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Major in Spanish

Spanish is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world and the second most frequently used language in the Southwest. Because of San Diego’s proximity to Mexico and other Spanish- speaking countries, many students here are interested in learning Spanish. Their reasons range from practical application in jobs, travel, reading or recreation to a curiosity about the culture or literature of Spanish-speaking countries. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers a wide range of courses and programs designed to satisfy the varied needs of students who enter the Spanish major.

General

  1. Communicate effectively in Spanish in oral and written form.
  2. Recognize the multiple roles Spanish plays in local, national, and global contexts.

Linguistics

  1. Describe the properties and structures of Spanish as a language system.
  2. Interpret social and cultural dimensions of Spanish across domains, contexts, and speaker groups (native and nonnative, heritage, bilingual).

Literature

  1. Develop and demonstrate awareness of the significance of literature and literary form, and the role they play in the broader culture as a creative phenomena.

Culture

  1. Recognize the main geographic, historic, and cultural contexts of the Spanish-speaking world.

General

  1. Demonstrate the ability to interpret and produce oral and written texts relevant to academic and professional discourse.
  2. Demonstrate explicit knowledge of standard Spanish language structures and discourse conventions.
  3. Evaluate the historical, political, and sociocultural roles of Spanish and Spanish-speaking peoples in the United States.

Linguistics

  1. Describe language phenomena using terms, concepts, and theories from linguistics and its main subdisciplines.
  2. Recognize social functions of language and language variation in relation to distinct speaker groups and communities of practice across the Spanish-speaking world. (PLG 2)
  3. Apply the tools of linguistics to conduct basic analyses of structural and functional aspects of Spanish.

Literature

  1. Situate texts within their historical, social and literary context.
  2. Analyze and interpret literary texts from Latin America, Spain and other regions in which there is literary production in Spanish.
  3. Demonstrate a broad knowledge of major literary movements, genres, writers and works of the Spanish-speaking world.

Culture

  1. Identify the main movements, figures, and cultural artifacts representative of the cultural production of the Spanish-speaking world.

This curricular map explains how the various required courses in our program address degree learning objectives (DLO) for the major and at what level you might expect these learning objectives to be addressed in a given course. Not included in this curricular map are the electives for the major. An empty cell without a number shows that the specific DLO is not an objective for the course. The numbers signify levels of mastery: 1=introductory level; 2=expanded knowledge; and 3=applied knowledge. This curricular map is not the same as the degree map, by which you track your progress to degree in consultation with your adviser.   

Download the curricular map


Why Major in Spanish?

Having a degree in Spanish gives you career opportunities that are not available to only English-speakers. The ability to effectively communicate in Spanish opens up new vistas for you in an increasingly globalized world. Health and social workers, business people, teachers and lawyers need advanced Spanish-language and cultural skills.

 

Requirements for the Major (B.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences)

Also Offered at SDSU Imperial Valley

All candidates for a degree in liberal arts and sciences must complete the graduation requirements listed in the section of this catalog on “Graduation Requirements.” No more than 52 units in Spanish courses can apply to the degree.

Students majoring in Spanish who complete a minor not exceeding 15 units can complete the major within 120 units.

Download the Major Checklist

The major in Spanish is an impacted programs. To be admitted to the Spanish major, students must meet the following criteria:

  1. Complete with a grade of C (2.0) or better: SPAN 202 and SPAN 212 (or SPAN 282). These courses cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC). These courses are automatically waived for native speakers of Spanish who have a high school diploma or equivalent from a country whose language of instruction is Spanish. International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement credit for SPAN 202 and SPAN 212 will satisfy this requirement;

  2. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or better.

To complete the major, students must fulfill the degree requirements for the major described in the catalog in effect at the time they are accepted into the premajor at SDSU (assuming continuous enrollment).

These courses are automatically waived for native speakers of Spanish who have a high school diploma or equivalent from a country whose language of instruction is Spanish. (22 units) See adviser. 

Students completing the California Community College Associate in Arts in Spanish for Transfer (AA-T) will satisfy preparation for the major if SPAN 281 and SPAN 282 equivalent courses were completed. If not, SPAN 211 and SPAN 212 must be completed at the community college or at SDSU.

  • SPAN 101:  Introduction to Spanish I (4 units)
  • SPAN 102: Introduction to Spanish II (4 units)
  • SPAN 201: Intermediate Spanish I (4 units)
  • SPAN 202: Intermediate Spanish II  (4 units) - must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better and cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC).
  • SPAN 211: Intermediate Conversation and Reading (3 units)
  • SPAN 212: Intermediate Conversation and Writing (3 units) - must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better and cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC).

Note: Spanish 281 replaces 201 and 211 and Spanish 282 replaces 202 and 212 for U.S. Hispanics. 

The language requirement for graduation is automatically fulfilled through coursework for preparation for the major.
Passing the Writing Placement Assessment with a score of 10 or completing one of the approved upper division writing courses (W) with a grade of C (2.0) or better. See “Graduation Requirements” section for a complete listing of requirements.
All Spanish majors are required to complete an approved study abroad program in a Spanish-speaking country consisting of a minimum of six units (90 hours). To fulfill the International Experience Requirement, Spanish majors must enroll in a study abroad program approved by the department. Participation in other study abroad programs without the written approval of the department will not meet the international experience requirement for the major.

At least 15 upper division units for the major must be taken in residence through coursework offered by or sponsored by the SDSU Spanish department or by the CSU International Programs. Students who have successfully completed courses for upper division credit may not receive credit for lower division Spanish language courses.

A minimum of 30 upper division units taught in Spanish to include:

  • SPAN 301 : Advanced Conversation and Reading (3 units) *
  • SPAN 302: Advanced Conversation and Writing (3 units) *
  • SPAN 340 - Spanish Civilization (3 units)
    or
    SPAN 341 - Spanish American Civilization (3 units) But not both.
    or
    SPAN 342 - Mexican Civilization (3 units) But not both.
  • SPAN 350: Advanced Grammar (3 units)
  • SPAN 395: Introduction to Literary Analysis (3 units)
  • SPAN 401: Spanish Literature and Cultural Studies (3 units)
    or
    SPAN 402: Spanish American Literature and Cultural Studies (3 units) But not both.
  • SPAN 448: Spanish Linguistics (3 units)
  • Nine units+ selected from 300- to 500-level Spanish courses.

Note:

*SPAN 381 or SPAN 382 replaces SPAN 301 and SPAN 302 for Spanish speakers. 

+Twelve units must be taken if SPAN 381 or SPAN 382 was taken in place of SPAN 301 and SPAN 302.


Requirements for the Major (B.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences)

In preparation for the Single Subject Teaching Credential in Foreign Languages

All candidates for a teaching credential must take and pass the CSET and complete all requirements as outlined in this section of the catalog under Dual Language and English Learner Education or Teacher Education. For students completing the single subject teaching credential program, no more than 52 units in Spanish courses can apply to the degree.

This major may be used by students in dual language and English learner education or teacher education as preparation for the CSET or as undergraduates for the B.A. degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences.

A minor is required with this major.

Download the SST Major Checklist

The major in Spanish in preparation for the Single Subject Teaching Credential are impacted programs. To be admitted to the Spanish major, students must meet the following criteria:

  1. Complete with a grade of C (2.0) or better: SPAN 202 and SPAN 212 (or SPAN 282). These courses cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC). These courses are automatically waived for native speakers of Spanish who have a high school diploma or equivalent from a country whose language of instruction is Spanish. International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement credit for SPAN 202 and SPAN 212 will satisfy this requirement;

  2. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or better.

To complete the major, students must fulfill the degree requirements for the major described in the catalog in effect at the time they are accepted into the premajor at SDSU (assuming continuous enrollment).

These courses are automatically waived for native speakers of Spanish who have a high school diploma or equivalent from a country whose language of instruction is Spanish. (22 units) See adviser. 

  • SPAN 101:  Introduction to Spanish I (4 units)
  • SPAN 102: Introduction to Spanish II (4 units)
  • SPAN 201: Intermediate Spanish I (4 units)
  • SPAN 202: Intermediate Spanish II  (4 units) - must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better and cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC).
  • SPAN 211: Intermediate Conversation and Reading (3 units)
  • SPAN 212: Intermediate Conversation and Writing (3 units) - must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better and cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC).

Note: Spanish 281 replaces 201 and 211 and Spanish 282 replaces 202 and 212 for U.S. Hispanics. 

The language requirement for graduation is automatically fulfilled through coursework for preparation for the major.
Passing the Writing Placement Assessment with a score of 10 or completing one of the approved upper division writing courses (W) with a grade of C (2.0) or better. See “Graduation Requirements” section for a complete listing of requirements.
All Spanish majors are required to complete an approved study abroad program in a Spanish-speaking country consisting of a minimum of six units (90 hours). To fulfill the International Experience Requirement, Spanish majors must enroll in a study abroad program approved by the department. Participation in other study abroad programs without the written approval of the department will not meet the international experience requirement for the major.

At least 15 upper division units for the major must be taken in residence through coursework offered by or sponsored by the SDSU Spanish department or by the CSU International Programs. Students who have successfully completed courses for upper division credit may not receive credit for lower division Spanish language courses.

A minimum of 30 upper division units taught in Spanish to include:

  • SPAN 301 : Advanced Conversation and Reading (3 units) *
  • SPAN 302: Advanced Conversation and Writing (3 units) *
  • SPAN 340 - Spanish Civilization (3 units)
    or
    SPAN 341 - Spanish American Civilization (3 units) But not both.
    or
    SPAN 342 - Mexican Civilization (3 units) But not both.
  • SPAN 350: Advanced Grammar (3 units)
  • SPAN 395: Introduction to Literary Analysis (3 units)
  • SPAN 448: Spanish Linguistics (3 units)
  • SPAN 561: Methods in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language (3 units)
  • Nine units+ selected from 300- to 500-level Spanish courses.

Note:

*SPAN 381 or SPAN 382 replaces SPAN 301 and SPAN 302 for Spanish speakers. 

+Twelve units must be taken if SPAN 381 or SPAN 382 was taken in place of SPAN 301 and SPAN 302.

 

Advising

Paola Martinez

Email: [email protected]
See the advising page for more information.

 

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