!مرحبا ¡Bienvenidos! Bienvenue! Benvenuti! ようこそ! Bem-vindos! Welcome!
Communication and Connection Across Borders and Cultures
Take your education beyond the classroom and gain intercultural skills that will enrich your life and prepare you for a dynamic career in today’s globalized world.
The Department of World Languages and Cultures (WLC) aims to promote language learning and internationally focused education at UWM, increasing the understanding of world languages and global cultures as valuable components of both professional development and global citizenship. Students will immerse themselves in world languages, literature, and culture, as well as pursue experiential learning via study abroad, international internships, and undergraduate research. Upon graduation, students will have acquired the linguistic and intercultural ability to pursue a wide range of careers, such as foreign diplomacy, international business, journalism, education, global health, environmental advocacy, and more!
Knowledge of the Arabic language and its many variations is a high-demand skill in today’s global economy. It can be challenging, but it can also help you stand out from other job applicants since fewer students choose to study Arabic compared to other languages.
China is the world’s second largest economy, and one of every five people in the world speaks the Chinese language. As China has become a big player in the world economy, Chinese language skills are in demand like never before.
Students who become proficient in Chinese language can expect to hold an advantage in many job markets. According to Bloomberg, Mandarin Chinese is the most useful business language after English. While this may come as no surprise, many do not realize that China’s economic rise has also brought about new challenges and expectations for other forms of modernization. China will soon require diverse expertise to help create and implement new sociopolitical, environmental, and infrastructure systems.
In the Comparative Literature minor, students examine literature across languages, geographic location, time periods, and genres. The discipline also explores the relationship between literature and other forms of cultural expression such as pop culture, technology, arts, music, or film, as well as the relationship between literature and other academic disciplines, like anthropology, history, religious studies, or women’s and gender studies. It’s a great minor for anyone who loves to compare, contrast, and explore other cultures.
The UWM French Program allows students to develop their proficiency in French and explore the cultures, arts, literatures, histories, and politics of France and other Francophone countries around the world.
Learn more about the French program
German is a key language in international business, politics, education, communication, and finance. It is the most widely-spoken language in the European Union, and knowledge of German culture and language provides a wide range of career opportunities. It is a pivotal language not only in philosophy, literature, and sociology, but also in STEM fields. Moreover, studying a second language has been shown to increase a person’s reading and listening comprehension, critical thinking skills, reasoning and logic—all of which are valuable and transferable skills across fields of study and careers.
Students have a number of options within the Global Studies Program. Within the major there are five tracks to choose from, allowing students to specialize in a particular area of global interest.
- Global Studies: Communication
- Global Studies: Health
- Global Studies: Management
- Global Studies: Security
- Global Studies: Sustainability
Learn more about the Global Studies program
Learn more about the Global Studies degrees offered (specialty tracks are shown on the BA major)
Hebrew courses can enhance your learning in a wide range of subjects and professions—including international relations, Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Religious Studies, Business, Political Science, Journalism, and many more. You might be interested in a single course about Judaism, or you might be interested in the deeper study offered by a minor or a major.
Courses in Modern Hebrew provide a strong foundation for studying Biblical Hebrew and will enable you to visit to Israel, a dynamic, multicultural society in the heart of the Middle East.
Italian is a Romance language that is the most direct descendent to Latin. It is a language of global communication, business, technology, and the arts.
Courses in Japanese culture, literature, film, and new media both in Japanese and in English are also part of the program. Our classes focus on Japanese topics but in the tradition of the humanities, we ask students to examine how humans live, think, interact, and express themselves.
UW-Milwaukee offers courses in Korean at the elementary and intermediate levels. Students will learn from Hangul (the Korean writing system) and practice Korean by speaking, writing, reading, and listening. Through the courses, students will develop abilities to engage with new cultural experience and knowledge via the Korean language.
Our course offerings reflect and respond to the diversity of our students, who include: heritage speakers, non-traditional students, professionals in a variety of fields, as well as traditional undergraduates. We encourage students to participate in study abroad programs and second-language activities as a means of improving proficiency.
We offer up to six semesters of instruction in Russian language, as well as a host of courses on Russian literature and culture within the program taught in English and/or Russian, as well as a variety of affiliated courses taught in English in other departments.
Through effective communicative instruction, we prepare students to read, speak, write, and understand Spanish. Faculty are actively engaged in advancing knowledge in their respective areas of expertise and striving to link, in the manner most beneficial for students, critical and scholarly work to classroom instruction and advising activities.
Effective Fall 2026, the Translation and Interpreting Studies (TIS) program will suspend its admissions to the following programs: Grad Certificate in Interpreting, Graduate Certificate in Translation , MA in TIS, coordinated TIS/MBA, and coordinated TIS/MLIS.
Translation & Interpreting Studies (TIS) at UWM is a versatile online program with options adaptable to a range of careers. Find your path to a career in language services or enhance your readiness for success in another field by building skills as a translator (written) or interpreter (spoken language). Whatever your level—as a graduate or undergraduate student—and whatever your career goals, TIS can help you strengthen and diversify your professional skills.
Learn more about the Translation & Interpreting Studies program
Learn more about the Translation & Interpreting Studies degrees offered
Learning languages gives you access to new people, places, and professional opportunities. Whether your career goals involve politics, health, art, science, social services, architecture, technology, or communications, knowing more than one language will open doors.
Get to know us!
Take a virtual tour or view our Undergraduate Admissions info or Graduate Admissions info to start an application today!
Department News
- Spanish 391: Using Spanish in Our CommunityIn Fall 2025, Dr. Allison Libbey of the Spanish program launched a new service learning class allowing students to use their Spanish language skills while working …
- Japanese minor serves as youth ambassador at World Expo in OsakaUWM student Gabrielle Sweeney, a political science major and Japanese minor, worked at the American Pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan this summer as …
- WLC Faculty and Staff Honored as 2025 International AdvocatesCongratulations to Anita Alkhas of French, Masako Lackey of Japanese, and Christine Wolf of Global Studies, who have all been honored as 2025 International Advocates by the Center for International Education for …
- Chinese language students learn about tech and culture with summer study abroadhttps://uwm.edu/world-languages-cultures/letters-science/in-focus/alumni-student-news/chinese-language-students-learn-about-tech-and-culture-with-summer-study-abroad/
Department Events
- Mar31March 31, 2026, 3:30pm - 5:30pm
- Apr1April 1, 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
- Apr2April 2, 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
- Apr7April 7, 2026, 3:30pm - 5:30pm
- Apr8April 8, 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
- Apr8April 8, 2026, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
- Apr9April 9, 2026, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
- Apr14April 14, 2026, 3:30pm - 5:30pm
