Modern Languages and Classics

About Us

Welcome to the Department of Modern Languages and Classics. Our mission is to provide quality education in languages, literatures and cultures.

Our goals are to prepare University of Maine students to successfully take their places in the new global century. We offer courses that teach the past – with Latin and Classical Studies, as well as the present with French, German, and Spanish studies that address both the cultural and literary heritages of these languages. We also offer current courses in conversation and composition, film, North American French, as well as other courses applicable to the present.

A quick look at the programs we offer will give you an idea of what we cover. Please do not hesitate to e-mail or call for more detailed information.

Mission Statement and our Assessment Plan

 The faculty members of the Department of Modern Languages and Classics are committed to excellence in teaching, research, and public service consonant with the Land and Sea Grant mission of the University of Maine.

• We recognize that quality teaching is our first commitment to the College, the University, and the people of the state of Maine;
• We are dedicated to our own professional development and to the vitality of our curriculum, and we also strive to be of service to our community and to the teachers of languages in the state of Maine;
• We are bound by our values as educators to apply ourselves to scholarly and creative works; our research contributes to pedagogical improvement, helps explain the cultural context of languages, and provides new knowledge for our disciplines.

The Department of Modern Languages and Classics is the University’s first provider of diversity training and international communication when it comes to learning the languages of the world and understanding the manifestations of global cultures. It offers graduate programs in French and Spanish, undergraduate majors in French, Spanish, Modern Languages, Romance Languages, and International Affairs. Minors are available in French, German, Latin, and Spanish while an alternate language study program makes instruction through the intermediate level available in selected languages: Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, and Russian, among others. In addition to training the bulk of the state’s language teachers and providing professional opportunities to them, the Department is a touchstone for success on the international stage for all degrees, humanistic and professional, offered by the University of Maine.

For more information, please contact:

Jane S. Smith, Ph.D.
Chair and Associate Professor of French
(207) 581-2075
jane.smith@umit.maine.edu

Sandy Lyons
Administrative Assistant and Contact Person
(207) 581-2072
sandra.lyons@umit.maine.edu