We are pleased to announce the launch of a new and unique Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Second Language Studies (GIS in SLS). The specialization, which was proposed by Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm, along with colleagues in several other foreign language departments, has now been approved by the Graduate School and the Council on Academic Affairs. It is intended to provide graduate students with additional qualifcations and formal training by offering them a theoretical and practical background in the important and rapidly growing feld of second language acquisition (SLA). The graduate faculty of the specialization is interdisciplinary, drawn not only from the foreign language departments, but also from distinguished faculty in Linguistics, Psychology, English, and Education. Pursuing this specialization in addition to their main area of study will give graduate students the opportunity to move beyond being a well-trained teacher to understanding curricular choices in undergraduate language education and to designing language programs and course materials that are informed by theory and research in SLA.