Introduction

Please click here to see Modern Languages department information.

Program Delivery

• This program can be completed entirely online, or it can combine online and on-campus and/or Study Abroad classes approved by the certificate advisor.

Declaring This Certificate

​Students interested in completing this certificate should complete this form: CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Intent to Declare Form, which requests that the certificate be added to your student record. Once added, you will be able to run a certificate degree audit. The certificate degree audit should be used in collaboration with the Certificate Advisor to ensure successful completion of the requirements.

Students should then work with Marisa Fernández Martínez (maria.fernandezmartinez@ucdenver.edu) – the certificate advisor, to ensure completion of all certificate requirements.

• If you have studied Spanish before or speak the language, you must take the Placement Test before enrolling in your first class to determine which Spanish course is best for you to start the program. To take the test in person or online, please contact Niki Mott at niki.mott@ucdenver.edu. Once you have completed it, send an email including your results to Marisa, the program director, at maria.fernandezmartinez@ucdenver.edu
• Students must contact the certificate director to have their electives pre-approved.

Completing This Certificate

Students must also complete the CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Completion Verification Form, before graduation, in order to confirm completion of their certificate. The certificate advisor will confirm that your certificate has been successfully completed, and will work with campus partners to apply the certificate to your transcript.

Students must fill out the Certificate Completion Form before the deadlines below, to ensure the certificate is applied to your transcript correctly. If you are a non-degree seeking student, please fill out this form in the term in which you intend to complete your certificate.

Spring semester – April 1
Summer semester – July 1
Fall semester – November 1

These program requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their Spanish for the Health Professions advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

General Requirements

Students must satisfy all requirements as outlined below and by the department offering the certificate. 

• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Note: This certificate is for beginning Spanish speakers.  More advanced speakers should pursue the Undergraduate Certificate in Spanish for Health Professions.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from approved courses.

2. Students must complete six upper division (3000-level and above) credit hours.

3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C (2.0) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.

4. Students must complete a minimum of nine credit hours from approved courses with a minimum of six SPAN credit hours, with CU Denver faculty.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following courses from the list: 1		6
SPAN 1070	Spanish Medical Conversation for Beginners
SPAN 1071	Spanish Medical Conversation for Beginners II
Complete two electives from the following list of courses: 2		6
ANTH 4300	Immigrant Health
ETST 3002	Ethnicity, Health and Social Justice
ETST 3108	Chicano/a and Latino/a History
ETST 3704	Culture, Racism and Alienation
HDFR 4040	Latino Families in School and Communities
HDFR 4045	Abuelos (Grandparents) Latino Families
PSYC 4485	Psychology of Cultural Diversity
SOCY 3440	Medical Sociology
SOCY 4050	Health Disparities
SOCY 4110	Sociology of Health Care
Total Hours		12

¹

SPAN 1070 Spanish Medical Conversation for Beginners and SPAN 1071 Spanish Medical Conversation for Beginners II should be consecutive. All other classes are more flexible.  

²

Some courses may have prerequisites that apply.

Other electives may be approved for the Certificate in consultation with the advisor. 

Learning Spanish requires constant practice of the five skills involved in second language acquisition: speaking and listening, writing, reading, and understanding different cultures. Consequently, all coursework, assessments, and learning outcomes designed for this program align seamlessly with the steady improvement of these five skills. Becoming a skilled Spanish speaker takes years of study, including a period of immersion in a Spanish-speaking country.

At the end of this preliminary program, students will be able to: 

1. Communicate with their patients in Spanish in an elementary way. They’ll be able to ask simple questions, understand some phrases related to greeting the patient, and other topics such as where something hurts, how much, etc.

2. Write simple Spanish sentences using the learned medical vocabulary in appropriate contexts.

3. Read and comprehend short Spanish texts that utilize the vocabulary and the contexts practiced in class.

4. Express an understanding of essential cultural beliefs that could influence notions of health in some Spanish-speaking patients.