Discover the World Through Language

Exploring education medicine literature business politics culture history music art through Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

Spanish

More than 50 million people speak Spanish in the United States, making it the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. It is spoken across communities and cultures in South, Central, and North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific (even in Antarctica on Chilean and Argentine bases).

Learning Spanish connects you to a global community of over half a billion speakers, enriching your personal and professional life through deeper engagement with diverse cultures and economies.

Undergraduate

Graduate

Graduate Program in Literary and Cultural Studies

Penn State offers M.A. and Ph.D. programs in Spanish, covering Iberian, Latin American, U.S. Latinx, Caribbean, and Luso-Brazilian studies, with broad training at the M.A. level and specialized Ph.D. research supported by expert faculty and resources.

Graduate Program in Linguistics and Language Science

Penn State offers M.A. and Ph.D. programs in Linguistics and Language Science, emphasizing bilingualism, language contact, and psycholinguistics through interdisciplinary research, mentorship, and collaboration with the Center for Language Science.

Courses

Browse current graduate course offerings in Spanish with topics like phonology, bilingualism, psycholinguistics, trauma and memory in Latin America and Spain, contemporary Spanish film, Don Quijote, and race and performance in the Americas.

Undergraduate

The Italian program enables students to build language proficiency and to explore Italy's rich literary and cinematic traditions.

Major and Minor in Italian

Whether you pursue a major or minor in Italian, you’ll build strong language skills and explore the rich histories and cultures of Italy and its diasporas. These flexible programs prepare you for globally engaged careers in business, media, education, government, and beyond.

Courses

Browse current course offerings in Italian across your areas of interest or map out your progress toward the Italian major or minor with our course tracker.

Italian

Italy’s rich history and cultural diversity—from da Vinci to Igiaba Scego—inspire the Italian Program’s dynamic and engaging curriculum. Taught by award-winning faculty, our courses promote transcultural understanding through flexible major and minor options, education abroad, mentoring, and more.

Portuguese

Our Portuguese Program offers an energetic curriculum that blends language mastery with culture, history, and media, while education abroad and mentoring deepen experience. Recognized as a U.S. critical language, Portuguese enhances careers in diplomacy, business, and global development worldwide.