The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers French, German, Russian and Spanish as major fields of study. Minors may be earned in French, German, ancient Greek, Japanese, Latin, Russian and Spanish, or an Area Studies Program.

In all languages offered by the department, elementary courses are available for students with no previous experience. First and second-semester Spanish are offered in intensive form in the summer session. Students with previous foreign language experience may take placement exams to find the course best suited for their level of proficiency. A major in a foreign language is often supported by another language or work in other fields.

In addition to the standard courses in languages, literature and civilization for individual languages, the department offers literature-in-translation courses for general education, and courses in German for reading knowledge and Russian for reading knowledge.