The Spanish major is excellent preparation for careers in business, journalism and communications, law, medicine, the service professions and teaching. View the pdf version of the Spanish Major Handout.
The major consists of 33 semester hours of coursework, including language, culture, literature, and linguistics, as follows:
- SPN 2240 Intensive Aural and Reading Comprehension or SPN 2340 Introduction to Reading and Writing for Bilingual Speakers.
- SPN 3300 Spanish Grammar and Composition or SPN 3350 Spanish Grammar and Composition for Bilingual Speakers.
- An additional 27 credits of SPN and SPW courses at the 3000 and 4000 levels; a minimum of 12 credits must be at the 4000 level.
SPN 2240/2340 and SPN 3300/3350 or SPN 3440 Spanish for Business must be passed with Bs or better to proceed in the sequence, or to count the courses toward the major and minor.
For students interested in Latin America, Portuguese is highly recommended. POR 3010 is an intensive introduction to Portuguese designed for students who have studied or speak Spanish (or French). In addition, a Certificate in Latin American Studies is available from the Center for Latin American Studies. See the section on certificates after the descriptions of majors.
Honors
Refer to the general CLAS honors section of this catalog. Majors with a junior/senior GPA of 3.5 or higher are encouraged to write a thesis for high or highest honors at graduation.
Overseas Study
Candidates for a major or a minor in Spanish are strongly encouraged to spend a summer, a semester or an academic year in Spain or Spanish America. Interested students should contact the department or the UF International Center in 123 Grinter Hall. Study abroad program information and courses should be submitted to the undergraduate coordinator in advance of any study abroad for UF credit. Students who participate in approved overseas study programs can earn up to 15 credits beyond those required for the degree. Moreover, courses taken in a pre-approved UF study abroad program can be applied toward the six-hour international studies and diversity requirement, if approved by an adviser.
General Education
Certain courses satisfy requirements for humanities (H), international/diversity (I) and composition (C). Many of these courses also qualify for Gordon Rule. Classes with SPT prefixes are taught in English and use texts translated into English.
Applied Foreign Language (FLAC or Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum) Courses
Students who have studied five semesters of Spanish or who have equivalent fluency may enroll in 1-credit Spanish discussion sections that accompany selected Latin American studies courses in anthropology, art, business, philosophy, sociology and religion, etc. These courses count toward the Spanish major and minor. A maximum of three such courses may be credited toward the major or minor. Refer to the course listing for SPN 3224.
Placement
Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Languages courses. Students who plan to continue the study of a language begun in high school or any other college must present SAT II, IB or AP language score(s) before registering at the appropriate level. Students should consult the Schedule of Courses or the Academic Advising section of this catalog to choose the appropriate course level.
If the student has taken none of these examinations, arrangements should be made to take the SAT II on campus.
Students with any prior study of Spanish may NOT enroll in Beginning Spanish (SPN 1130 or SPN 1131). Students with prior study of Spanish but insufficient preparation to place into intermediate level courses (e.g., SPN 2200, SPN 2201, SPN 2240) may enroll in SPN 1134, Accelerated Spanish Review.
Any student who has lived in a Spanish-speaking country for more than a year or who has significant Spanish-speaking experience at home or in a community must consult the undergraduate adviser in Spanish before enrolling in any SPN advanced language, literature and culture courses.
Please read carefully the prerequisites for all courses listed and see the undergraduate coordinator or the coordinator for the Lower Division Spanish Program to discuss any placement issues. NOTE: Read the Academic Advising section of this catalog regarding the Gordon Rule communication and computation requirement. Many general education courses qualify; check the schedule of courses. Six general education credits must be international/diversity (I).
Schedule
Freshman Year
Semester 1 – Fall
- Composition (GE), 3 Credits
- Humanities (GE)1, 3 Credits
- Mathematics (GE), 3 Credits
- SPN 1130 Beginning Spanish I, Or SPN 1134 Accelerated Spanish Review, 5 Credits
- Social & Behavioral Sciences (GE), 3 Credits
- Total Credits: 17
Semester 2 – Spring
- Mathematics (GE), 3 Credits
- Social & Behavioral Sciences (GE), 3 Credits
- Physical & Biological Sciences (GE), 3 Credits
- SPN 1131 Beginning Spanish II, Or SPN 1134 Accelerated Spanish Review, 5 Credits
- Elective, 3 Credits
- Total Credits: 17
Sophomore Year
Semester 3 – Fall
- Social & Behavioral Sciences (GE), 3 Credits
- Physical & Biological Sciences (GE), 3 Credits
- Physical & Biological Sciences Lab, 1 Credit
- SPN 2200 Intermediate Spanish I, 3 Credits
- Elective, 3 Credits
- Total Credits: 13
Critical Tracking Criteria
Complete SPN 1131 or higher by the end of semester 3
Semester 4 – Spring
- Humanities (GE), 3 Credits
- Physical & Biological Sciences, 3 Credits
- SPN 2201 Intermediate Spanish II, 3 Credits
- Electives, 6 Credits
- Total Credits: 15
Critical Tracking Criteria
2.0 cumulative UF GPA
Complete SPN 2201 or higher by the end of semester 4
GPA of 2.5 or better in tracking courses listed as critical tracking criteria in semesters 1-4
Junior Year
Semester 5 – Fall
- SPN 2240 Intensive Communication Skills, 3 Credits
- SPN 3300 or 3350 Spanish Grammar and Composition, 3 Credits
- SPN or SPW Course, 3000 level, 3 Credits
- Composition, 3 Credits
- Total Credits: 15
Critical Tracking Criteria:
Complete tracking criteria for semesters 1-4 plus SPN 2240 or 2340 and either SPN 3300 or 3350.
GPA of 2.5 or better in courses listed as critical tracking criteria in semesters 1-5
Semester 6 – Spring
- SPN or SPW Courses, 3000 level, 6 Credits
- Physical & Biological Sciences, 3 Credits
- Elective (3000-level or above, not in major), 3 Credits
- Elective, 3 Credits
- Total Credits: 15
Critical Tracking Criteria:
Complete tracking criteria for semesters 1-5, plus SPN or SPW 3000 level credits.
Senior Year
Semester 7 – Fall
- SPN or SPW Courses, 4000 level, 6-9 Credits
- Electives (3000-level or above, not in major), 6-9 Credits
- Total Credits: 12-18
Critical Tracking Criteria:
Complete tracking criteria for semesters 1-6, plus 6-9 credits at 3-4000 level, including three credits at the 4000 level.
Semester 8 – Spring
- SPN or SPW Courses, 4000 level, 6-9 Credits
- Electives (3000-level or above, not in major), 6-9 Credits
- Total Credits: 12-18
Critical Tracking Criteria:
Complete tracking criteria for semesters 1-7, plus 6-9 credits at the 3-4000 level, including six credits at the 4000 level.
Notes
- Some courses may also fulfill the H and I general education requirements: SPW 3030, SPW 3031, SPW 3100 and SPW 3101, SPN 3510 and SPN 3520; SPN 3440 fulfills the S and I general education categories.
- Students with prior preparation in Spanish must select an initial course on the basis of their SAT II, IB or AP test scores. Students are then exempted from all courses below that level.
- SPN 2240 cannot be taken concurrently with SPN 2201. SPN 3300 can be taken concurrently with SPN 2240. SPN 2240 is the first course that earns credit toward the major. SPN 2240 and SPN 3300 are prerequisites for all other 3000 and 4000 Spanish courses and Spanish majors must pass both with a B or better.
- Majors who are bilingual speakers of Spanish must take the equivalent courses for bilingual speakers, SPN 2340 and SPN 3350 unless they demonstrate proficiency beyond that level. SPN 2340 is the first-course earning credit for the major; SPN 2340 and 3350 must be passed with a B or better to count toward the major. SPN 3350 and 4314 may also fulfill composition general education requirements.
- SPN 3300 can be taken concurrently with SPN 2240 or with SPN 3301.
- Two courses for the major should satisfy the H & I general education requirement.