Spanish Studies (BA)

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Offered by the Department of World Languages and Cultures , College of Arts and Sciences .

Admission to the Program

Students must be approved by the department for formal admission to the major. Language coursework may be waived if high school or other preparation warrants it. Placement will be made in consultation with a departmental advisor.

University Requirements

120 credit hours with minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 2 )
Completion of all requirements for a major (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 9 )

AU Core Requirements

Completion of AU Core foundation requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.2-8.6 )
Completion of AU Core Habits of Mind requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.7 )
Completion of AU Core integrative course requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.8-8.11 )

For additional information, see AU Core Curriculum .

Major Requirements

39 credit hours with grades of C or better, including at least 18 credit hours at or above 300-level
- Prerequisite: completion of intermediate language level (SPAN-253 Spanish, Intermediate II (4) )
One of the following field concentrations:
- 12 credit hours in a second world language at any level
- 12 credit hours in area studies in the major field at or above the 300-level
- An approved minor related to the major field: for example, another language (Arabic Language (Minor) , Chinese Language (Minor) , French Language (Minor) , German Language (Minor) , Japanese Language (Minor) , Russian Language (Minor) ), Anthropology (Minor) , Business Administration (Minor) , Communication (Minor) , Economics (Minor) , History (Minor) , International Studies (Minor) , Literature (Minor) , Political Science (Minor) , or Sociology (Minor)

Course Requirements

Required (12 credit hours)

Note: SPAN-352 Advanced Spanish I: Spain in Context (3) and SPAN-353 Advanced Spanish II: Latin America in Context (3) may be replaced by other courses at 300- or 500-level if warranted by language proficiency.

Linguistics (3 credit hours)

Complete 3 credit hours from the following, or other TESL course at or above 400-level approved by advisor:

Latin American Culture and Society (3 credit hours)

3 credit hours from coursework selected in consultation with program director

Writing (3 credit hours)

Complete 3 credit hours from the following or other coursework approved by program director:

Note: Students should aim to complete their AU CORE Written Communication and Information Literacy II (W2) requirement through this course.

Capstone (3 credit hours)

Complete 3 credit hours from the following, or other approved course at or above 400-level:

SPAN-488 Capstone Project (3) (topics)

Electives (15 credit hours)

Complete 15 credit hours from the following if not taken to fulfill Linguistics or Writing, or other Spanish topics, colloquium, and literature courses approved by program director:

Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its combined bachelor’s/master’s programs. See Admission to a Combined Bachelor’s / Master’s Program and Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees for more information.