The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offer a transition into advanced literary and cultural study. Dedicated to fostering innovative critical approaches to literature and culture, the FLL graduate programs help students build from their existing intellectual strengths and often diverse backgrounds. Students benefit from both individualized faculty attention and involvement in an interdisciplinary research community. In their courses, they encounter the paradigms, major movements and emerging areas of study critical to their own disciplines - French and Francophone Studies, German Studies, and within the CL/CS, the concentrations in Classics, Comparative Literature, and Cultural Studies. They receive professional training focused on developing their own research profiles, compiling a portfolio of teaching techniques, and strengthening their writing and communication skills, including proficiency in foreign languages.