Portland State’s World Languages and Literatures Department offers undergraduate courses in 20 languages, with degree programs for: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. This year, heritage courses are also offered for Spanish and Vietnamese. Additionally, master’s degree programs are offered for French, German, Japanese and Spanish, with Arabic, Chinese and Russian as minor focuses. Be sure to check your course planning guide as not all courses are taught each term or even each year.
When I first came to PSU, I was a Chinese major, having studied three years prior in high school alongside French and Japanese. After the first year, I took a hiatus. I don't believe in going to college straight out of high school, but it's what was expected. I returned a few years later to study Japanese at PCC and Arabic at PSU. I am now a junior majoring in International Studies: Middle East and Arabic. In the future, I would like to work as a journalist or humanitarian aid worker in the region, helping people who lack economic and political backing and media exposure.
