Studying Linguistics
Languages
& Cultures
for the Global
& Digital Age

We are an interdisciplinary department that focuses on three areas: linguistics, language learning and teaching, and cultural studies. Our programs are national leaders in teaching, research, and outreach.

We offer

Field-Leading Research

Faculty research explores cutting-edge questions in a wide-range of disciplines, employs a diverse set of methods, and is closely linked to educational goals and student experiences in the classroom.

Focus on Education

We emphasize student learning, from first-year undergraduates through advanced doctoral candidates, with a focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and cross-cultural understanding.

Community Engagement

Our teaching and research make languages and issues of language and culture accessible to the greater Mid-Michigan region and reflect a continuing concern for the local, national and global community.

Degree opportunities

Linguistics

minor, ba, ma, phd

Our Linguistics programs focus on areas of core areas of theory, in experimental and field research, and in particular languages. 

Second Language Studies

phd

The SLS Ph.D. Degree Program is for researchers and teacher-researchers interested in second language acquisition (SLA) and applied linguistics.

tesol

minor, ma

In our Masters of Arts program students gain an understanding of the principles of the field as they prepare to develop their careers in the field of language learning and teaching.

Arabic

minor, ba

Our program provides a nationally competitive program that equips students with excellent communicative skills necessary to engage within a globally expanding Arabic-speaking community.

chinese

minor, ba

Our program emphasizes language competence and a rich knowledge of Chinese culture and society through proficiency-oriented, communicative, situational, and study-abroad activities. 

german

minor, BA, MA, PHD

Our degree programs provide a solid grounding in the core disciplinary areas of literature, culture, and language studies through teaching and research opportunities.

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Japanese

minor, ba

The goal of the Japanese program is to equip students with functional proficiency in the language as well as cultural familiarity and knowledge about Japan.

Russian

minor, ba

Our program in Russian at MSU is designed to help you develop proficiency in the Russian language, literature, and culture through study abroad and internships.

Indian & South Asian

minor

The Minor in Indian and South Asian Studies will equip students with linguistic and cultural proficiency focused on India and South Asia.

Korean_Header

Korean

minor

This program equips students with linguistic proficiency in the Korean language and cultural literacy about Korea and its place in the world. 

Degree opportunities

Linguistics

minor, ba, ma, phd

Our Linguistics programs focus on areas of core areas of theory, in experimental and field research, and in particular languages. 

Second Language Studies

phd

The SLS Ph.D. Degree Program is for researchers and teacher-researchers interested in second language acquisition (SLA) and applied linguistics.

tesol

minor, ma

In our Masters of Arts program students gain an understanding of the principles of the field as they prepare to develop their careers in the field of language learning and teaching.

Arabic

minor, ba

Our program provides a nationally competitive program that equips students with excellent communicative skills necessary to engage within a globally expanding Arabic-speaking community.

chinese

minor, ba

Our program emphasizes language competence and a rich knowledge of Chinese culture and society through proficiency-oriented, communicative, situational, and study-abroad activities. 

german

minor, BA, MA, PHD

Our degree programs provide a solid grounding in the core disciplinary areas of literature, culture, and language studies through teaching and research opportunities.

Japanese_Header

Japanese

minor, ba

The goal of the Japanese program is to equip students with functional proficiency in the language as well as cultural familiarity and knowledge about Japan.

Russian

minor, ba

Our program in Russian at MSU is designed to help you develop proficiency in the Russian language, literature, and culture through study abroad and internships.

Indian & South Asian

minor

The Minor in Indian and South Asian Languages and Cultures will equip students with linguistic and cultural proficiency focused on India and South Asia.

Korean_Header

Korean

minor

This program equips students with linguistic proficiency in the Korean language and cultural literacy about Korea and its place in the world. 

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$2.5M Grant Furthers Teaching of Less Commonly Taught Languages

Michigan State University was awarded a four-year, $2.5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support further development in the research and teaching of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs), with an emphasis on Indigenous languages.

What Influences Dialects?

What influences our dialects in different regions of the United States? Associate Professor Suzanne Evans Wagner studies the social meaning of language with the goal of understanding what motivates us to talk the way we do over time.

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Featured News

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LAE Podcast Hosts Associate Professor of Linguistics Paula Winke

Episode two of the Liberal Arts Endeavor Podcast is out! Our host, Dean Christopher P. Long, spoke with Associate Professor of Linguistics Paula Winke in her Wells Hall office about foreign and second language testing…

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M.A. Student Interns at Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C.

Tatsuya Aoyama, a second-year M.A. student in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program, spent this past summer in Washington, D.C., where…

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Professor Receives Research Award, Selected to EuroSLA Executive Committee

Aline Godfroid, Associate Professor of Second Language Studies and TESOL, is being recognized for her outstanding research in the area of second language acquisition and…

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German Alumna Works with Big Cats in Africa

MSU alumna Kelsey Prediger works with cheetahs in Namibia, Africa, as the Conservation and Tour Manager of the Solitaire Activity Centre for the Solitaire Land Trust.

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“I am often praised for my editing ability and clear explanations, not only in the context of language but also in the context of machine learning theory/implementation lectures and demonstrations. I owe these skills to my degrees at MSU.”

Luke Bates

2011 BA Japanese and Linguistics Alumnus

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