How big is the CommLang department?

The CommLang department currently consists of 111 students with six full time faculty plus a number of contract professors and staff. We have five general classrooms, language tutoring offices, a language lounge, a television studio, and various media production rooms such as a green room, audio room, control room, and editing bays for students’ use.

How much student-teacher interaction is there in a typical class?

We have fairly small class sizes, which is good for students. Our professors are always open to helping students outside of class, and there is generally a lot of interaction within the class period.

What resources does the CommLang department offer to its students?

Our primary goal as a department is to support our students. We want our students to succeed in an environment that’s optimized for their education and wellbeing. For a comprehensive list of student resources, click here.

Can I use CommLang facilities without being a CommLang department member?

The studio, Black Box, and Village Hall can be reserved, but people from the department have priority.

I am a community member. Can I rent equipment belonging to the CommLang department?

Yes! We loan equipment out to the community, such as film gear including cameras, camera stabilizers, drones, lights, lenses, microphones, etc. for a fee based on the price of the equipment that you borrow.

How long do students usually take to earn a degree in the CommLang department?

Generally 4 years, however, some people take 5 years or more if they switch degrees or want to go at a slower pace to enjoy the college experience. People who SM usually take 5 years, and ACA students usually only take 4 years, although it depends on the major. In general, the degrees are structured to be completed in 4 years on average.

Can these degrees set me up well for graduate school?

Yes. And in fact, speech pathology is actually a pre-professional program that will set you up for Loma Linda. As long as you do well, you can enter any graduate school with our degrees.

How specialized/diverse are class subjects toward a particular field of study?

They are fairly specialized. Although every major will take general departmental classes that count for their specific major, and that every major within the department will take, we offer a number of classes specialized toward a particular major. With that being said, we try to design programs with the philosophy that every program should be broad within its own scope.

Can I find an internship through the CommLang department?

In addition to the internship opportunities you can find on your own, the CommLang department receives internship notices from our alumni, local businesses, and other nonlocal organizations. We then pass that information on to you!

Do I have to attend CommLang colloquia if I am only taking a minor within the department?

If you are only taking a minor from the communication and languages department, you are not required to attend CommLang colloquium events. However, you are welcomed and encouraged to come to any event, including colloquia, that you would like.

How do I check how many colloquia I have?

The amount of colloquia that you have can be found on your degree audit.

How do I find my degree audit?

Your degree audit can be found on Mywwu/ highpoint/ student center classic/ my academics/ view my degree audit.

How do I register to be a student?

Registration to become a student is similar for everyone, but there may be differences in the process depending on if you will be an incoming freshman or transferring from another college or university or are applying to a graduate program. For a specific step-by-step process on how to register, visit the steps to enrollment page.

What do scholarships cover/not cover?

General academic scholarships awarded by Walla Walla University will cover tuition costs while studying any of our programs on any of our campuses. If a student elects to study with Adventist Colleges Abroad (ACA) or another educational institution, general academic scholarships will not apply during that time, but can be resumed when he/she returns to study at WWU.

When is the best time to take an SM year?

The best time to take a year out of college to be a student missionary depends greatly on every individual’s situation; there is no exactly optimal time for everyone. Factors to consider may be the difficulty of classes that students will have to take in order to finish their degree. If classes will get especially harder once an upperclassman, taking a year out between freshman and sophomore year is encouraged. However, for many people, the extra maturity that comes with college experience makes it worth waiting until between sophomore and junior year to be an SM. Stil, some people prefer to go later in their college career, sometimes even after graduation. It all depends on personal preference and what seems best for you.

How interconnected is the ACA program with certain majors/minors?

While students from any degree can do a year studying abroad, the ACA program is especially interconnected with certain majors and minors. In fact, studying abroad is a requirement for majors such as global communication, Spanish, and French, as well as being a requirement for foreign language minors.

Will doing ACA set me back a year academically?

Depending on your degree, taking a study abroad year may set you back academically, but it depends on the specific field of study in question. For majors and minors where an ACA year is a requirement as well as the speech pathology major, the degrees are designed so that students can still complete their degrees in as little as four years. All other majors and minors where an ACA year is not a requirement will likely have to take extra time to finish their degree if they wish to study abroad during their college career.

How do payments to the ACA program work?

Prospective students fill out the paperwork with the records office in order to register for an ACA program. After that, WWU works with the ACA school to determine how much tuition will be billed (the amount advertised in the ACA catalog). Tuition payments can be made to WWU as per usual, and the money will simply be forwarded to the ACA school.

Do WWU scholarships apply to an ACA year?

Scholarships awarded by Walla Walla University do not apply to an ACA year. It is also useful to remember that the amount of aid denoted on a typical four year WWU scholarship is merely the total amount of aid that would be given if the student were to take all four years at Walla Walla University; The maximum amount of scholarship funds that can be used from these scholarships per year is simply the total amount awarded divided by four. For example, if a student has a four year scholarship awarded by WWU and graduates in four years, with one of those years having studied at ACA, then only three years’ worth of the scholarship funds will be used. It is worth noting, however, that ACA programs are generally if not always cheaper than WWU tuition even after WWU scholarships have been applied.

Additionally, the Communications and Languages Department awards a few different scholarships to prospective ACA students, for those who are interested.