Languages (BA)

Co‑op

Available as a Minor

Bienvenue/Bienvendio to the Languages at Laurier program! Become multilingual and develop a heightened awareness of the way language connects all human beings. Gain the invaluable communication skills required to navigate an increasingly interconnected and multicultural world. 

Our professors use innovative teaching methods and creative projects so you can graduate with fluency in multiple languages, providing access to countless careers and opportunities both in Canada and abroad.

Program Details

Degree Highlights

Your future professors work hard to make sure your academic experience is current, complete, and designed to open doors in your career. Here are a few things you can count on:

  • Build Language Fluency Through Global Opportunities
    Achieve fluency in French and Spanish, and choose a third language such as Arabic, German, or Italian. Enhance your proficiency further through optional international exchange opportunities in your third or fourth year.
  • Learn Through Innovative Teaching Methods
    Experience cutting-edge teaching techniques from expert professors in the Faculty of Arts. Gain complete fluency in French and Spanish while building a solid foundation in a third language to unlock diverse global opportunities.
  • Pathway to an MBA
    Begin your Languages program with a conditional offer to join our full-time Master of Business Administration (with co-op) program after graduation. Complete your BA in four years, followed by two years in the MBA.
  • Pathway to Grad Studies
    Start your undergraduate Languages (BA) with a conditional offer of admission to MA in Cultural Analysis & Social Theory (CAST) at Laurier already in hand. Benefit from mentoring throughout your undergraduate career to gain the experience and background needed to succeed at your graduate studies. 

Top Experiences

Here are just a few of our students’ favourite ways to apply their learning in the real world throughout their degree (check out the Experience Guide for even more!):

  • Apply to Co-op
    Apply for co-op in your first year or apply for direct entry to Honours Arts and co-op.
  • Study Abroad
    Enhance your degree with exciting study abroad opportunities. In your third year, travel to France, Italy, or Spain with courses like Mediterranean Travels, or immerse yourself in Montreal’s vibrant Francophone culture with Cultural and Literary Representations of Montréal. Improve your Spanish fluency in Salamanca with SP288: Study Abroad.
  • Meet Fellow Students
    Develop leadership skills and engage in meaningful volunteer work in student clubs such as the Laurier French Club, Spanish Club, German Culture Society, or AIESEC Laurier.
  • Tandem Program
    Connect with international students through the Tandem program on campus. Engage in conversation practice to enhance your language skills and build cross-cultural connections.

Courses, Options and Pathways

Courses 

Get a glimpse of what you will study throughout your degree. See what your first-year classes will look like through sample courses and start exploring what your upper academic years can offer.

Program Options 

Explore a variety of courses, specializations and pathway options that let you shape your degree around your unique interests and goals. Find out how you can customize your experience and prepare for what’s next. 

Admissions

  • Format: full time or part time
  • Duration: four years
  • Start: September (fall term) or January (winter term)

Your Career Awaits

It’s not only about the journey; it’s about the destination. Let us help you get to where you’re going.

Here are just some examples of our graduates' destinations. What’s yours?

Sample Career Options

Note: Additional training and education may be required.

  • bilingual officer
  • communications specialist
  • customs/immigration officer
  • dialect coach
  • ESL instructor
  • film translator (dubbing)
  • foreign correspondent
  • interpreter
  • policy analyst
  • translator

Explore more careers.

Support After Graduation

Alumni for life means that you have access to Career and Employment Support offered at Laurier for your entire career.

Your Co-op Experience

Co-op is a way to integrate what you are learning in the classroom with practical experience in your field of study. Build your resume, earn money, develop your network, and graduate future-ready.

Future Laurier Arts students have two options to engage in co-op. You can apply in first-year to our co-op program and complete three-work terms of four months’ duration and gain valuable experience during their studies.

You can also get a head-start and apply for direct admission to our brand-new co-op program straight from high school in select Arts programs. In both pathways, you will gain 12 months of career experience.

Interested? Learn more about co-op in the Faculty of Arts.

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99%employment rate for co‑op students – 2024 / 2025

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Tuition and Scholarships

Getting a university education is an investment in your future.

At Laurier, we take financial health seriously by providing a wide variety of funding opportunities for you throughout your degree, such as scholarships and bursaries, and by equipping you with the skills to manage your finances effectively in the years to come.

 

Laurier is among the top 6 percent in the Center for World University Rankings

 

Laurier students engaged in hands-on learning in 2024

 

Laurier graduates employed or in post-graduate studies in 2024

Waterloo Campus

The Waterloo campus is tucked into about one city block, so you’re steps away from your classes, food and your new favourite study spot.

There are many ways to tour our Waterloo campus, whether that's on a guided tour with one of our Laurier student ambassadors, on your own using virtual reality, or even on-demand through one of our pre-recorded tours. See our campus spaces and start to picture yourself at Laurier.

students in a classroom

Delivered In Person

Join us on campus and experience university life firsthand.

Attend all your classes in a physical classroom on scheduled days and times, which you will see and choose from when you register for courses.

Connect face-to-face with your professors, learn alongside your classmates and be part of the campus community from day one.  

Hear From Current Students

Want to know what it’s really like to be a Laurier Golden Hawk? Student Life at Laurier is your social media source to get unfiltered content, first-hand stories and tips on living and learning at Laurier.

Connect with Us

Questions? Email chooselaurier@wlu.ca, call 548.889.8888 or see all contact information.


You Belong Here

Think this program might be the perfect fit for you and your future?