Carnegie Mellon University

We work together to forge intercultural connections.

The Department of Modern Languages features award-winning teachers and internationally recognized researchers. Our research and teaching promotes language learning, deepens cultural understanding through literary and cultural studies, and highlights cutting-edge technology-enhanced learning.

Meet the Department

Welcome to the Department of Modern Languages! We warmly invite you to visit our world by exploring our many course offerings, eight majors and nine minors, and other amazing opportunities to engage with the rich diversity of languages and cultures around us.

From beginning language study to advanced seminars such as “Podcasting en español,” “Topics in Arabic Media,” and “Russian Hackers,” our engaging, student-centered classes dive deeply into the cultures, arts, and histories of our eight language areas. For students interested in the how of language learning, our Second Language Acquisition courses explore theoretical, technological, cognitive, and policy issues, and discuss questions of bilingualism and multilingualism, language diversity and identity. Our offerings in English highlight a wide range of cultural production, from German Film to Japanese Anime, and Chinese TikTok to Gaming in French, as well as key topics of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, human rights and social justice. Like our advanced language seminars, these courses use the lens of cultural studies to examine other societies and understand diverse perspectives, giving students the tools to think more critically about the world around them and their place in it. No wonder students consistently rate Modern Languages courses as among their best experiences at Carnegie Mellon!

More and more, the world needs truly global citizens with linguistic and cultural competencies to engage thoughtfully with people from all walks of life. You may choose to study abroad. You may choose to work in global companies. You may live in diverse communities. Perhaps all three.  Modern Languages courses are excellent introductions to the languages, histories, and cultures of your future classmates, colleagues, and neighbors. Our courses will give you the knowledge and the skills that employers are looking for —critical thinking, cross-cultural competence, global awareness—, but, honestly, I invite you to our Modern Languages community, courses, and programs, because you will find them inspiring, fascinating, and quite possibly life-changing. If you can’t take advantage of transformative learning experiences during these four years, when will you?

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Digital signature Anne Lambright
Anne Lambright
Department Head and Paul Mellon Distinguished Professor of Hispanic Studies

Faculty by Area of Study

Applied Multilingual Studies

Applied Multilingual Studies Faculty

Arabic Studies

Arabic Studies Faculty

Chinese Studies

Chinese Studies Faculty

French and Francophone Studies

French and Francophone Studies Faculty

German Studies

German Studies Faculty

Hispanic Studies

Hispanic Studies Faculty

Italian Studies

Italian Studies Faculty

Japanese Studies

Japanese Studies Faculty

Media Creation and Multicultural Studies 

Media Creation and Multicultural Studies Faculty

Russian Studies

Russian Studies Faculty

Emeritus Faculty

Emeritus Faculty

View All

View All

Graduate Faculty by Study

Master's in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

Master's in Global Communication & Applied Translation

Global Communication & Applied Translation

Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition

Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition

Departmental Administrators

Departmental Administrators

Departmental Administrators