Spanish Major

Program Requirements

Total Units Required: A minimum of 30 units at the 3000 level or above, 24 of which must be taken in residence. Courses within Washington University's own study abroad programs in Spain or Chile are considered "in residence."

Grade Requirement: Students must complete all courses with grades of B- or above and maintain a B average or better overall in Spanish. Courses taken Pass/No Pass do not count toward the Spanish major.

The following courses must be included in the 30 units:

SPAN 3020 Cultures and Communication in the Spanish-Speaking World (Heritage speakers of Spanish must be certified by the director of undergraduate studies and must enroll in SPAN 3021)
SPAN 3030 Cultures and Communication in the Spanish-Speaking World II

SPAN 3030 is a prerequisite or corequisite for any other 3000-level literature course in Spanish.

Course List
Code	Title	Units
SPAN 3122	Advanced Conversation in Spain	3
SPAN 3154	A View From the Southern Cone	3
SPAN 3341	Literatura Espanola	3
SPAN 3361	Spanish-American Literature II in Chile/Spain	3
SPAN 3501	Topics in Spanish Literature	3

*: One literature course taken in the Chile or Spain semester abroad program offered by Romance Languages and Literatures, designated as an acceptable substitute, may be used as one of the 32xx-level courses.

Course List
Code	Title	Units
SPAN 3110	Hispanic Culture and Civilization I	3
SPAN 3130	Chilean Contemporary Culture	3
SPAN 3181	Spanish Culture and Civilization	3

*: 32xx and 36xx designations indicate sequential levels. Once a student takes a course at one level, they may not take a course at the previous level.

Course List
Code	Title	Units
SPAN 4050	Major Seminar	3
SPAN 4100	Major Seminar	3

Other 4000-level courses taught in Spanish, including the following linguistics courses:

Course List
Code	Title	Units
SPAN 4110	Spanish Grammar and Syntax	3
SPAN 4170	Spanish Phonology, and Dialectology	3

The prerequisite for 4000-level courses is the completion of at least one "Researching Cultures" course.
Study abroad:
- One 4000-level seminar taken on campus
- An approved 4000-level course from the Madrid or Chile program (refer to the Study Abroad Opportunities page of the Romance Languages and Literatures website)

Students must select two elective courses (6 units) from the following list:

Course List
Code	Title	Units
SPAN 2020	Intermediate Spanish II	3
SPAN 3530	Medical Spanish	3
SPAN 3550	Spanish for Social Sciences	3
Any other advanced 3000- or 4000-level Spanish (SPAN) class taught by a Romance Languages and Literatures faculty member

Only one elective course taught in English may be taken, when available, for the major.
Study abroad options for electives:
- SPAN 3122 Advanced Conversation in Spanish
- Elective credit from semester programs in Santiago or Madrid
- Elective credit from Petitioned, Organization for Tropical Studies, School for International Training, or Comparative Literature programs (refer to the Study Abroad Opportunities page of the Romance Languages and Literatures website)
- Spanish courses completed (and approved) as part of study abroad programs other than those offered by Washington University may be used for Spanish elective credit only.
- All study abroad credit requires authorization from the director of undergraduate studies.

Major requirements have been revised as of 2021.
Under the new requirements, to major in Spanish, students must take a minimum of 30 units, starting with SPAN 2020 Intermediate Spanish II or Spanish 3020 Cultures and Communication in the Spanish-Speaking World; 24 of these units must be taken in residence at Washington University, with Washington University’s study abroad programs in Spain or Chile being considered “in residence.”
Transfer students with an advanced level of Spanish and native/heritage speakers need to be certified by the director of undergraduate studies prior to declaring the major.

Recommended for prospective teachers:

Recommended for prospective graduate students:

A second language related to the student's area of interest
Advanced work in other literatures, literary criticism and theory, and related coursework in other literature or film programs
A year in Spain or Chile
Senior honors by thesis or course work (refer to the honors requirements on the Romance Languages and Literatures website): Students who have maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least of 3.65 through the end of the junior year are encouraged to work toward Latin honors (i.e., cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude).