Faculty
The Mind Between Languages: Translation and its Newest Tools
Cool Courses, Focus on Faculty

Meagan Carter, a Ph.D. candidate at UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese, developed and taught a course during Summer 2023 that takes on translation and interpreting as professional field, the evolving technologies in use, and ongoing research into what happens in the mind while a professional is at work.

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Cool Courses, Focus on Faculty
On Gender Neutrality in the French Language
Student Spotlight
On Gender Neutrality in the French Language
Student Spotlight

Developing gender-neutral vocabulary in French can be challenging due to the highly gendered nature of the language and resistance from French academics and politicians. But Jordan J Tudisco, a doctoral student in Comparative Literature and French teacher at UC Santa Barbara, looks to provide students with the inclusive vocabulary they need to express themselves. In a recent interview, Tudisco discussed their work, some of the challenges that hinder the use of inclusive language in French, and what they see for the future of inclusive vocabulary.

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Student Spotlight
The Art of Translation: Italian Literature and Race
Cool Courses, Focus on Faculty
The Art of Translation: Italian Literature and Race
Cool Courses, Focus on Faculty

UCSB professor Stephanie Hom is applying her research background in Italian colonialism to probe how the experience of Blackness is translated in literature. In a recent virtual interview, Hom discussed her new course, The Art of Translation, in the Department of French and Italian, and how language and translation can be used to evaluate complex cultural issues.

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Cool Courses, Focus on Faculty