Ana Oskoz, Chair
Irina Golubeva​, Graduate Program Director

Degree Offered

M.A. ()

Faculty

Professors

FATIH, ZAKARIA, PhD., State University of New York at Buffalo; Francophone studies, enlightenment, critical theory
OSKOZ, ANA, PhD., University of Iowa; Second language writing, intercultural development, communities of inquiry, social tools.
STOLLE MCALLISTER, JOHN, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Latin American popular culture, social, indigenous and environmental movements.

Associate Professors

BAZGAN, NICOLETA, PhD., Ohio State University; French film studies, gender and cultural studies, political economy of culture
GOLUBEVA, IRINA, Ph.D., University of Pecs; Intercultural education, development of multilingual awareness and intercultural competence, internationalisation of higher education, conceptualization of intercultural citizenship. 
HOGAN, ERIN K., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles; Peninsular literature, Cinemas of Spain and Latin America, Cultural studies of contemporary Spain
KA, OMAR, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Phonology, sociolinguistics, African linguistics, Wolof language, French language
LAMBERT-BRÉTIÈRE, RENÉE, Ph.D., Université de Lyon; Cognitive linguistics, typology, language documentation.
LIZARAZO, TANIA, Ph.D., University of California, Davis; Latin American cultural studies, performance studies, digital storytelling, transnational feminisms, memory studies
POGGIO, SARA Z., Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Sociology, Latin- American societies, Latino Immigrants in USA and Europe. Gender, Class, and Race in Immigration Theory.
SCHWARTZ, ANA MARÍA, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Language teaching and curriculum development, learning strategies, media, heritage Spanish speakers
YOUNG, STEVEN, Ph.D., University of Chicago; Historical phonology, Slavic and Baltic linguistics

Assistant Professors

MUÑOZ DAVASLIOGLU, THANIA, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine; Latin American literature and culture: 20th and 21st; Latinx Literature; Spanish language literature in the U.S.; border and memory studies; autofictional writing

Emeritus Faculty

Professors 
BELL, ALAN S., (Emeritus) Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Modern Spanish literature, language teaching methodology 
FIELD, THOMAS T., (Emeritus) Ph.D., Cornell University; Socio-linguistics, literacy, textual analysis, French studies 
LARKEY, EDWARD, (Emeritus) Ph.D., Humboldt- Universität; German popular culture and media, transcultural television and media studies, history and theory of Intercultural communication, German identities, GDR studies 
MOORJANI, ANGELA, (Emerita) Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Modern French literature and culture, intercultural pragmatics, gender studies 
SINNIGEN, JOHN H., (Emeritus) Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Modern Spanish and Latin-American narrative, ideologies and literature, political economy of culture, interculturality and equality 

Associate Professors

MCCRAY, STANLEY, (Emeritus) Ph.D., University of Michigan; Historical linguistics, French studies 
ROSENTHAL, ALAN S., (Emeritus) Ph.D., Rutgers University; Modern French literature, language teaching methodology, Franco-American relations 
RUSINKO, ELAINE, (Emerita) Ph.D., Brown University; Russian and Soviet languages, literature, culture and society, Carpatho-Rusyn studies 
SCHNEIDER, JUDITH M., Ph.D., (Emerita) Duke University; Modern French studies, Latin- American and U.S. Latino literature, Jewish writing of the diaspora 
SLOANE, ROBERT A., (Emeritus) Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Golden-Age Spanish literature, language teaching methodology 

Program Description

The Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication (MLLI) offers a program leading to a M.A. in Intercultural Communication. Students focusing on French and Francophone, German, Hispanic, and Russian studies participate in the program in the LANGUAGES AND CULTURES concentration. Heritage speakers and students with an extensive background in a different culture participate in the program in the CULTURES AND DIVERSITY concentration (Fall 2021). Undergraduate students can enroll in an ACCELERATED BA/MA PROGRAM and take three courses at a graduate level and count them both towards the BA and the MA Degree.

Students and faculty come from various parts of the word, and participation in the program is itself a significant intercultural experience. Our graduate students include returning peace corps volunteers, (THE SHRIVER PEACEWORKER PROGRAM at UMBC), teachers, foreign language students, heritage students, international educators, university and non-profit employees, and BA/MA students.

The Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication at UMBC has had an interdisciplinary focus since the mid 1970s and the department is currently composed of specialists in linguistics, the social sciences, second language pedagogy, bilingual education, literary analysis, cultural studies, and intercultural communication. Initiated in 1985, this MA program has been a response to the economic, political, social, and cultural complexities of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Program Admission Requirements

General admission requirements consist of a bachelor’s degree with at least a “B” average and three letters of recommendation. GRE is not required.  All original application documents must be sent directly to the Graduate School, not to the graduate program, and the deadline for fall application is January 31. 

International students also must submit satisfactory scores on the TOEFL or the IELTS examinations.
 
In addition, applicants for the M.A. in Intercultural Communication in the LANGUAGE AND CULTURES CONCENTRATION should have a working knowledge of the language of their specialty (English, French, German or Spanish), such that they can carry out graduate studies and write extensive papers in it. At least one letter of recommendation should attest to that knowledge. 

Applicants in the CULTURES AND DIVERSITY CONCENTRATION also should have a grounding in a complementary field (e.g., African-American studies, American studies, anthropology, cultural studies, education, ethnomusicology, health sciences, history, linguistics, literary studies, psychology, political science, social work, sociology) and extensive experience abroad. 

Students may transfer up to six credits of appropriate graduate work from other universities.

Program Aims and Placement

The INCC program aims:

1. to develop advanced language and intercultural proficiency through advanced topic courses.
2. to function effectively in intercultural situations and acquire intercultural skills in areas such as education, digital media, policy and training.
3. to train for specific career goals through individual courses of study and internships.
4. to gain an understanding of the social, political, cultural, and linguistic factors of interculturality to function as fully proficient global citizens.

There are three areas of skills acquisition emphasized:

• intercultural training and conflict resolution management
• intercultural filmmaking and media
• intercultural policy (immigration and language policy).

The program provides students with intercultural skills and language and cultural proficiency to fill positions in:

• foreign-language education and training programs
• international education and advisiement, human resources, university administration
• government, NGOs, human rights organizations
• travel and tourism, industry, medicine, and law
• social service and community organizations

For a more comprehensive placement record, see the INCC Alumni Page.

Many of the graduates from the program have found positions in the above fields, and others have been accepted into Ph.D. programs at research institutions such as The Johns Hopkins University; the University of California, Berkeley; New York University; the University of California, Santa Cruz; and the University of Maryland, College Park. Graduates also may apply to the Ph.D. program in Language, Literacy and Culture (LLC) at UMBC (see description in this catalog).

Financial Assistance

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available on a competitive basis. Application for assistantships should be made directly to the department. Other types of financial assistance (e.g. work study and student loans) are available through the Office of Financial Aid. Students currently employed are urged to consult with their employers to determine what kind of financial support is available from that source.

Programs

• Intercultural Communication, M.A.