Languages at Wes

Wesleyan’s language curriculum emphasizes language and intercultural learning as a reflective, critical, and interdisciplinary practice, a pillar of liberal arts education and global citizenship.

Wesleyan has a very distinctive language curriculum, with full classroom instruction in 15 different languages—the most out of any other liberal arts college in the country! Wesleyan is also one of the few institutions to offer advanced seminars in languages other than English at the undergraduate level. Essentially, Wesleyan students are guaranteed to pursue or continue their linguistic and cultural interests at a rigorous level—even for languages not taught on campus through our alternative language study options.

Click here for FAQs about each language program or use the icons below to access more in depth information.

Including Language Study in Your Academic Plan

Language courses fit easily into students’ academic plans with courses offered on highly varied schedules. Our language data project shows that most Wesleyan students take advantage of language course offerings, with over 59% of 2022 graduates having studied a language other than English on campus.

Wesleyan students can also easily include some of our Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) courses, which are advanced .25 to .50-credit courses that deepen students' engagement through application of their target language skills in the study of their own subjects of interest. 

Study Language In Your First-Year To Fulfill Study Abroad Prerequisites

Our rigorous language curriculum is also the foundation of our distinctive Study Abroad programs, which foster linguistic and academic immersion through direct enrollment at partner institutions. An important part of immersing oneself in another culture is proficiency in the language spoken in that country, which is why non-English speaking study abroad programs require one to two years of language study prior to departure.

Because many language programs require students to begin during Fall semesters and most students study abroad during their junior year, you should consider taking the language for the country you want to study in your first or second year. Check out Wes' language prerequisites to begin planning your immersive study abroad experience.