The principal aim of this project is to examine whether academic service-learning deserves a more intentional place in foreign language programs, given its success on the individual course level. The focus will be on Spanish language programs, since they teach the most commonly learned foreign language in the United States and have proven to be on the vanguard of service-learning and language instruction. Following a careful evaluation of the theoretical frameworks of service-learning pedagogy on the whole and in the realm of language instruction, we will explore national trends in the implementation of service-learning on the curricular level of language programs. Finally, this paper will discuss the future of implementing service-learning in language program curricula by examining the conditions necessary for the successful institutionalization of service-learning in the Spanish curriculum as well as potential drawbacks and obstacles to this increased presence in the language curriculum.