Spanish

Department of Modern & Classical Languages

Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture

Welcome to the Spanish Section of UW's Department of Modern & Classical Languages. As a department of foreign languages, literatures, and cultural studies, we prepare our students for life and careers in an increasingly global world. Our program in Spanish enables students to combine their language training with interdisciplinary study of the regions where their language is spoken.

The undergraduate degree in Spanish has two tracks for students to select: Culture, Literature, and Cinema Track or Language-Linguistics Track.

There are multiple entry points into the major depending on previous Spanish language experience. Students should consult the Modern and Classical Languages advisor about the appropriate placement and credit-by-exam options. 

A language major usually requires 30-31 semester hours of work in a single language beyond 2030. To include a language option in the humanities/fine arts interdisciplinary program, students must complete at least 12 hours above the 2030 level. 

Spanish major requirements:

Spanish:  Culture, Literature, and Cinema Track

SPAN 2040 - Second year Spanish II (4 credits)

SPAN 2140 - Introduction to Reading (3 credits)

SPAN 3050 - Third year Spanish I (or SPAN 3030 - Spanish for Heritage speakers) (3 credits)

SPAN 3140 - Introduction to Literature (3 credits)

SPAN 3300 - Introduction to Linguistics (3 credits)

One survey of Spanish literature course (either SPAN 3100, 3110, or 3120) (3 credits)

Plus 12 hours of Spanish electives above 2030

Spanish:  Language/Linguistics Track

SPAN 2040 - Second year Spanish II (4 credits)

SPAN 3050 - Third year Spanish I (or SPAN 3030 - Spanish for Heritage speakers) (3 credits)

SPAN 3060 - Third year Spanish II (3 credits)

SPAN 3140 - Introduction to Literature (3 credits)

SPAN 3300 - Introduction to Linguistics (3 credits)

Option of either SPAN 4080 - Syntax OR SPAN 4090 - Phonetics/Phonology (3 credits) 

Plus 12 hours of Spanish electives above 2030

For electives in the linguistics track:

Highly recommended are: SPAN 3080 (Spanish in the USA) and SPAN 4070 (Variation and Change)

It is possible to take one class from the following: SPPA 3160 (Speech and Language Development); ANTH 4775 (Language and Gender), ANTH 4785 (Language and Racism); ANTH 4795 (Language Change).

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Spanish minor requirements:

Eighteen hours of electives in Spanish at the 2000 level or above (excluding Spanish 2030).

Total Credit Hours -- 18

Faculty & Staff

Graduate Program

Study Abroad

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Linguistics Lab

The Linguistics Lab is located in the basement of Hoyt Hall at the University of Wyoming. In the Linguistics Lab, we investigate Spanish language data using different approaches, such as: Corpus Linguistics, Conversation Analysis, and Experiments. For more information, contact the lab director Irene Checa-Garcia at irene.checa@uwyo.edu or visit the linguistics lab website.

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Get Involved

If you wish to get further involved with Spanish, please check out our student groups and the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi.

 

More Undergrad Degree Information

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Master of Arts in Spanish

Modern & Classical Languages offers a Master's degree in Spanish under two plans:

1. Thesis Degree: For candidates who intend to continue their studies in a Ph.D. Program elsewhere. Complete 26 hours of graduate course-work beyond undergraduate major, a thesis, and an oral examination.

2. Non-Thesis Degree: For candidates who would like to work in secondary education or similar fields. Complete 30 hours of course-work beyond undergraduate major, an expanded research paper, and written and oral comprehensive examinations.

How to apply

Why pursue a Master's degree in Spanish?

• Personal attention. Faculty at most U.S. institutions are fairly similar in terms of their preparation to become teachers. What distinguishes our faculty is the small size of the graduate programs, which allows one-on-one mentorship of graduate students. The intimate scale of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages facilitates access to all faculty, and students really get to know their professors. You may not like the sound of this, but our graduate programs are small enough that most faculty require multiple drafts of term papers. We coach students to success, one office visit and one assignment at a time.

• Collegial atmosphere. The ambiance of our graduate programs is relaxed. Graduate programs are stressful by nature, but our M.A. in Spanish reduces the tension by encouraging a friendly ambiance. You'll find that our Graduate Teaching Assistants spend time together outside of their official duties and develop lifelong friendships among themselves and with their professors. Our programs mix international and U.S. students, and as you can see from the photos on Facebook, they have a great time together.

• Dual focus. For graduate students who are also Teaching Assistants, the Department requires a dual focus on pedagogy as well as research. Other programs stress graduate students' coursework over teaching, but at UW we believe that excellent graduate students should also be excellent instructors. We will never tell you to spend less time preparing your classes, or that teaching doesn't matter. In fact, we will observe your classes if you invite us and trade teaching tips! 

• Platform for the Ph.D. We send our M.A. students to some of the best doctoral programs in the U.S. Nothing educates like switching systems, and the change from working with the professors at UW to working with "new" faculty at a Ph.D. program will benefit you in ways that no single program can manage. For students who do not wish to continue with the Ph.D., the range of alternative opportunities is simply too large to list here. We have awarded M.A. degrees to people who went on to become everything from lawyers to dentists, and from school teachers to government workers. The horizons are always wide for Modern and Classical M.A. students.

 

More Grad Degree Information