If your passion for learning a Celtic language is more than a hobby, there are more educational opportunities for serious and long-term study than you might expect. Naturally, the majority of them are in the UK and Ireland, but there are also some important ones in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Germany. In this article I will discuss the various programs in North America. Next month's article will cover courses outside North America.
Sadly, there really are not very many programs in the US or Canada (and I'm guessing not in Mexico, either) dealing with Celtic languages or Celtic studies. However, there are more than you may think.
THE UNITED STATES
In the US, the two most known universities offering relevant degrees are Harvard and UC Berkeley. But other schools offer courses and/or concentrations in Celtic languages and studies.
Harvard University The Celtic Language and Literature department at Harvard offers a concentration for undergraduates (not an actual degree, though), as well as an AM (Master of Arts) and a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy). Study must be full-time. The AM does not require a thesis, because students are usually expected to go on to PhD study. Harvard also offer an ALM (Master of Liberal Arts) by extension. The ALM allows students to fulfill requirements with a combination of distance-learning and evening classes, and it requires a research-based thesis at the end. The department focuses on Irish as Welsh, but other languages can be studied with approval from the chair.
University of California, Berkeley UC Berkeley's Celtic Studies Program is housed within the Department of Scandinavian. The program offers an undergraduate degree and a minor. There is also the possibility of doing graduate work in Celtic Studies, though there is no formal program (see Graduate Study: Some Advice). The department regularly offer classes in Irish, Welsh and Breton and the other modern Celtic languages and Gaulish occasionally.
The Catholic University of America This school offers an MA in Irish Studies that includes Irish language study. The program includes a required one-semester internship in the Irish Parliament in Dublin. See the program's page.
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame's Keough Institute for Irish Studies offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. The Bachelor's in Irish Studies includes study of Irish language, culture, history, politics, literature and so on. Graduate studies are done interdepartmentally, so that students actually pursue a PhD in either Literature or History, and focus on Irish studies. Both programs offer coordinated study in Ireland, though this is not required.
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