Why Study Two-Languages?

Knowledge of at least one foreign language and familiarity with different societies equip university graduates with more intelligent choices as citizens of today’s world and enhance their effectiveness in a range of career fields.

The Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication at UMBC has had an interdisciplinary focus since the mid-1970s, and the department is currently composed of specialists in linguistics, the social sciences, second language pedagogy, bilingual education, literary analysis, cultural studies, and intercultural communication.

In an increasingly interdependent world, the study of languages and cultures, including the heritage languages and cultures of immigrants to the United States, is a fundamental part of every student’s education. Knowledge of at least one foreign language and familiarity with different societies equip university graduates for more intelligent choices as citizens of today’s world and enhance their effectiveness in a range of career fields, including law, journalism, business, education, health care, banking, social work, management, international administration and many others in the public and private sectors.

The Two-Language concentration consists of a primary language (French, German, Russian, or Spanish) and twelve credits of a second language (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish) above 202, in the following combinations:
1. French (primary) with one of the following languages as secondary: Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, or Spanish (42 credits)
2. German (primary) with one of the following languages as secondary: Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, or Spanish (43 credits)
3. Russian (primary) with one of the following languages as secondary: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, or Spanish (42 credits)
4. Spanish (primary) with one of the following languages as secondary: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, or Russian (43 credits)

The program requirements (below) vary from 42 to 43 credits, and include a shared interdisciplinary core of courses, which provides a grounding in essential issues of human communication and social context. Note that core courses MLL 230 and 301 must be taken at UMBC, and that all courses applied to the major requirements must be completed with a grade of C or higher.