The Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures and Linguistics major offers the opportunity to gain proficiency in Spanish and/or Portuguese, two of the most important languages spoken in the United States, the Western Hemisphere and the world. The department offers courses of study in language, culture, linguistics, and literature, as well as a series of courses in languages for the professions, which focus on medical, legal,  business and other professional contexts.

By studying the literary and linguistic heritage of Spanish and Portuguese, students gain critical reading and writing skills that help them acquire and refine their abilities to speak, understand, read and write one of both of these languages.

The Spanish specialization focuses on the language and culture of Spain and Spanish-America, while the Portuguese specialization stresses the language and culture of Brazil, with complementary study of Portugal and Lusophone Africa. The combined specialization recognizes the increasingly prominent roles that Brazil, Spain and Latin America all play in international affairs, especially as they relate to Florida. Spanish- and Portuguese-speakers constitute the fastest growing immigrant populations in Florida. Studying both languages and cultures provide a competitive edge for those seeking careers in business, industry, tourism, health care, agricultural affairs, government, and education.

Students must earn minimum grades of C for coursework to count toward the major.

Additionally, there are separate courses designed students who speak Spanish as a heritage language (i.e., who grew up hearing or using Spanish at home).

Required Coursework

• SPN 2240 and SPN 3300 (non-bilingual track) or SPN 2340 and SPN 3350 (bilingual track)
• SPN 3700
• At least one SPW 3000-level course, 3 credits
• An additional 21 credits of Spanish courses at the 3000/4000 levels
  • At least 12 of the 21 credits must be at the 4000 level (four courses total)
• Students who transfer credits toward the Spanish major must take at least four 4000-level courses in Spanish at UF
• No more than 3 credits of SPN 4905 may count toward the major

Recommended Coursework

Students who have studied six semesters of Spanish or who have equivalent fluency may enroll in one-credit Spanish discussion sections that accompany selected Latin American studies courses in anthropology, art, business, philosophy, religion, sociology, etc. A maximum of three such courses may be credited toward the Spanish major and minor. Refer to the course description for SPN 3224.
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• SPN 3301 is the prerequisite for SPN 4420
• SPN 3700 is the prerequisite for 4000-level SPN linguistics courses
• SPN 4780 is the prerequisite for SPN 4840
• The prerequisite for 4000-level SPW courses is one SPW 3000-level course.

Concentrations

After completing the introductory courses (SPN 3700 and SPW 3xxx), students may choose to complete their remaining upper division coursework in Hispanic Literatures or Hispanic Linguistics, or a combination of the two. Courses in the literature concentration (indicated with the prefix SPW) focus on the reading, contextualization and critical analysis of literary texts from across the Spanish-speaking world and including a wide range of periods and genres. Courses in the linguistics concentration (indicated with the prefix SPN) focus on the scientific study of the Spanish language and its structures, such as morphology, phonetics, phonology and syntax; as well as more applied linguistic areas such as psycholinguistics, bilingualism, and language acquisition.

Overseas Study

Students pursuing a major or a minor in Spanish are strongly encouraged to spend a summer, a semester, or an academic year in a Spanish-speaking country. UF programs are encouraged because they allow for easy transfer of UF credits and courses or course equivalencies. Most financial aid applies in this case as well. Interested students should contact the undergraduate coordinator and the UF International Center, 170 Hub.

Placement

Students with no previous study or experience in Spanish will need to complete the beginning language sequence (SPN 1130-SPN 1131) and the intermediate language sequence (SPN 2200-SPN 2201) to prepare for SPN 2240.

Students with prior study or knowledge of Spanish who wish to enroll in a Spanish course can present dual enrollment, AP, IB, or AICE scores, or can take the WebCAPE online placement test.

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 coordinator of the bilingual program before enrolling in any SPN language, literature, or culture course. Heritage speakers not planning to take Spanish who wish to show proficiency should consult the Department for information on how to fulfill their foreign language proficiency requirement.
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Research

Students who wish to complete a senior thesis for honors should consult Spanish faculty at least two semesters in advance of graduation.

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Critical Tracking records each student’s progress in courses that are required for progress toward each major. Please note the critical-tracking requirements below on a per-semester basis.

For degree requirements outside of the major, refer to CLAS Degree Requirements: Structure of a CLAS Degree.

Equivalent critical-tracking courses as determined by the State of Florida Common Course Prerequisites may be used for transfer students.

Semester 1

• 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 2

• Complete SPN 1130 or a higher-level Spanish course
• 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 3

• Complete SPN 1131 or a higher-level Spanish course
• 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 4

• Complete SPN 2200 or continue taking higher-level Spanish coursework with a 2.5 critical-tracking GPA
• 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 5

• Complete SPN 2201 or a higher-level Spanish course with a 2.5 critical-tracking GPA
• 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 6

• Complete 3 of the remaining SPANISH 3xxx/4xxx required courses
• 2.5 critical-tracking GPA required
• 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 7

• Complete 3 of the remaining SPANISH 3xxx/4xxx required courses
• 2.5 critical-tracking GPA required
• 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 8

• Complete all remaining SPANISH 4xxx required courses
• 2.5 critical-tracking GPA required
• 2.0 UF GPA required

Students are expected to complete the Writing Requirement while in the process of taking the courses below. Students are also expected to complete the General Education International (GE-N) and Diversity (GE-D) requirements concurrently with another General Education requirement (typically, GE-C, H, or S).

To remain on track, students must complete the appropriate critical-tracking courses, which appear in bold. These courses must be completed by the terms as listed above in the Critical Tracking criteria.

This semester plan represents an example progression through the major. Actual courses and course order may be different depending on the student's academic record and scheduling availability of courses. Prerequisites still apply.

Plan of Study Grid

Semester One		Credits
Quest 1 (Gen Ed Humanities)		3
SPN 1130	Beginning Spanish 1 (Critical Tracking)	5
State Core Gen Ed Composition; Writing Requirement		3
State Core Gen Ed Mathematics		3
State Core Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences		3
	Credits	17
Semester Two
SPN 1131	Beginning Spanish 2 (Critical Tracking)	5
State Core Gen Ed Biological or Physical Sciences		3
Gen Ed Mathematics		3
Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences		3
Elective		1
	Credits	15
Semester Three
SPN 2200	Intermediate Spanish 1 (Critical Tracking)	3
State Core Gen Ed Humanities		3
Science laboratory (Gen Ed Physical or Biological Sciences)		1
Gen Ed Biological or Physical Sciences (area not taken in semester two) 1		3
Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences 1		3
	Credits	13
Semester Four
SPN 2201	Intermediate Spanish 2 (Critical Tracking)	3
Gen Ed Biological Sciences		3
Electives		6
Select one:		3
Gen Ed Humanities
Elective
	Credits	15
Semester Five
Select one (if not taken previously):		3
SPN 2240	Intensive Communication Skills (Critical Tracking) 2
SPN 2340	Introduction to Reading and Writing Spanish for Heritage Learners (Critical Tracking)
Select one:		3
SPN 3300	Spanish Grammar and Composition 1 (Critical Tracking)
SPN 3350	Spanish Grammar and Composition for Heritage Learners (Critical Tracking)
Gen Ed Composition; Writing Requirement		3
Elective		3
Elective (3000 level or above, not in major)		3
	Credits	15
Semester Six
SPN 3700	Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics (Critical Tracking)	3
SPW course (3000 level) 3		3
SPN or SPW course (Critical Tracking; 3000 level) 3		3
Elective (3000 level or above, not in major)		3
Gen Ed Physical Sciences		3
	Credits	15
Semester Seven
SPN or SPW courses (Critical Tracking; 3000/4000 level) 3		6
SPN or SPW courses (Critical Tracking; 4000 level) 3		3
Electives (3000 level or above, not in major)		6
	Credits	15
Semester Eight
SPN or SPW courses (Critical Tracking; 4000 level) 3		9
Electives (3000 level or above, not in major)		6
	Credits	15
	Total Credits	120

¹

One General Education option taken this term must be a Quest 2 course.

²

SPN 2240 (or SPN 2340) is the first course that earns credit toward the major or minor. SPN 3300 can be taken concurrently with SPN 2240.

³

Some Spanish courses may also fulfill the H and N General Education requirements: SPW 3030, SPW 3031, SPW 3100 and SPW 3101, SPN 3510, and SPN 3520; SPN 3440 fulfills the S and N General Education categories.

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The Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures and Linguistics enables students to achieve communicative competence in Spanish and/or Portuguese, with an emphasis on all four language skills: speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing. Students will become knowledgeable in the areas of Hispanic and Lusophone cultures, literatures and/or linguistics, and they will learn how to interpret Spanish- and/or Portuguese language texts according to their cultural, literary, and linguistic content.

Before Graduating Students Must

• Complete all requirements for the baccalaureate degree, as determined by faculty.
• Satisfactorily complete a written assignment in a 4000-level course that includes the written analysis of a text according to its cultural, literary and/or linguistic content. The text analyzed and the analysis will be in Spanish/Portuguese.
• Satisfactorily deliver an oral presentation in Spanish/Portuguese on the topic of the written paper. Presentation will include answering questions from audience members.

Students in the Major Will Learn to

Student Learning Outcomes | SLOs

Content

1. Identify cultural correlates, literary production, and/or linguistic structure of texts written in Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Critical Thinking

2. Analyze cultural correlates, literary production, and/or linguistic structure of texts written in Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Communication

3. Demonstrate competence in written Spanish and/or Portuguese, including knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, orthography, and appropriate stylistic conventions.
4. Demonstrate communicative competence in spoken Spanish and/or Portuguese, including the ability to understand the spoken language, speak with correct grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, and use appropriate registers.

Curriculum Map

I = Introduced; R = Reinforced; A = Assessed

Academic Learning Compact 4

Courses	SLO 1	SLO 2	SLO 3	SLO 4
SPN 2240; POR 3224	I	I	I	I
SPN 3300; POR 3242	R	R	R	R
SPN 3510/SPN 3520; POR 3500/POR 3502	I, R	I, R	I, R	I, R
SPN 3700; POR 3701	I, R	I, R	I, R	I, R
SPW 3030/SPW 3031/SPW 3100/SPW 3101	I, R	I, R	I, R	I, R
SPN or POR course, 4000 level	R, A	R, A	R, A	R, A
SPW or POW course, 4000 level	R, A	R, A	R, A	R, A

Assessment Types

• Written paper
• Oral presentation/discussion

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