Area of study
Languages, cultures, and humanities programs
The study of languages, cultures, and humanities at UT will help you understand the world and the things that bind us together. These programs will sharpen your critical thinking skills as you will be challenged to engage in complex analysis of the world, past and present. Our students have the opportunity to study abroad in dozens of countries and learn from internationally recognized professors who welcome their collaboration on research. Career opportunities in this field range from government intelligence to health care and could take you anywhere in the world.
Your future as a professional
Our alumni have gone on to become public policy experts, US ambassadors, and historians.
What you can do with a degree in a language, culture, or humanities program:
Language, culture, and humanities careers
- Archaeology
- Art authentication
- Artificial intelligence
- Collections management
- Domestic and international advocacy
- Forensic linguistics
- Government intelligence
- Humanitarian services
- International business
- International law
- Literacy development
- Medicine
- Ministry/mission work
- Multicultural programming
- Preservation and conservation
- Psychotherapy
- Public relations and marketing
- Speech recognition
- Teaching
- Translation/interpretation
Potential employers
- Banks and financial institutions
- Colleges and universities
- Community education programs
- Courts
- Federal agencies
- Film industry
- Hospitals/healthcare
- K–12 schools
- Libraries
- Local churches, synagogues, and mosques
- Migrant service providers
- Military branches
- Museums
- News industry
- Nongovernmental organizations
- Nonprofit organizations
- Publishing firms
- Research institutions
- Residential treatment facilities
- Tour and excursion companies
Studying at UT
Research opportunities
As a R1 institution, research is a key element in a UT education. Student research on world language and cultures is regularly published in journals and many present their findings at major conferences. They have access to research libraries and UT’s very own special collections. Our classics students, for example, have the chance to participate in archaeological fieldwork. These opportunities include fieldwork on a tidal islet bay in Greece where excavations from the Early Iron Age have been discovered and a river valley of Morocco, a location that classical mythology indicates may be the Gardens of Hesperides. No matter which language, culture, or humanities program you pursue, you’ll have the opportunity to dig deeper into your field through research.
Internships
Internships give students the chance to explore career paths and gain real-world experience that they can use to build their resumes. Some students stay on campus where they might intern in the Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War assisting with the preservation and distribution of war stories dating as far back as 1700. Others have participated in internships within the local community from the East Tennessee Historical Society to Knoxville’s Beck Cultural Exchange Center, which preserves, nurtures, and teaches Black history and culture.
Studying around the world
Students in all programs are encouraged to spend time earning their degree by learning abroad. Those specifically studying languages, cultures, and humanities have traveled to the United Kingdom, Poland, Brazil, Tanzania, China, and France, to name a few. If you elect to study the language of Spanish, you might have the opportunity to participate in service-learning abroad. Students have gone to Costa Rica where they spend 30 hours each week engaged in volunteer service while earning credits toward their degree. The university also has a cooperative exchange program with the University of Genoa, Italy, where professors spend time teaching abroad.
Where you’ll study
UT’s College of Arts and Sciences is home to language, culture, and humanities programs where you can study a range of subjects from classical languages to American history to Judaic studies to world business and philosophy.
I was a student assistant at Central High School teaching ELL, or English Language Learning, math. And so that really gave me my first awesome opportunity to work with students who are bilingual or learning to have better English, and how that might be able to help me when I become a doctor and help families similar to them.
Deanna
(’22)
Hispanic Studies, Neuroscience
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