Portuguese

Why Study Portuguese?

With more than 200 million speakers on four continents, Portuguese offers you instant communication with Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Goa, Guiné Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé e Príncipe.
Portuguese is the 6th-most widely spoken language in the world and the second most spoken Romance language, after Spanish. Portuguese has approximately 220 million native speakers and 260 million total speakers.
Brazil is the 5th-largest country in the world (in size and population), with the 8th-largest economy. The state of São Paulo has the largest industrial zone in Latin America. With more than 208 million people, Brazil has a mass consumer market. The U.S. is one of Brazil’s largest trading partners.
With globalization, more and more businesses work closely with companies in foreign countries. No matter what career you choose, if you’ve become fluent in another language, you have an appreciable advantage.
Because Brazil is rich in natural resources with the fastest growing economy in South America, it is expected that opportunities in the next several decades will be significant. Speaking, reading, and writing Brazilian Portuguese will be a valuable asset.

The University of Mississippi offers an undergraduate minor in Portuguese. The Portuguese program at the University of Mississippi concentrates on the language and culture of Brazil. Students may take a total of 18 undergraduate hours in Portuguese. The minor in Portuguese requires the completion of 15 hours of Portuguese beyond the 100 level. A maximum of 9 credits for the minor may be taken through an approved study abroad program.

Degree Requirements

Student Resources

Extracurricular Activities

Portuguese at the University of Mississippi Facebook Group

Portuguese Conversation Group

Our weekly informal conversation group: Practice your Portuguese, meet new friends, and exercise your mind!
— First and Third Mondays 12:30p-1:30p @ the Residential College

Study Abroad

Go Away! 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. For details contact Dr. Julia Bussade.

Faculty

The Portuguese faculty at the Department of Modern Languages has 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 Portuguese faculty.

Contact Information

Director of the Portuguese Program
Julia E. Bussade, Ph.D. Lecturer + Director of Portuguese
bussade@olemiss.edu
Bondurant E-207
662-915-7709

Financial Assistance

Scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships help many students study Portuguese. Modern Languages awards scholarships to students of Portuguese, the College of Liberal Arts awards additional scholarships, and other financial support is available from the Office of Financial Aid.