The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures (RLL) at Washington University offers vibrant programs in French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Each course of study ranges from beginning language courses, in which students gain proficiency in speaking, reading, writing, and comprehending a language, to the most advanced literature courses, where students gain a rich and comprehensive understanding of the patterns of everyday life of a nation, its history, geography, and cultural influence. All courses focus on culture writ large. Students study great texts with an eye to gender roles, traditions, communities, individual freedom, social obligations, and many other topics of critical importance today.

Undergraduates can major or minor in French, Italian, Spanish, or combine all three in a romance languages and literatures major. Many students choose to pursue RLL studies with another discipline, knowing that their future interests and work will engage them with different communities and cultures. The department also offers doctoral programs in French and Spanish, which are comprehensive and designed to prepare careers in academia, with a focus on research and teaching.

Study abroad is a crucial element of personal and professional development, and RLL offers an array of immersion programs abroad. These include summer semester or yearlong study in France (the Loire Valley, Nice, Tolouse, Paris); in Italy (Padua); in Spain (Madrid); and Latin America (Santiago de Chile; Quito, Ecuador, and Curitiba). RLL’s esteemed faculty has received many teaching awards, and two hold chaired professorships. In addition to providing exciting programs with scholars and writers for our own students and faculty, the department hosts many speakers to offer a multi-faceted, textural education in this field. This is facilitated through the Foreign Language Learning Colloquium Speaker Series, a series that attracts notable speakers from a variety of disciplines.