Romance Languages and Literatures offers vibrant programs in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Our language courses have long been popular with undergraduates, including those interested in international travel and those who anticipate a global dimension to their future careers. All of our classes focus on culture writ large: we study great texts, and we do so with an eye toward gender roles, traditions, communities, individual freedom, social obligations and many other topics of critical importance today. We offer concentrations in French, Italian, Spanish, applied linguistics, and introductory Portuguese.

Our undergraduate programs in French, Italian, and Spanish include a compelling series of language, literature, culture, and civilization courses that introduce students to the global Hispanic, Francophone, and Italophone communities. The curriculum affords students the opportunity to become fluent in a foreign language, enrich their historical and cultural understanding, and acquaint themselves with influential intellectual, literary, and artistic traditions.

Students also benefit from linguistic and cultural immersion opportunities through our many summer, semester, and year-long study abroad programs. These programs offer unique possibilities to combine foreign language training with other interests, including participating in business internships in Paris; pursuing fieldwork in Cameroon; or studying art history in Italy, literature in Madrid, or Andean culture in Ecuador. These experiences lead to a variety of career paths, including international law, international business, medicine, journalism, and graduate studies in political science, international relations, history, anthropology, art history, comparative literature, French, and film studies. To prepare our students to take full advantage of such opportunities, our faculty provides an innovative range of courses that combine the study of literature with contemporaneous developments in philosophy, science, music, art, and theory.

For undergraduates interested in cross-language study, we offer two programs. Students may elect to major in Romance languages and literatures. This major requires advanced course work in French, Italian, and Spanish, with one of the three languages as the focus of primary emphasis. Alternatively, students may minor in applied linguistics, studying the theoretical, empirical, and practical foundations of teaching and learning languages. This minor is available to all majors on campus, but it is particularly suited to language majors.

Contact Info

Phone:	314-935-5175
Email:	rll@wustl.edu
Website:	http://rll.wustl.edu

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Prospective Romance languages majors should consult with the director of undergraduate studies of the chosen language as early as possible.

For the French major, please visit the French page.

For the Italian major, please visit the Italian page.

For the Spanish major, please visit the Spanish page.

The Major in Romance Languages and Literatures

Like our other majors, the Romance languages major requires a writing-intensive course and a capstone experience. Further details are available on the department's website.

Total units required: A minimum of 42 units at the 300 and 400 level, distributed among French, Italian, and Spanish

Required courses:

• Language I: Courses through the 400 level, including French 307 and French 321 or French 322 for French, Ital 307 and Ital 308 for Italian, and Span 302 and Span 303 for Spanish; two literature surveys (French: Thinking-It-Through courses; Italian: Ital 323W and Ital 324W; or Spanish: Debating Cultures or Researching Cultures courses); and two 400-level courses (in Italian, two literature courses; in French, either two Thinking-It-Through courses or one Thinking-It-Through course and one In-Depth course; in Spanish, either two literature courses or one literature course and one linguistics course)
• Language II: Courses through the 400 level, including French 307 and French 321 or French 322 for French, Ital 307 and Ital 308 for Italian, and Span 302 and Span 303 for Spanish; at least two literature surveys (French: Thinking-It-Through courses; Italian: Ital 323W and Ital 324W; or Spanish: Debating Cultures or Researching Cultures courses); and one 400-level course (in Italian and French, a literature course; in Spanish, either literature or linguistics)
• Language III: Courses through and including one literature survey (French 307 and French 321 or French 322 for French, Ital 307 and Ital 308 for Italian, and Span 302 and Span 303 for Spanish) plus, depending on the language, a Thinking-It-Through course in French; Ital 323W or Ital 324W in Italian; or a Debating Cultures or Researching Cultures course in Spanish
• One writing-intensive course in either Spanish or Italian or via a French In-Depth course 
• A capstone experience, either by completing Latin honors or by completing a senior undergraduate seminar during the junior or senior year with a grade of B+ or better. We encourage students to consider doing an honors thesis, perhaps combining French and Spanish. The 6 units of 495 (honors) would be above and beyond the requirements listed above for each language.

Students need to take these classes for a letter grade and earn a B- or better, with a B average overall, per departmental requirements of all majors.

Students need approval from directors of undergraduate studies for Italian, French, and Spanish for this major.

Additional Information

Students who plan to teach or pursue graduate study should consider taking a second foreign language as well as linguistics courses. In all departmental courses for the major, the student must receive a grade of B- or better. Each student's progress toward achieving the objectives of the major will be assessed on a regular basis and by a variety of means. More information is available in the departmental mission statement.

Spanish Honors in Linguistics: To qualify for Spanish Honors in Linguistics in the major by thesis, a student must complete linguistic research and prepare and orally defend an honors thesis, which is judged by an honors faculty committee. The honors thesis in linguistics may include scientific experiments conducted in Spanish. The written thesis will include several drafts, all of which will be written in Spanish.

Study Abroad: Students are encouraged to participate in a study abroad program. Programs are available in France, Italy, Spain, Ecuador, Mexico, and Chile.

Senior Honors: Students who have maintained at least a 3.65 overall cumulative grade-point average through the end of the junior year are encouraged to work toward Latin honors (i.e., cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude). To qualify for Latin honors in the major by thesis, a student must complete special literary research and prepare and orally defend an honors thesis, which is judged by an honors faculty committee. To qualify for Latin honors by course work, the student must complete four literature courses at the 400 level (including two in literature before 1800) and present two critical essays written for those courses to be judged by an honors faculty committee. Recommendations for honors are based on performance, the quality of the thesis or critical essays, and the cumulative GPA.

For the minor in French, visit the French page.

For the minor in Italian, visit the Italian page.

For the minor in Spanish, visit the Spanish page.

French

For French courses, visit the French page of this Bulletin.

Italian

For Italian courses, visit the Italian page of this Bulletin.

Portuguese

For Portuguese courses, visit the Portuguese page of this Bulletin.

Spanish

For Spanish courses, visit the Spanish page of this Bulletin.