Skip to main content
Carnegie Mellon University homepage Carnegie Mellon University Wordmark

Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics

Where cultural fluency and creative thinking open doors across every industry.

An image of a group backpacking through mountains.
"Gaining multicultural understanding just makes us more empathetic humans. Learning a language is great, but really being able to connect with more people and on a deeper level is pretty special."
Keenan '25

Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics

Understanding people — how they communicate, collaborate and experience the world — is essential in every field. Here, you’ll learn language and culture studies not in isolation, but as powerful tools for connection, problem-solving and innovation across industries including government, healthcare, education, business, technology and the arts. Whether you pursue Languages and Cultures, specializing in one or two fields, or Global Communication and Emerging Technologies, you’ll combine interdisciplinary thinking with real-world application. From developing proficiency across languages and perspectives to examining how AI and immersive technologies reshape communication, identity and cultural expression, you’ll gain the analytical, intercultural and creative skills to lead thoughtfully in an increasingly interconnected world. 

Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics Majors and Minors

Choose the path that fits you best. Browse all current Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics curricula and courses.(opens in new window)

Languages and Cultures

Bachelor of Arts

The Languages and Cultures major prepares students to navigate an increasingly interconnected and multilingual world. Combining humanistic inquiry with analytical approaches, the program examines how language, culture and power shape societies across global contexts. Students build a shared foundation in cultural studies and sociolinguistics, then apply those frameworks through focused study in a language-culture concentration in one of nine offerings by the department, including

  • Arabic Studies
  • Chinese Studies
  • German Studies
  • Global French Studies
  • Hispanic Studies
  • Italian Studies
  • Japanese Studies
  • Korean Studies
  • Russian Studies

Courses may count toward the major starting at any level, allowing students to begin a new language, advance existing proficiency or pursue advanced cultural study.

Designed with flexibility in mind, the major supports a wide range of backgrounds and goals. Students can tailor their path based on interests and proficiency level, and may choose the Comparative Studies concentration that integrates two languages and cultures. This structure encourages exploration while ensuring depth and rigor.

Global Cultures and Emerging Technologies

Bachelor of Arts

The Global Cultures and Emerging Technologies (GCET) major is an interdisciplinary program that examines how culture and technology shape one another across languages and societies. You will use interactive technologies to explore how emerging innovations, from artificial intelligence (AI) to extended reality (XR), transform communication, identity and cultural expression, while cultural values, histories and ethical perspectives guide how technologies evolve and are understood.

Minor Options

  • Minor in Arabic Studies
  • Minor in Chinese Studies
  • Minor in German Studies
  • Minor in Global French Studies
  • Minor in Hispanic Studies
  • Minor in Immersive Technologies in Arts & Culture
  • Minor in Japanese Studies
  • Minor in Russian Studies

Contact

Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics

341 Posner Hall
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue 
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
 
 

Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics Website

Apply Now

 

Recent Employers

Global Language Institute

Apple

Etsy

NBCUniversal

High School Course Requirements

4 years English
3 years Mathematics**
1 year Science (2 or more preferred)
2 years Foreign Language
6 electives
 

**Three years of mathematics should include at least algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry, elementary functions as well as pre-calculus. Advanced mathematics courses are encouraged.

Two students, working together at a laptop,

Apply

Submit your application for the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Get Started

Mix It Up

You’re not just one thing. You’re a scientist. An artist. A technologist. A maker. A writer. Carnegie Mellon has been mixing it up for decades, and whatever you want to pursue, we’ve got the right mix for you.