UB, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

• Spanish - B.A.
• Spanish - Minor
• Course Descriptions

You are here: Undergraduate Catalog 2005 - 2006 > Academic Programs > Spanish

Department of Romance Languages and Literatures

College of Arts and Sciences
910 Clemens Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-4620

Phone: 716.645.2191
Fax: 716.645.5981
Web: rll.buffalo.edu/rll

About the Program

Spanish, with approximately 320 million speakers, is the fourth most spoken language on the planet. It is the official language, not only of Spain, but also of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, most of the countries of South America, and Equatorial Guinea. In the United States, Spanish is spoken by approximately 10 percent of the total population of the United States (nearly 25,000,000 people), making the U.S. the fifth largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Spanish is a major international language of banking, commerce, cultural production, diplomacy, and science.

The undergraduate program in Spanish is intended to introduce students to a wide range of disciplines within the area of Hispanic language and civilization. The implicit goal of the program is to build students' proficiency in the Spanish language. Students may focus on literature, linguistics, language teaching, or other related areas. To this end, the program offers a broad selection of courses, as well as opportunity for independent study, directed work in allied fields, and a summer program in Salamanca, Spain.

Degree Options

The major program leads to a BA in Spanish. There is also a Spanish minor program.

Students wishing to satisfy the requirements for teacher certification should plan their programs with particular care in order to accommodate the required semester of the professional sequence during their senior year. For certification requirements, students should contact the Teacher Education Institute in the Graduate School of Education.

Joint Major. For students who have another major field, a joint major with Spanish (also leading to a BA) is possible. Graduation requirements for the joint major are three Spanish courses at the 200-level with a minimum GPA of 2.5 and seven courses at the 300/400 level with a minimum GPA of 2.0.

Acceptance Information

In order to be accepted into the Spanish major, a minimum GPA of 2.0 overall and a minimum GPA of 2.5 in Spanish courses completed prior to applying for acceptance, is required.

In order to be accepted into the Spanish minor, a minimum GPA of 2.0 overall and a minimum GPA of 2.5 in prerequisite courses or their equivalents (SPA 101-SPA 102 sequence or SPA 104, and SPA 151-SPA 152), is required.

Advisement

Students new to the Spanish program should meet as soon as possible with the director of undergraduate studies to discuss the major and their course schedule. All majors and prospective majors are urged to seek out the director’s advice whenever they have questions or problems.

Instructors observe the general course descriptions, but they choose authors, texts, topics, and approaches to suit their particular interests. To find out more about a particular course, students should consult the course description on the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures Web site (http://rll.buffalo.edu/rll) or contact the instructor directly.

Academic Requirements

Graduation requirements for the Spanish major include completion of three 200-level courses (9 credit hours) with a minimum GPA of 2.5, and ten 300/400 level courses (30 credit hours) with a minimum GPA of 2.0.

Requirements to graduate with the Spanish minor include completion of two 200-level courses (6 credit hours) with a minimum GPA of 2.5, and four 300/400-level courses with a minimum GPA of 2.0.

Honors, Awards, and Scholarships

An honors program in Spanish is open to students who achieve a minimum GPA of 3.25 overall and a minimum GPA of 3.75 in at least five upper-division Spanish courses. Students in the honors program in Spanish must complete two honors projects in two upper-division Spanish courses.

Practical Experience and Special Opportunities

H.O.S.T.S./Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy Mentorship Program. The H.O.S.T.S. (Help One Student to Succeed) Program at Herman Badillo Academy in Buffalo provides opportunities for undergraduate students who are fluent in Spanish to mentor bilingual grade-school children in Spanish language and reading skills. UB undergraduates may volunteer their time on a flexible basis, or for academic credit (SPA 499; 1-3 credits per fall or spring semester); they may set up a weekly schedule to help children on a regular basis. For the academic internship, the students keep a journal recording what they teach their pupils and what they learn from the experience.

Interested students may find out more about the program by contacting the director of undergraduate studies or one of the other faculty sponsors in Romance Languages and Literatures.

For study abroad options, see the Study Abroad section (http://undergradcatalog.buffalo.edu/undergraduateeducation/studyabroad.shtml) or contact the Study Abroad Programs office at (716) 645-3912.

Career Opportunities/Further Study

Spanish is effectively the second language of the United States, and one of the major languages of international business and finance. Students interested in a career in primary and secondary education will find that a large percentage of their students are native Spanish speakers. Moreover, because of the strong likelihood that many of their future clients will be Spanish-speaking, students considering professions requiring direct client contact (such as business, law, medicine, nursing, public health, and social work) would be especially well advised to consider a major or minor in Spanish. With involvement of the United States in NAFTA (with Canada and Mexico) and the pending Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), Spanish has become even more essential in the world of international commerce and international relations.