For students across the UC, Global Language Network opens a wealth of language learning opportunities

Sean Brenner | March 10, 2026

With the goal of expanding access to outstanding language education for students from all nine of its undergraduate campuses, the University of California is launching the Global Language Network. The initiative is being developed by UC humanities deans, UC Online and language specialists across the system, led in a collaborative effort by Alexandra Minna Stern, dean of the Humanities Division of the UCLA College.

Language courses led by the same expert lecturers who currently teach the classes in person are being made available through UC Online, giving students the opportunity to enroll in high-quality language classes that are not offered on their home campuses — meaningfully expanding students’ options for fulfilling undergraduate foreign language requirements.

Collectively, UC campuses offer instruction in more than 100 languages, making it one of the nation’s leaders in language education. The Global Language Network will offer access to a diverse range of languages, including Korean, American Sign Language, Punjabi and Arabic, among others.

The initiative addresses the pressing need for language study in today’s globalized world, where cultural understanding and communication skills are increasingly vital. Nationwide, language programs are facing significant challenges: Since 2000, more than 2,000 foreign language programs have been eliminated from the nation’s colleges and universities, and foreign language class enrollments nationally have dropped by 30% since 2009.

The Global Language Network aims to counteract those trends by connecting students with language courses across the UC, making it easier for them to choose from, and enroll in, a wide variety of language classes. It also will provide students with better access to instruction in languages spoken in California for which translation services are often required.

Preserving less-common languages

Critically, the Global Language Network also supports the UC’s systemwide goal of preserving quality teaching of less commonly taught languages. (While there are various ways to categorize less commonly taught languages, one definition within the UC is that fewer than 1% of UC students are enrolled in that language.)

Because of their smaller enrollments, classes in less commonly taught languages can be challenging for universities to sustain over the long term. By opening up enrollment to such languages across the UC system, the UC Global Language Network can strengthen the long-term viability of those classes, and enable more UC students to study them — even if they’re not offered on their own campus.

The Global Language Network will use evidence-based pedagogical frameworks to ensure that participating courses deliver consistent and high-quality learning outcomes across all campuses. The network’s rollout coincides with a series of technological upgrades to UC Online that will integrate the system with individual campuses’ registration systems; in addition, new UC Online search tools will make it easier for students to discover and enroll in participating courses.

Phased rollout

Phase 1 of the Global Language Network began in fall 2025, with courses from UCLA as well as UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Riverside and UC San Diego. During Phase 1, the network is offering languages such as Filipino, Ukrainian, Yiddish, Swahili and Arabic. Phase 2, which started in January, aims to develop nine additional language course sequences across the UC system by the 2026–27 academic year.

The timing for the implementation of Phase 3, which will introduce additional languages to the program, has not been determined yet. As the introduction continues, each individual campus will determine when Global Language Network classes will be made available to its students.

Collaboration and faculty involvement

The Global Language Network was developed in close consultation with faculty across UC campuses. Language offerings will be determined collaboratively, ensuring that decisions reflect the interests and needs of instructors and students alike. The program is being designed to foster collaboration between campuses and among instructors of less commonly taught languages, with the participation of the systemwide and campus Academic Senates, as well as campus administration and the UC Office of the President.

The Global Language Network demonstrates the UC’s commitment to creating new opportunities for students to engage with languages and cultures from around the globe and ensure that they have the skills necessary for success in an interconnected world.

What they’re saying

Noah Guynn, Associate Dean of Faculty, Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies, UC Davis
“The Global Language Network reflects an ambitious effort to leverage the strength of the UC system to expand language learning opportunities for students. By sharing instruction across campuses, the initiative holds real promise for preserving vital language programs while giving students broader access to the linguistic and cultural knowledge needed in an interconnected world.”

Alexandra Minna Stern, Dean of UCLA College Humanities Division, UCLA
“The Global Language Network is a clear demonstration of how, across the University of California system, we are thinking creatively about the best modalities for providing outstanding language instruction — in person and online with synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid formats. As the program evolves, we hope it becomes a platform for creating new opportunities for greater numbers of UC students to access classes in a range of languages including Indigenous languages and ancient languages that may not be taught on their own home campuses.”

Kiril Tomoff, Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities, UC Riverside
“At a time when language study is under threat nationally and increasingly difficult to sustain, it is exciting to think about how we can collaborate across our many campuses to preserve instruction in less commonly taught languages and even expand access to those languages to more UC students, wherever they attend college. I have high hopes that through this initiative, more students will be able to study the language, or languages, that most suit their interests and aspirations.”