Undergraduate programs

The Department of World Languages and Literatures offers undergraduate major programs in French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish (please note, applications are not currently being accepted for the undergraduate major programs in Arabic or Chinese); minor programs in the above languages and in American Sign Language, Arabic, Italian, Modern Hebrew, Persian, and Classical Studies; and instruction in the above languages, as well as in Chinese, Korean, Latin, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, and Vietnamese. Other languages may be offered from time to time.

Degree Maps and Learning Outcomes

Admission requirements

World Language B.A.

World Language Minor

Classical Studies Minor

Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies

Intercultural Competence for the Workplace

World Language Pedagogy Certificate

Certificate of Advanced Proficiency in Russian (CAPR)

Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (TJFL) Certificate

Foreign Language Secondary Education Program

Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies Undergraduate Certificate

The Certificate in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies is a multidisciplinary program that offers students the opportunity to study literature across linguistic and national borders as well as explore the intersections of literature with other forms of creative expression such as comics, film, the visual arts, and new media. The certificate also encourages students to contextualize literary study by investigating connections with other humanities and social science disciplines.

It is designed to fit into WLL and English major and minor programs as well as other fields, including History, Anthropology, and International Studies, and is especially suitable for students who have begun to achieve proficiency in a world language. 

In addition to having completed the complete second-year cycle of their foreign language, students will take two required courses and two electives.  Required courses include a core theory class on how to conduct comparative literary and cultural studies; for the second required course, students choose a topics course on either translation studies or comparative media/arts (film, literature, comic books). The two electives for the certificate consist of other Eng, WLL, Hst, Intl, Phl, Anth options and more.  Candidates may enroll as undergraduate or post-baccalaureate students.  Students will have an adviser for the certificate who will guide them through the coursework.

Students are required to take a total of 16 credits including two required WLL/Eng Comparative Studies courses and two electives from the list below. Students are expected to have an intermediate language proficiency, demonstrated by completing the second-year language sequence at PSU (201-202-203) or its equivalent or one language course at the 301 level or higher. 

Prerequisites (World Language)

A complete 201-202-203 sequence in a foreign language (Arabic, French, Japanese, etc.) either as 12 or 15 credits (depending upon the language); alternatively, students with at least one foreign language course at 301 or above (minimum 4 credits) can satisfy this requirement.  Students can complete the language requirement while taking courses towards the certificate.

Core (8 credits)

Eng 380/WLL 380Reading the World

4

 

and

  

Eng 381/WLL 381Topics in Translation Studies

4

or

Eng 383U/WLL 383UTopics in Comparative Literature, Film, and Comics

4

 

Electives (8 credits)

Two courses from the following list:

WLL 381/Eng 381 and/or WLL 383U /Eng 383U can be chosen if not being applied to one of the two core classes.
Anth 300UThe Modern World in Anthropological Perspective

4

Anth 330UAnthropology of Folklore

4

Anth 357UArchaeology in Popular Culture

4

Anth 435Visual Anthropology

4

Eng 318UThe Bible as Literature

4

Eng 325UPostcolonial Literature

4

Eng 330UJewish and Israeli Literature

4

Eng 332UHistory of Cinema and Narrative Media I

4

Eng 333UHistory of Cinema and Narrative Media II

4

Eng 335U/NAS 335UTopics in Literature and Film

4

Eng 368ULiterature and Ecology

4

Eng 372U/WS 372UTopics in Literature, Gender, and Sexuality

4

Eng 373UTopics in Literature, Race, and Ethnicity

4

Eng 420Caribbean Literature

4

Eng 422African Fiction

4

Eng 449Advanced Topics in Cultural Studies

4

Eng 491History of Literary Criticism and Theory I

4

Eng 492History of Literary Criticism and Theory II

4

FILM 487Topics in International Film and the Moving Image

4

Hst 322UModern East Asia

4

Hst 354UEarly Medieval Europe: 300-1100

4

Hst 355ULate Medieval Europe, 1100-1450

4

Hst 356URenaissance and Reformation Europe, 1400-1600

4

Hst 382UPalestine and Israel

4

Hst 384UOttoman World

4

Hst 385ULate Imperial Middle East, 1700-1914

4

Hst 386UMiddle East in the Twentieth Century

4

Hst 390UChina, Japan, and Korean Relations in Global Context

4

Hst 390UComp Social Revolutions

4

Hst 390UGlobal History of Warfare

4

Hst 390UWorld Religions

4

Hst 422Topics in Postwar Japanese History, 1945-present

4

Hst 490Comparative World History

4

Intl 314U/USP 314UThe Global City in Film

4

Intl 350UThe City in Europe

4

Intl 360UBollywood: Communicating Contemporary South Asia through Cinema

4

Intl 380UGlobalization, Representation and Difference in Media and Film

4

Intl 391UMedia and International Relations

4

NAS 351UIndigenous Philosophy

4

NAS 410Intro Indigenous Literary and Cultural Studies

4

Phl 319UIntroduction to Asian Philosophy

4

Wr 431Adv. Topics in Tech Writing Technologies:  Tools for Translation and Localization

4

Total Credit Hours: 16

The 16 credits towards the certificate must be taken from the above lists. 

All courses used to satisfy certificate requirements must be passed with a grade of C or higher.  (C- and P are not acceptable.)