Modern Languages & Literatures

On campus and abroad, as a student in our department you will develop the communication skills and cultural knowledge to navigate a wide realm of opportunities. We equip you with the tools to make you a more cultured, confident, powerful communicator who can speak, write, and think critically in ways that set you apart in your chosen field.

Regardless of the career you pursue, we provide a solid foundation to help you develop your language skills, an asset you can use in our globalized world to address its sophisticated challenges. Our focus is to immerse you in conversation, literature, and culture, creating compelling global experiences that will enrich your life and give you a unique edge when entering the job market or pursuing a graduate or professional degree.

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offers programs in French, German Studies, and Spanish—plus a course in Italian—all taught by stellar faculty members. Our courses equip you to evaluate and interpret the complexities of languages and texts, all while building your linguistic proficiency and global fluency. In addition, you will have the opportunity to travel abroad through any of our six study away programs, all of which are faculty-led. You may opt for a stimulating, shorter May Experience trip, such as our programs studying cultural coexistence and tolerance in the Rhine region, slow food in Italy, or language and cultural variation in Spain. Another choice, right on campus, is to participate in a language house. You can live out a commitment to using your language every single day, absorbing it through everything from board games to films and recipes under the mentorship of a native speaker.

Whether you pursue French, German, or Spanish at Furman, our talented, award-winning faculty will help you take full advantage of our comprehensive approach to language study and to prepare for a lifetime of interacting in a diverse world. With an approach that combines active learning from our 100-level to our 400-level courses, high-impact experiences locally and globally, excellent teaching and mentoring, and guided reflection, MLL’s programs embody The Furman Advantage. Come see why our departmental motto is “Go Beyond!”