Languages at UCSB

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 and Where to Study Them

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 Cultural Studies
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.


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

Language video

Testimonials on Language Study from Students

I was just thinking how helpful, rewarding, and supportive the German program is here. I picked it up definitely late in my college education and it is one of the best decisions ever. I really feel like I am learning a lot being taught by professor(in)s that actually care and support their students in picking up the language. [In my other] major many of my classes have over hundreds of students and that connection isn't really there, at really no fault to the program it is just a large major. The environment the German program at UCSB has created is exceptional and I am glad to be a part of it. I would love to express my gratitude to someone higher up just to acknowledge the great work being done if possible.

UCSB undergraduate student

Taking Spanish at UCSB opened many doors for me down the line, especially during my study abroad. The professors are great about emphasizing real-world conversation skills and using content that's relevant to students' majors and personal interests.

UCSB undergraduate student

As a biology major, I spent a lot of time memorizing scientific names and extremely niche jargon. In its own right, taking Latin has been fun and interesting, but it has also made much of biology and academia feel more familiar. Now, I am able to intuitively find patterns in words, remember them, and understand how and why they are formed.

CCS Biology major

"Studying Japanese as an undergraduate student opened doors I never expected - it took me across the world to Japan for a year, allowed me to build relationships across language barriers, and gave me a deeper understanding of a culture so different from my own. Learning a foreign language isn’t just about words; it’s about experiencing the world in a new way, understanding different perspectives, and building real connections. That experience in Japan shaped my academic and personal interests, ultimately inspiring me to continue studying Japanese language and culture in graduate school. This journey all started from taking a foreign language class. All of this to say, studying a foreign language has changed the way I see and experience the world, and that is why it holds so much value."

UCSB BA and MA student

Faculty on the Value of Language Study

Learning a new language activates a part of our minds that otherwise lies dormant -- it is the doorway to a new way of thinking, a different culture, and it allows us to reflect on our own language, culture, and selves. It is one of the most enriching educational experiences available and it would be a shame not to take advantage of the opportunity!

Dwight Reynolds, Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies

I couldn’t have become a European historian without language study. Knowing French opened the doors to the French archives and libraries in which I worked for many years. Not knowing French would have kept all those doors closed. I took German courses when I was an undergraduate, but learning a language isn’t like learning how to ride a bicycle. By not using German I forgot how to. In retirement, I took several German courses at UC Santa Barbara. The experience was a joy. I re-learned the language with the help of the superb teachers who staff a small department.

John (Jack) Talbott, Professor of History, Emeritus

Career oriented resources and research on language study
Language Connects Foundation - “The Benefits of Learning Languages”
New American Economy - “Not Lost in Translation: The Growing Importance of Foreign Language Skills in the U.S. Job Market”
Sara Pankenier Weld (via The Chicago Tribune) - “We need the humanities today more than ever”


Languages at UCSB - News and Features

Health Humanities Initiative

Health Humanities Initiative

Medical Humanities is an interdisciplinary field of medicine that uses the humanities and arts to explore the human mind and body, as well as the broader human condition.

 Civic and Professional Leadership Institute

Civic and Professional Leadership Institute

The CPLI is an exciting, integrated, four-course program dedicated to leadership through effective communication and is linked to UCSB’s Public Speaking Initiative.

American Indian and Indigenous Studies

American Indian and Indigenous Studies

The American Indian and Indigenous Studies Minor provides students an understanding of the ideas, practices, experiences, and issues confronting native peoples of North and South America through the study of their histories, environment, cultures, languages, politics, and economies.

Art, Design & Architecture Museum

Art, Design & Architecture Museum

The Art, Design & Architecture Museum both a teaching museum, committed to the development of critical thinking and visual literacy, and a resource for the wider Santa Barbara community.

English for Multilingual Students

English for Multilingual Students

The English for Multilingual Students Program offers courses for undergraduate and international graduate students for whom English is not the first language.

 

Art

Art

The Department of Art offers a dynamic and challenging learning environment that emphasizes interdisciplinary research as well as artistic production.

 

Classics

Classics

The Department of Classics explores all aspects of Greek and Roman culture -- the fountainhead of the Western experience.

Comparative Literature Program

Comparative Literature Program

The Department of Comparative Literature takes a global approach to the study of literature, crossing national and cultural boundaries -- from ancient to modern times.

 

East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies is dedicated to the study of the civilizations of China, Japan, and Korea in all their richness and diversity.

English

English

The Department of English offers a curriculum that traverses historical eras and global boundaries to explore various literatures and critical approaches to them.

Film and Media Studies

Film and Media Studies

The Department of Film and Media Studies is the place for those with a passion for the large screen and the small screen.

 

French and Italian

French and Italian

The study of French or Italian is an intellectual adventure that leads to the core of Western civilization.

 

Germanic and Slavic Studies

Germanic and Slavic Studies

The Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies addresses the highly complex histories and cultures of German-speaking and Slavic countries.

Public History Program

Public History Program

UC Santa Barbara defined Public History as a profession in 1976, with a Rockefeller Foundation grant to train historians for public and private sector careers beyond conventional academic employment.

 

History

History

The Department of History invites students to reimagine the traditional ways we carve up geographical space by examining not just the histories of nations but also those of regions, trade, and cultural exchange.

History of Art and Architecture

History of Art and Architecture

The Department of History of Art and Architecture stresses global perspectives and intercultural exchanges, augmenting its long-established strengths in European and Non-Western creative traditions.

Jewish Studies

Jewish Studies

Our Jewish Studies program is particularly strong in the study of Judaism, including the languages and literatures of the Jewish people, Holocaust, trauma and memory studies, and 20th-century Jewish critical thought.

Medieval Studies

Medieval Studies

Medieval Studies is an interdisciplinary program that explores the many cultures of the European and Middle Eastern Middle Ages from the viewpoints of history, literature, religious studies, drama, art, and music.