Portuguese

Undergraduate studies in Portuguese

The Portuguese Program at Indiana University, one of the oldest in the country, is distinguished by its interdisciplinary focus. We offer classes in Portuguese language, literature, and culture, looking at the rich achievements of Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, and other Portuguese-speaking countries. We encourage you to coordinate your coursework with classes outside the department, too, in areas relevant to Luso-African-Brazilian culture, society, art, and history.

We offer a B.A. major and minor in Portuguese. Undergraduate students majoring in Portuguese can double or triple major, and many students choose secondary degrees in complementary areas such as Spanish, Latin American Studies, International Studies, and History. A number of Portuguese minors and majors are also Spanish majors.

Our program offers an intensive language sequence, an honors curriculum option, a service-learning component, and opportunities to study abroad. Extracurricular activities include a movie series, talks, theater performances, poetry readings, and Cafezinho, our weekly conversation table.

Why study Portuguese?

Did you know that Portuguese is spoken by 240 million people worldwide? The sixth most spoken language in the world, Portuguese is the official or co-official language of 10 countries in 4 continents: Europe (Portugal), South America (Brazil), Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea), and Asia (East Timor and Macau).

In South America, more people speak Portuguese than Spanish. Brazil, the fifth largest country and seventh largest economy in the world, hosted the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.

Today, there are large and growing Portuguese and Brazilian immigrant communities in the US.

Read about student experience

Study Abroad opportunities

A two-week Brazil Study Abroad Program introduces you to historical, sociological, and racial issues related to the African Diaspora in Brazil. Run by the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (OVPDEMA), it is open to students of the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program, Groups Scholars Program, IUB 21st-Century Scholars Program, mentors of the Faculty and Staff of Student Excellence Mentoring Program, and OVPDEMA-funded tutors of the Academic Support Center.

Learn more about the Brazil Study Abroad Program

Recent student achievements

Alejandra Aguilar (B.A.: International Studies; Germanic Studies; Minor: Portuguese): Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award, Pato Branco, Paraná, Brazil (2017)

Jayme Gerring (B.A.: Spanish; Minor: Portuguese): Study in Portugal Network (SiPN)/Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), Internship at Turismo de Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal (2017)

Hayley Bunch (B.S.: Community Health; Minors: Portuguese, Spanish, and Global Health Promotion): Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award, Brazil (2018)

Sam Douglass (B.A.: Spanish; Minor: Portuguese): Global Professional Stamp for Multilingual and Multicultural Accomplishments Award, Indiana University (2018)

Carrington Elliot House (B.A.: Spanish; Minor: Portuguese): Global Professional Stamp for Multilingual and Multicultural Accomplishments Award, Indiana University (2018)

Christian Smith (B.A.: Portuguese; Minor: Spanish): Global Professional Stamp for Multilingual and Multicultural Accomplishments Award, Indiana University (2018)

Heidi Holtsclaw: (B.A.: Spanish; Minor: Portuguese): POL-IU-GLOTS Award, Indiana University (2018)