European Languages and Transcultural Studies brings together the former departments of French and Francophone Studies, Germanic Languages, Italian and Scandinavian. The term “transcultural” emphasizes our shared European roots and our expanded focus on the perspectives of filmmakers, writers and theorists from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and elsewhere, which allows for a comprehensive understanding of history and more accurate contextualization of the European experience.
The mission of Writing Programs is to enrich the writing experience — and ultimately, the writing performance — of students in our first-year, Writing II and Professional Writing Minor courses. We extend our impact on UCLA graduate and undergraduate students through the graduate certificate in writing pedagogy, through courses for international graduate students and TAs whose first language is not English, and through the work of the Writing Center.
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers a rich and diverse program dedicated to the study of the languages, literatures and cultures of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of Europe and North, Central and South America. Along with traditional strengths in Spanish, Spanish American and Luso-Brazilian literatures and cultures, offerings include courses in U.S. Latino/a Studies and language instruction in Basque, Catalan, Nahuatl and Quechua.
Founded in 1948, the Department of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures is one of the oldest and most prominent programs in its field in the United States. The program, which offers undergraduate and graduate studies, provides students with a comprehensive education in the languages, literatures, cultures and history of Eastern and Central Europe and Eurasia.
The principal goal of the Department of Philosophy is to produce philosophers of high quality, thinkers informed by the great historical traditions of Western philosophers who can apply the methods of philosophical analysis to a broad range of current philosophical problems.
Near Eastern Languages and Cultures brings together a variety of cultural and linguistic studies, both ancient and modern, into a vibrant interdisciplinary whole. We make cultural studies of the Middle East relevant to undergraduate students and the Los Angeles community; in our graduate programs, we create the next generation of experts in the ancient Near Eastern and modern Middle Eastern region.
The linguistics department is one of the world’s leading centers for the scientific study of language.
UCLA’s interdepartmental graduate program in Indo-European Studies is the only such program in the U.S. and leads to the degree of Ph.D. The program’s focus is historical linguistics, in particular the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European (the ancestor of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, English and many other languages) as well as the culture of its speakers.
Widely recognized as one of the leading departments in the nation, English at UCLA has long been known for its innovative research and excellence in teaching. Today, the English Department maintains its strong commitment to traditional areas of study, while also supporting groundbreaking research and teaching in new and interdisciplinary approaches to literary studies.
Standing at the forefront of innovative literary, theoretical, and cultural studies, comparative literature is one of the most exciting fields in the Humanities. The discipline demands exceptional linguistic ability, advanced critical tools, and high intellectual caliber.
