Arabic
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.
Chinese
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.
Comparative Literature
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.
French
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
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.
Global Studies
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
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
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.
Japanese
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.
Korean
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.
Portuguese
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.
Spanish
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.
Russian
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.
Translation & Interpreting Studies
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
World Languages at UWM
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.