The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures provides a sequence of courses that leads to familiarity with a particular foreign language and the experience associated with that language. Students may select language programs necessary to their development as educated and aware individuals, and to their pursuit of a career goal. These programs aid students in acquiring fluency in a language, acquiring a thorough understanding of a foreign culture, and experiencing a variety of linguistic approaches to the world. Prospective majors who enter with a substantial part of their introductory language completed in high school and those who intend to do graduate work in Spanish are strongly advised to begin a second language as early as possible in their college programs. Students in this program are strongly encouraged to study in a Spanish-speaking country. See faculty advisors for recommendations of foreign study programs.