The Foreign Language Program at RIT strives to prepare students for living and working in a global and multicultural society both at home and abroad. The program helps students gain a global perspective by infusing culture into each course. Foundation skills in ASL, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish include rigorous training in expressive and receptive communication.
   Students acquire skill, knowledge, and an appreciation of and sensitivity to commonalities and unique differences of culture and belief systems through the reading, viewing, and discussion of assigned materials. By the discussion of literature, culture, history, and current events pertaining to the target country, students also gain a deeper understanding of the role of the United States in an ever-changing world. Learning a new language and culture hones the students' critical thinking skills. They learn to compare and contrast that which they know to that which they are learning and they draw new conclusions and gain new insights. The result is not only a deeper understanding and appreciation of the host culture but also of one's place in the world, and of one's own language and culture.
    The foreign language and cross-cultural skills which students acquire at RIT are especially critical for those who enter the international job market. Students may be International Business or hospitality industry majors who need foreign language competence and intercultural sensitivity in order to be competitive in the job market or to be successful applicants to the best graduate programs.
    The Program plays a leading role in internationalizing the Institute's curriculum by supporting the new International Studies major, and by coordinating summer study abroad programs in Japan, Germany, and Italy.