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Hamilton Lugar School of
Global and International Studies
Indiana University Bloomington
Academics

Foreign Language Studies

More than 80 languages are taught at Indiana University — the most extensive language offering in the country. Wherever your interests take you, we have the language to match.

Foreign Language Studies

Why study a language

Language is more than a skill — it is how you access the way other people think, share culture, and make sense of the world. It changes your brain: even a semester of study builds cognitive flexibility and long-term mental agility. It expands your career, broadening where you can work, which communities you can engage with, and which markets you can serve. And it fuels adventure — study abroad, international internships, careers involving travel, and roles alongside diplomats and global decision-makers.

Hamilton Lugar gives students access to both critical and strategic languages spoken by tens of millions of people, and languages of wider communication spoken by hundreds of millions. Our approach is built around conversation, real-world scenarios, and cultural experiences like cooking, music and excursions, because true fluency means understanding the people and places behind the words.

  • Students practicing writing a foreign language calligraphy at a table
    Every language

    Languages We Offer

    Every language you can study at Indiana University, and the department or school that teaches it.

  • Students meeting with faculty during Hamilton Lugar Day
    Three languages

    Flagship Programs

    Federally supported undergraduate programs that take you to professional working fluency, including a year abroad.

  • Faculty and students waving for the camera while wearing their Summer Language Workshop t-shirts.
    Summer intensive

    Language Workshop

    Summer intensive study. A full year of a language in one summer, across more languages than any comparable program in the country.

Where to go next