World Languages and Cultures department web site
The information on this page pertains to program requirements for students who matriculated in the 2023-2024 academic year. View requirements for previous catalog years here.
The program currently offers the following languages: American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. The faculty of the program mentor students as they gain functional competence in a language other than English, develop cultural understanding, and become responsible global citizens. Students prepare to study or live abroad, enhance professional development, and pursue personal interests while working alongside the faculty and, in most courses, native speakers who lead conversationally focused sessions.
Requirement |
Credits |
15 hours in Spanish at or above SPAN 003 |
15 |
Elective Courses (Choose one course) |
3 |
ECON 135 – DEVELOPING ECONOMIES | 3 |
EDUC 162/262/HONR 107 - URBAN EDUCATION & INMIGRATION | 3 |
ENG 066 – READING RACE & ETHNICITY | 3 |
ENG 083 – ENGLISH IN AMERICA: LANGUAGE, CITIZENSHIP & IDENTITY | 3 |
ENG 164/WGS 111 – LATINO/A LITERATURE | 3 |
HIST 123 – MODERN MEXICO | 3 |
HIST 125 – COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
HIST 126 – MODERN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
HIST 156 – SEX, POWER, & WAR-AZTEC EMPIRE | 3 |
HIST 189 – U.S.-MEXICO BORDERLANDS | 3 |
LPS 145 GLOBAL SOUTH AND LPS | 3 |
POLS 065 COMPARATIVE POLITICS | 3 |
ANTH 002 – INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY | 3 |
ANTH 081 – BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES | 3 |
ANTH 156 – ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS | 3 |
SOC 196/WLC 196 – TRAVEL STUDY SEMINAR – CONTEMPORARY URBAN MEXICO | 3 |
SPAN 150-199 - An additional upper-level course in Spanish, at or above SPAN 150 | 3 |
WLC 148 - INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION | 3 |
WLC 150 - Special Topics | 3 |
Travel seminars to Spanish speaking regions may be applied as an elective after departmental approval | 3 |
Travel Seminars | 3 |
One elective course taught in English that is related to the culture of Latin America and/or Spain | 3 |
TOTAL | 18 |
Requirement | Credits |
12 hours in the chosen language, LANG 001 and above** | 12 |
6 hours from the following areas: art, economics, English, history, marketing, music, philosophy, religion, political science, study of culture and society, and world languages and cultures. Courses in other areas may be approved by a WLC advisor. The following courses are approved for the minor: | 6 |
ANTH 002 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | |
ANTH 081 - Borders and Boundaries | |
ANTH 156 - Ethnographic Methods | |
ECON 135 - Developing Economies | |
EDUC 162/262/HONR 107 - Urban Education & Immigration | |
ENG 066 - Reading Race & Ethnicity | |
ENG 083 - English in America: Language, Citizenship, and Identity | |
ENG 163 -Transcultural Literature | |
ENG 164/WGS 111 - Latino/a Literature | |
HIST 123 - Modern Mexico | |
HIST 125 - Colonial Latin America | |
HIST 126 -Modern Latin America | |
HIST 156 - Sex, Power, and War - Aztec Empire | |
HIST 189 - U.S. Mexico Borderlands | |
LPS 135 - Global South | |
POLS 065 - Comparative Politics | |
SPAN 140 - Spanish Practical Speaking & Writing | |
SPAN 150 - Spanish Language & Culture Topics | |
SPAN 151 - National Identity in a Transitional Age | |
SPAN 152 - Film | |
SPAN 153 - Culture and Society | |
SPAN 154 - Cultural Health Perspectives | |
SPAN 155 - Spanish for Business | |
SPAN 160 - Spanish Literature | |
WLC 148 - Intercultural Communication | |
WLC 150 - The Other Side of the Wall: The Presence and Effects of American Culture in Mexico | |
Total | 18 |
* Due to the changing nature of course offerings, students in Arabic and Chinese may need to incorporate study abroad into their experience in order to fulfill the requirements of the minor.
** For French, German, and Japanese, at least 9 credit hours in the language being studied must be taught by Drake faculty. For Arabic and Chinese, at least 6 hours in the language being studied must be taught by Drake faculty.
Students may earn up to six credits and apply them as electives to the minor requirements through AP, CLEP, or IB taken while in high school. More specifically, students earn:
The information in this catalog does not constitute a contract between the university and the student. The university reserves the right to make changes in curricula, admission policies and processes, tuition and financial aid, academic standards and guidelines, student services and any other regulations or policies set forth in this catalog without giving prior notice.