Degree: B.A., Modern Foreign Languages
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
The Spanish major leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Foreign Languages. Through courses in Spanish, students gain proficiency in understanding, reading, writing, and speaking the language. Classes are conducted in Spanish from the beginning levels. Through classroom instruction, individual research, and department-sponsored organizations, students come to know the varied Hispanic cultures around the world. Experiential learning through individual study, internships, study abroad, and service learning offers students valuable experience outside the classroom. Internships are available to juniors and seniors in local and regional agencies and organizations and in Washington D.C.
Students wishing to major may select from courses in language, literature, linguistics, and culture of Spain, Latin America, and U.S. Latinos. The Spanish program hosts a Language Coordinator from the Universidad de Deusto who spends a year in residence teaching, leading conversation hours, and scheduling special events that promote the Spanish language and Hispanic culture.
UMW has a well-established study abroad program in Bilbao, Spain with the Universidad de Deusto. Students may choose from summer, semester, or year-long courses of study in language, culture, and literature as well as courses in business, economics, and international affairs. Additionally, the university cooperates with a variety of other overseas study programs in Latin America.
The program also offers courses for students with an interest in environmental studies, business, women and gender studies, digital studies, and in creative writing.
Graduates in Spanish may pursue careers in government or in private fields in which the knowledge of Spanish language and Hispanic culture is essential. Careers that attract language students include education, business, interpreting and translating, research, social services, law and law enforcement, health, and international affairs.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will use language to engage in meaningful exchanges, to understand and interpret spoken language and written text, and to present information, concepts and ideas.
2. Students will frame, analyze, and synthesize information as well as negotiate meaning across language and culture in order to explore problems and issues from their own and different perspectives.
3. Students will evaluate literary works in order to understand main themes and movements.
4. Students will respond to new perspectives in order to understand diverse cultures within the world of a specific language.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Diverse and Global Perspectives | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Intermediate Spanish II | ||
or SPAN 320 | Topics in Hispanic Culture | |
| Speaking | ||
| Select two of the following: 2 | 6 | |
| Conversation and Grammar | ||
| The Sounds of Spanish; Theory and Practice | ||
| Podcasts in Spanish | ||
| Writing | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Composition and Grammar | ||
| Advanced Writing | ||
| Spanish for Translation | ||
| Introduction to Cultural and Literary Studies in Spanish | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Intro to Cultural and Literary Studies in Spanish | ||
| Transatlantic Texts in Spanish | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select any 4 courses numbered 320-485 | 12 | |
| Topics in Hispanic Culture | ||
| Culture of Service and Social Action in the Hispanic World | ||
| Ideas on Nature in Latin American Literature | ||
| Caribbean Culture & Literature in the 20th & 21st Centuries | ||
| Business Spanish | ||
| Podcasts in Spanish | ||
| Environmental Justice in Latina/o Literature | ||
| Cinema in the Hispanic World | ||
| The Boom of Latin American Literature | ||
| Hispanic Women Writers | ||
| Spanish Seminar | ||
| Topics in Spanish Linguistics | ||
| Spanish American Seminar | ||
| Beyond the Classroom | ||
| Select one of the following: | 0-3 | |
| Undergraduate Research 6 | ||
| Service Learning 4 | ||
| Study Abroad Reflection (for academic credit) | ||
| Individual Study | ||
| Individual Study 5 | ||
| Internship | ||
| Total Credits | 30-33 | |
- 1
Students who enter the Spanish major above 202 must complete an additional 3 credits at the 300 or 400 level.
- 2
Native or heritage speakers of Spanish should choose SPAN 314 and SPAN 415 in this category. A waiver of prerequisite for courses requiring SPAN 305 should be requested through the student's advisor and the department chair.
- 3
Can also count as Beyond the Classroom.
- 4
Community service may be part of the work required in a course or may be volunteer work conducted outside of a course. Students must conduct a total of at least 42 hours of community service in one or more approved institutions and agencies. To earn credit for experiential learning for community service, students must fill out a Service Learning Contract, complete required written and/or oral reflection, and submit an evaluation from the institution/agency supervisor to their faculty member.
- 5
To graduate with honors in Spanish, students must complete SPAN 491 and SPAN 492.
- 6
The URES must be taught by a faculty member in the department.
General Education Requirements
The general education requirements for Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degrees apply to all students who are seeking to earn an undergraduate B.A., B.S. or B.S.Ed. degree.
Students seeking a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree have a separate set of BLS general education requirements.
Electives
Elective courses are those that are not needed to fulfill a general education requirement or major program requirement but are chosen by the student to complete the 120 credits required for graduation with a B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. degree or the BLS degree. These courses may be taken graded or pass/fail (or S/U in the case of physical education and 100-level dance). No student in a regular B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. program may count more than 60 credits in a single discipline toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
Total Credits Required for the Degree: 120 credits
Plan of Study
For a suggested plan of study for the Spanish major, please contact the Modern Languages and Literatures Department directly.
Modern Languages and Literatures Faculty
Marcel Rotter, Chair
Brooke E. Di Lauro, Career Advisor, French
Marcel Rotter, Career Advisor, German
Elizabeth F. Lewis, Career Advisor, Spanish
(The person’s subject field is indicated in parentheses.)
Professors
Ana García Chichester (Spanish)
Brooke E. Di Lauro (French)
Jeremy G. Larochelle (Spanish)
Elizabeth F. Lewis (Spanish)
María Isabel Martínez-Mira (Spanish)
Scott M. Powers (French)
Associate Professors
María Laura Bocaz-Leiva (Spanish)
Gonzalo S. Campos-Dintrans (Spanish)
Marcelo Fajardo-Cárdenas (Spanish)
Antonia L. Delgado-Poust (Spanish)
Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich (German)
Leonard R. Koos (French)
Marcel Rotter (German)
Jose A. Sainz (Spanish)
Senior Lecturers
Maysoon Fayez Al-Sayed Ahmad (Arabic)
Martha Patricia Orozco (Spanish)