The Department for Modern Languages

At the Department of Modern Languages, we teach and research in 16 languages - Albanian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Sami, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian and Spanish. We teach and research in linguistics, literature as well as cultural studies in most languages.

Around 1,600 students attend more than 150 courses offered annually. Several languages are taught entirely or partly through web-based distance learning. We also offer three second cycle programmes and we are responsible for modules in a second cycle programme offered at the Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies. The department’s languages are additionally taught at first cycle level in the Bachelor's Programme in Languages, the Upper Secondary School Teacher Education Programme and the Bachelor's Programme in Business and Economics.

Common to our courses and programmes is the combination of practical use and theoretical perspectives. Our students approach language and literature academically. In our seminars and lectures, you get to explore the meaning of language and literature, how they are used, constructed and change. As a student at our department, you also acquire knowledge in the language areas’ cultural history, history of ideas and much more, and thus you gain a context for your newly acquired knowledge.

Almost 70 persons work in the department. That includes teachers, researchers and administrative staff. Our employees have a broad and profound knowledge of the culture, politics and society in their respective language areas. Many employees have first language competence.

The department board

Honorary Doctorates

Vacant positions

At the Department of Modern Languages you are offered the opportunity to work with the foremost experts in the field. Under Find vacant positions you can see which positions are open for applications. You can also do a search for all positions on the university homepage.

Find vacant positions