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Language Courses

Languages Offered

Find all foreign language courses offered at UC San Diego and link to course descriptions and departments or programs offering the courses.

  • Note that some courses may have prerequisites or may limit enrollment. (For example, some classes may be limited to Heritage Language learners, declared majors, and/or graduate students.)
  • Not all courses are available every quarter, and some are not scheduled each year. To find course offerings for upcoming quarters, you should:
    • Check the schedule of classes and the department's website for anticipated course offerings.
  • Questions? Submit them via the Virtual Advising Center 
    • Enrollment: Contact the department, program, or school offering the course
    • Using the course for degree requirements: Contact your college advisor for GEs, and your department advisor for major/minor questions.

 

Language Offered By

Courses Offered*

See course descriptions  

African (various languages) Literature LTAF 110LTAF 120
American Sign Language (ASL) Linguistics LISL 1A/AX-1D/DXLISL 1ELISL 5A-B-C
Arabic Linguistics LIAB 1A/AX-1D/1DX, LIAB 1E, LIAB 1F, LIAB 1G
Armenian Heritage Language Program LIHL 113
Chinese (Cantonese) Heritage Language Program LIHL 118LIHL 138
Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Studies CHIN 10A-B-CCHIN 20A-B-CCHIN 100A-B-C, several upper division CHIN courses
History HIGR 210HIGR 215A-B
Literature

LTCH 101

LTEA 100A-B-CLTEA 110A-B-CLTEA 120A-B-C

Filipino / Tagalog Heritage Language Program LIHL 112F-W-P, LIHL 132F-W-P
Literature LTEA 151, LTEA 152B
French Linguistics LIFR 1A/AX-1D/DXLIFR 5A-B-C-DLIFR 11
Literature LTFR 2A-B-C, several upper division LTFR courses
German Linguistics LIGM 1A/AX -1D/DXLIGM 5A-B-CLIGM 11
Literature LTGM 2A-B-C, several upper division LTGM courses

LTEU 130LTEU 137

Greek (Classical) Classics CLAS 109
Literature LTGK 1LTGK 2LTGK 3several upper division LTGK courses
Hebrew Jewish Studies JWSP 1JWSP 2JWSP 3, several upper division JWSP courses
Italian Linguistics LIIT 1A/AX-1D/DX, LIIT 5A-B-C-D
Literature

LTIT 2A-B, LTIT 12A-B, LTIT 50, several upper division LTIT courses

LTEU 140LTEU 146

Japanese Japanese Studies JAPN 10A-B-CJAPN 20A-B-CJAPN 130A-B-C, JAPN 135A-B-C, JAPN 137A-B-C, JAPN 140A-B-CJAPN 150A-B-C
Global Policy and Strategy GPLA 410A-B-C, GPLA 411A-B-C, GPLA 412A-B-C
History HIGR 211HIGR 216A-B
Literature LTEA 132LTEA 138
Korean Literature

LTKO 1A-B-CLTKO 2A-B-CLTKO 130, LTKO 135, LTKO 140

LTEA 140-145

Latin Classics CLAS 110
Literature LTLA 1LTLA 2LTLA 3, several upper division LTLA courses
Persian Heritage Language Program LIHL 117F-W-PLIHL 137F-W-P
Literature LTWL 157
Portuguese Linguistics LIPO 1A/AX-1D/DX, LIPO 15, LIPO 16, LIPO 17
Russian Literature

LTRU 1A-B-CLTRU 2A-BLTRU 104A-B-CLTRU 110A-B-C, LTRU 123/LTEU 158

LTEU 150A-B-C

Spanish Global Policy and Strategy GPLA 441A-B-C
History

HIGR 226, HIGR 227A-B, HIGR 247A-B, HIGR 248A-B, HIGR 249 

HILA 167/267, HILA 168/268, HILA 169/269

Linguistics

LISP 1A/AX-1D/DXLISP 5A-5DLISP 15, LISP 16, LISP 17, LISP 18

LIGN 178

Literature

LTSP 2A-B-CLTSP 1F-2F-3F, LTSP 100, several upper division LTSP courses

LTAM 110

Vietnamese Heritage Language Program LIHL 114F-W-P, LIHL 124F-W-P, LIHL 134F-W-P
Yiddish Literature LTWL 166LTWL 167

*Bolded Courses - Language Skills: The primary focus for these courses is on language skills such as speaking, listening, reading, writing, or signing

Italicized Courses - Language Component:  These courses offer language instruction in the context of the culture of another society. They are often taught in the original language and have prerequisite language requirements, but they may include literature in translation or films with English subtitles. 

Directed Language Study (Independent Study)

Linguistics' Directed Language Study (LIDS 19) is a course that allows students to learn basic conversation in one of over 65 languages. Under the supervision of a linguist, students work independently using self-instructional materials. The focus of LIDS 19 is on conversation - not grammar, reading or writing. All materials and/or access to materials are provided. LIDS 19 does not satisfy major or college language requirements. Visit the Linguistics Language Program website for the most updated offerings.

Examples of past languages offered:

  • Albanian
  • Amharic
  • Arabic
  • Armenian (Eastern)
  • Bengali
  • Bulgarian
  • Burmese
  • Cambodian
  • Catalan
  • Chinese (Cantonese)
  • Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Chinyanja
  • Cree
  • Croatian
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • Esperanto
  • Farsi
  • Finnish
  • French
  • Fula 
  • German 
  • Greek (Modern)
  • Haitian Creole
  • Hausa
  • Hawaiian
  • Hebrew (Modern)
  • Hindi-Urdu
  • Hungarian
  • Igbo (Ibo)
  • Indonesian
  • Irish
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Kannada
  • Kituba
  • Korean
  • Latin
  • Latvian
  • Lithuanian
  • Malay
  • Navajo
  • New Guinea Pidgin
  • Norwegian
  • Persian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Serbo Croatian
  • Slovenian
  • Spanish
  • Swahili
  • Swedish
  • Tagalog
  • Taiwanese
  • Telugu
  • Thai
  • Tibetan
  • Turkish
  • Twi
  • Vietnamese
  • Yoruba

 

Transfer Courses

UC San Diego students may participate in distance learning/online courses offered by other colleges and universities.

UC Online

UC Online offers UC students the opportunity to take remote courses offered by another UC campus. Several online courses have been offered through UC Online, including Amharic, Arabic, Dutch, Filipino, German, Igbo, Italian, Judeo-Spanish, Korean, Polish, Punjabi, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Ukrainian, and Yiddish. All courses taken through UC Online are transferable for credit. Students should consult their academic advisor(s) at UC San Diego for how the courses will apply toward their degree requirements.

Community College

California Virtual Campus (cvc.edu) allows students to search for online courses offered at California Community Colleges. To determine UC-transferability of courses offered at community colleges, use assist.org.

AP/IB Credit

Note: If you received credit through an AP or IB exam, you will not be given credit for repeating the equivalent course, or for taking a lower level course.

Who Requires Language?

See which Colleges, majors, and minors require language courses

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Exams

Proficiency Exam

Fluent? Have significant experience in a language? Hoping to test out? Take the proficiency exam.

Placement Exam

Have some prior knowledge in a language and want to continue studying it? Take the placement exam.