Spanish: Classical and Modern Languages

Spanish Major

The Department of Classical and Modern Languages offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish. Our dynamic program emphasizes productive language skills and increased awareness of the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Hispanic world.

Degree requirements
Students completing the Spanish major must fulfill the following coursework

Program in Spanish

Supporting Courses

Arts and Sciences Programmatic Requirements

Arts and Sciences WR Requirement

University-wide General Education Program

Additionally, completion of this degree requires work to be submitted for the department’s Learning Outcomes Measurement

Program in Spanish
The program in Spanish consists of 36 hours in Spanish, which are laid out as follows.

Intermediate level courses

The first 6 hours of the Spanish program are Spanish 201 and 202. These review courses seek to consolidate the basic language skills acquired in the 100 level program or through high school study and must be taken consecutively.

Span 201 Continuing Spanish I

Span 202 Continuing Spanish II

Important note: students who do not place into Spanish 201 or have not previously studied of Spanish must begin their study of Spanish at the 100 level. These courses do not count toward the major. For more information, see Basic and Intensive Language Instruction.

Upper level skills courses
Completion of Spanish 201 and 202 is followed by the 300 level skills courses. These courses may be taken concurrently or consecutively, but they must all be completed before moving on to the 400 and 500 levels.

Span 321 Spanish Conversation

Span 322 Spanish Composition

Span 355 Reading Hispanic Texts

Upper level content courses
After completion of the 300 level skills courses, students must take the following courses. They may be taken concurrently or consecutively. They may not be taken if the student has not completed 321, 322 and 355.

Span 401 Foundations of Spanish Civilization or

Span 402 Cultural and Literary Perspectives on Modern Spain

Span 403 Foundations of Latin American Nations and Identities or

Span 404 Cultural and Literary Perspectives on Modern Latin America

Span 524 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics

Advanced coursework
The following courses should be taken after the student has taken 3 courses or 9 hours at the 400 level..

Span 523 Advanced Communication Skills- WR

Span 590 Senior Capstone in Spanish

Span 590 is only offered in the Spring semester, so students should plan their course of study accordingly.

Electives in Spanish
In addition students must take one elective in Spanish at the 300 level or higher and a one elective at the 500 level. The following courses may be used as electives and may be taken at any point in the program as long as the prerequisites have been met.

Span 313 Special Topics in Spanish Literature, Language, and Culture

Span 323 Spanish for the Workplace

Span 325 Practicum in Spanish Theatre

Span 401 Foundations of Spanish Civilization*

Span 402 Cultural and Literary Perspectives on Modern Spain*

Span 403 Foundations of Latin American Nations and Identities*

Span 404 Cultural and Literary Perspectives on Modern Latin America*

*if not already taken in fulfilment of a requirement

Span 511 Studies in Spanish Medieval Literature

Span 513 Studies in Spanish Golden Age Literature

Span 516 Literary Influences in Nineteenth-Century Spanish

Span 518 Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature of Spain

Span 522 Spanish Phonetics and Diction

Span 525 Spanish for the Classroom Teacher

Span 527 Latin American Literature: Colonial Period through 19th Century

Span 528 Contemporary Spanish-American Theatre

Span 529 Spanish-American Poetry

Span 530 Spanish-American Narrative

Span 554 Hispanic Culture through Film and Media

Supporting Courses
Students majoring in Spanish are required complete to 18 hours of Supporting coursework, which consists of a senior seminar in Humanities (591, 592, 592, 594, 595 or 596), 15 hours at the 300 level in a Humanities Division discipline other than Spanish (English, Fine Arts, Humanities, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Theater Arts and a foreign language other Spanish), and a Social Science elective chosen from a short list of courses.

    HUM 591, 592, 593, 594, 595 or 596                                                 3 hours
    Electives in Humanities Division disciplines other than Spanish           15 hours
    Elective in Social Sciences                                                                   3 hours
    choose one: ANT 316, 324, 325, 328, 333, 338
                    HIST 331, 332, 333, 334, 533, 534, 535,
                    PAS 329, 360, 396, 505 or

Arts and Science Programmatic Requirements
Sanish majors must complete Arts and Science Programmatic Requirements, which include Gen Ed 101, meeting the foreign language requirement (subsumed in the Spanish program), and the completion of 6 hours of electives in Natural Sciences of Social Sciences in addition to courses counted toward General Education. 3 of these hours in Natural or Social Sciences must be at the 300 level or above, and can be met by fulfilling the Social Science elective in the Supporting Coursework.

WR (Writing Requirement) Approved Courses
All students in Arts & Sciences must take two WR courses to fulfill the writing requirement (WR). This can be accomplished by taking Spanish 523 and a seminar in Humanities (HUM 591-596), which are requirements of the Spanish program and supporting coursework, respectively.

University General Education Requirements (GER)
All Spanish majors must have completed or be completing general education requirements. For more information on GER requirements for Arts & Sciences' majors, visit http://www.louisville.edu/provost/GER/