Georgia Tech Expands Global Commitment by Launching Hebrew and Swahili Programs

Posted July 30, 2020

This Fall 2020 semester, students at the Georgia Institute of Technology will be able to study introductory Hebrew and Swahili for the first time.

Open to undergraduates and graduates alike, the courses will be available for registration during Georgia Tech’s Phase II registration, August 1-21. Students attending other colleges and universities affiliated with the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) may also be able to enroll through the council’s cross-registration program. Students at other ARCHE institutions should check with their school’s registrar for details.

“Offering students a rich array of languages to study is an important part of our goal to develop leaders with a global mindset who are prepared to improve the human condition,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “It is also yet another way we are supporting Atlanta as an international hub and contributing to the state’s economic development efforts.”

The new course offerings are part of the mission of AGSC, a partnership of Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, funded through a $2.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

“Enhancing global competence and cross-cultural understanding are core priorities of the School of Modern Languages. By adding Hebrew and Swahili, we are strengthening our efforts in Middle Eastern and North African Studies and applied language learning to serve all Georgia Tech students, regardless of major,” said Anna Westerstahl Stenport, professor of Global Studies and chair in Georgia Tech’s School of Modern Languages and founding co-director of the Atlanta Global Studies Center (AGSC).

While the initial course offerings focus on introductory Hebrew and Swahili, Georgia Tech expects to add intermediate and advanced courses and grow experiential learning opportunities focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the Middle East and Africa. AGSC will also offer programming, events, and faculty development opportunities in these areas.

“Through the launch of Hebrew and Swahili, we are strengthening our signature focus on applied language and culture learning, while expanding curricula deemed critical for national security purposes by the Department of Defense, which also includes Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese, and Russian offered at Tech,” said Stenport.  

For more information, contact Sebnem Ozkan, associate director of AGSC, at sebnem.ozkan@gatech.edu or Mirla González, assistant director of undergraduate studies, online and professional education at the School of Modern Languages, at mgonzalez96@gatech.edu. Georgia Tech students may also make an appointment with González via GradesFirst.

About the Atlanta Global Studies Center

The Atlanta Global Studies Center (AGSC) is a U.S. Department of Education National Resource Center and Foreign Languages and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship program established in 2018. Its mission is to enhance access to advanced language learning and deepen knowledge of global and intercultural issues for the benefit of Atlanta-area students, faculty and the public.

The center, composed of faculty from Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, aims to build international awareness, global competence, and advanced language capacity in higher education, the private and public sectors, and the K-12 community to empower the region’s global agenda.

Contact Information

Anna Westerstahl Stenport

aws@gatech.edu