Degree Opportunities in Culture and Languages

Shaping the next generation of global citizens

Banner images for CLA in culture and language

Explore the world and your place in it through the study of culture and language. Our students prepare for lives as global citizens, learning to communicate across languages and cultures. A rich curriculum is integrated with extensive cultural immersion: trips, speakers, festivals, performances, and study abroad. Guiding our students are faculty members from over a dozen countries speaking as many languages. Together we create a dynamic community reflective of the world we live in: complex, multicultural, and interconnected.

A degree exploring culture and languages provides students with the tools to understand different societies and people on their own terms. Offering instruction in Alaska Native language, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and Russian, the department gives students skills and confidence to succeed in a global context.  Students develop fluency with our wide range of courses including: grammar, phonetics, translation, service-learning, literature, cultural studies, conversation, language teaching methodology, and second language acquisition.

Shape your understanding

Ethnicity. Race. Culture. Gender. We teach at the intersection of these fundamental social forces. By exploring these issues, students are able to understand the factors that shape social and occupational identities, preparing them to work, collaborate and interact in an increasingly  diverse world .

Learn from the whole of human existence

Students are often interested in a social issue or research question that doesn't fall easily into just one discipline. We offer students the flexibility to combine their diverse interest areas into one degree program. Emphasis areas include arts and the human experience; ethics, law and justice; global studies; health, culture and society; science, technology and society; social sustainability; and technology and human expression.

Alaska Native Language Center

The  Alaska Native Language Center was established by state legislation in 1972 as a center for research and documentation of the twenty Native languages of Alaska. It is internationally known and recognized as the major center in the United States for the study of Eskimo and Northern Athabascan languages.