<p>I've decided to major in a foreign language since they have always been my specialty and a subject I enjoy thoroughly. I plan on studying Russian, because I believe it's the best balance between my interest in a language, culture and history and demand/marketability. </p>
<p>I may also double major in a program like Linguistics or International Relations to broaden my experience and improve my resume. I intend on either translating or working for a government agency, both I would love. </p>
<p>But now to my questions. Which universities have the best departments for languages and linguistics? And...are my plans realistic or is there something else I should be aware of? Any advice from people who have studied a foreign language would be fantastic. Thank you.</p>
<p>Might not be a university, but Middlebury draws crowds for its foreign language programs.
If it helps: my German teacher got accepted into Harvard, but chose to go to the University of Michigan because it had superior language course (in her view).</p>
<p>Any major university should have a good Russian program, but not necessarily international relations. You need to find an university that offers both. Go down the list of major universities and check out their programs.</p>
<p>Many liberal arts colleges may offer what you're looking for too (Middlebury)...so don't discount those.</p>
<p>Georgetown's FLL (Faculty of Language and Linguistics) sounds perfect considering what you've given us. Although you can't have majors from different schools (meaning you wouldn't be able to do Russian AND IR), you can do linguistics and Russian. If you choose to do IR instead, you can fulfill your lang requirements in Russian and take as many classes in that department.</p>