Portuguese

Study Portuguese language and culture to become a global professional

aerial image of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, showing Christ statue, mountains, and the sea — “The Portuguese program provides a welcoming environment to any student looking to learn another language. I joined the program to fulfill a graduation requirement, but found that I wanted to continue. This program offers a streamlined process to meet the requirements for a minor and is accommodating to the students that are passionate about learning the language."

Lauren Welling

Why Study Portuguese?

With more than 200 million speakers on four continents, Portuguese offers instant communication with citizens of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Goa, Guine Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal, and Sao Tome e Príncipe. Portuguese is the 6th-most widely spoken language in the world and the second most spoken Romance language, after Spanish.

Brazil is the 5th-largest country in the world (in size and population), with a top 8 economy. It is rich in natural resources and the state of Sao Paulo has the largest industrial zone in Latin America.

Our Portuguese Program

The Department of Modern Languages offers an undergraduate Portuguese minor with elementary, intermediate and advanced courses that emphasize the language and culture of Brazil. Students may also study Portuguese in order to fulfill a possible general education language requirement.

The minor in Portuguese requires the completion of 15 hours of Portuguese at the 200 level or above. A maximum of 9 credits for the minor may be taken through an approved study abroad program.

The Portuguese faculty have expertise in Brazilian Portuguese linguistics, Portuguese for business, legal and technical translations. Our Portuguese classes feature low faculty-to-student ratios allowing students to work closely with the faculty.

Student Resources

Welcome from the Director

“As Director of the Spanish and Portuguese basic language courses, I recognize the importance of learning both languages for knowledge professionals in the US. In particular, the Portuguese courses at UM will teach you the language and culture of Brazil, a major trading partner with the US, a dominant country of Latin America, and a country that is at the table for all the important global conversations.”

Julia Emilia Bussade

Instructional Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Director of Elementary Spanish and Portuguese Programs

Beyond the Classroom

Be a part of the Portuguese speaking community and enjoy various activities and events with the Portuguese faculty and students.

image of professor and two students seated around the desk in a professor's office. they are talking and looking at text on a computer screen

Portuguese Conversation Group

Our weekly informal conversation group helps students practice Portuguese and meet new friends.

— First and Third Mondays 12:30p-1:30p @ the South Residential College

aerial view of Sao Paulo, including a bridge, river, and skyscrapers

Study Abroad

We encourage all of our students to immerse themselves in the study abroad experience. The Study Abroad Office offers programs in Portuguese-speaking countries where students study language and culture at all levels of Portuguese.

Phi Lambda Beta Portuguese Honor Society

In 1992, the University of Mississippi joined an elite group of universities when it established the Alpha Mu chapter–the first local chapter in the state–of Phi Lambda Beta, the national Portuguese Honor Society. Outstanding students at third-year level are invited to join.
Phi Lambda Beta