UCLA establishes Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies

People attending World Languages Day at UCLA

Students mill around at World Languages Day, an event hosted by the language departments at UCLA.

In a giant leap for our language studies programs, the departments of French and Francophone Studies, Germanic Languages, Italian, and Scandinavian have completed a merger resulting in the new Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies (ELTS). Chaired by Professor Dominic Thomas, ELTS strengthens our existing language offerings while providing a holistic approach to the future of the field. The merger also creates opportunities for interdisciplinary community-building among our faculty and graduate students, who have driven this transition from the ground up.

At the UCLA Newsroom, you can learn more about this transition and the emerging vision and impact of ELTS. The Los Angeles Times also featured the new department in an article about the future of language instruction in higher education. The Division looks forward to seeing the many ways in which the department’s continued cross-disciplinary work will drive creative renewal in the study of European languages and cultures at UCLA.