Interdisciplinary Centers
One of the department's greatest strengths is our involvement with University of Minnesota interdisciplinary centers. Centers draw on the research strength of faculty across departments and colleges who work on similar projects with diverse results and long-term impact.
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)
CARLA supports interrelated programs of research, professional development for educators, the development of instructional materials, and assessment innovation. Working closely with the center’s director and staff, Spanish & Portuguese studies faculty and instructors are active in shaping its research agenda and co-teach CARLA summer seminars on a regular basis.
CLA Language Center
We benefit from a close working relationship with the CLA Language Center, which supports student learning at every stage—from placement testing to ready access to multimedia content in courses and assessment of achieved language learning outcomes. Language Center staff collaborate with departments to provide an extensive list of language links and multi-language resources of use to K-12 students, teachers, and the general public.
Center for Early Modern History
The Center for Early Modern History promotes scholarly inquiry into the interchange of peoples, goods, and ideas that marks the first era of global contacts, ca. 1300–1800. Since its founding, the Center has drawn on the talents of faculty and students from a variety of disciplines, with interests in many parts of the world, for a vibrant program of intellectual exchange.
Center for Jewish Studies
The Center for Jewish Studies is a premier center for scholarship, education, and dialogue about Jewish history and culture. With 24 faculty members, the Center is an intellectual hub for scholars from diverse fields. Home to an undergraduate program in Jewish studies, the center sponsors classes and conferences, supports emerging scholars, partners with the community on cultural activities, and brings to the community outstanding scholarship in the field of Jewish studies.
Center for Medieval Studies
Knowledge of the past is integral to understanding the present and to mapping the future. The Center for Medieval Studies (CMS) at UMN was created to foster the exchange of ideas about the Middle Ages. CMS is the foremost center for the study of the Middle Ages in the state of Minnesota.
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature
Crossing a range of traditional disciplines, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature seeks to lead the public conversation about the powers of culture in the modern world.
Human Rights Program
The Human Rights Program, based in the Institute for Global Studies, is a hub of interdisciplinary research, teaching, and outreach in the field of human rights.
Institute for Global Studies
The Institute for Global Studies is committed to continuing innovation in research and curriculum so that students and scholars will be empowered to affect change in our globalized world.
Institute of Linguistics
The Institute of Linguistics fosters research that bridges the gap between linguistics as a pure science and applications such as documentation and revitalization of endangered languages, language engineering, and language technology.
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies fosters a community of students studying genocide and mass violence while cultivating the essential connection between scholarly inquiry, education, and outreach to different sectors of society.
Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change
The Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change is a University of Minnesota campus-wide center that seeks to foster an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural community of faculty and students committed to supporting and advancing research, education, and collaborative initiatives related to global change, with a focus on the global south.
Law School
The University of Minnesota Law School offers concentrations drawing from the expertise of our faculty and interdisciplinary partnerships with other University of Minnesota programs.