Introduction

Please click here to see Modern Languages department information.

The combined BA/MA (4+1) program in Spanish provides highly qualified undergraduate Spanish majors with the opportunity to begin taking graduate level classes in their senior year of undergraduate study, saving both time and money for those interested in pursuing a Master's degree in Spanish. This degree prepares students for either immediate entry into a Master’s level career or continued study in a PhD program. 

Students study the language, linguistics, literature, culture and civilization of Spain, Spanish America and the Spanish-speaking areas of the United States in their undergraduate coursework. Students choose from two options for completion of their Master’s degree: either they complete their coursework and take a comprehensive written and oral exam in their last semester, or they complete a six credit thesis under the direction of Spanish faculty. The program offers a comparatively high degree of flexibility for students to focus their studies in one or more of the following fields of Hispanic studies: Spanish linguistics, methods of teaching Spanish as a foreign language, Spanish and Spanish American literature and cultural studies, including film.

Getting a degree in Spanish builds valuable skills including better problem solving, decision-making, planning, and presenting and defending ideas in different modes to a wide range of audiences. Students who speak Spanish at home can also benefit from our program through increased confidence in their formal writing and speaking proficiency and a demonstrated credential verifying their expertise.

This degree helps you stand out from your competition in the job market and bilinguals have both a higher earning potential and are more desirable on the job market in whatever career they choose. Our MA students can succeed in many fields including: health care, higher education, counseling, interpreting, translation, law enforcement, government, banking, hospitality, law, travel and tourism, international and domestic business, arts and media, and diplomacy.

These degree 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 faculty advisors and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Major

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.
• Students should officially declare their intent to complete this program and apply to the graduate program in their junior year. Applicants should have completed all CLAS and Core requirements by the end of their 3rd year.
• To be admitted to the combined BA/MA in Spanish program, students must earn an overall GPA of B (3.0) or higher in their undergraduate coursework, but also an average GPA of B+ (3.5) or higher in their upper-division Spanish coursework (3000-4000 level). For any graduate course to be counted toward the master’s degree, the student must earn a minimum grade of B- (2.7). All graduate coursework must be completed with an overall grade point average of B (3.0) or higher. Students cannot complete major, graduate, or ancillary course requirements as pass/fail.
• Students must complete a 4+1 intent form to formally declare this program, as they work very closely with undergraduate and graduate advisors to ensure they are on track and completing requirements as necessary. A maximum of 12 credit hours of graduate-level courses that are applied to the undergraduate degree will apply to the graduate degree.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
• CU Denver Core Curriculum
• College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Graduation Requirements Graduation Requirements
• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Admissions Requirements and Process

• Interested students should contact their SPAN undergraduate and graduate advisors as early as possible to ensure proper planning for the five year degree.
• Students and faculty will work together to submit an intent to complete the program form to CLAS Advising.  
• To qualify, students must have a 3.0 or higher GPA in CLAS. All courses taken at the 4000- and 5000-level must be completed with at least a B or higher.
• Students should have most of their general education requirements completed by the end of their junior year. 

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 36 major credit hours with a minimum of 30 SPAN credit hours.

2. Students must complete a minimum of 30 upper division (3000-level and above) SPAN credit hours, with at least 12 SPAN credit hours at the 4000 level and nine credits of 5000-level Spanish elective courses.

3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.5. Students must earn a minimum grade of B- (2.7) in all courses that apply to the graduate degree and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 3.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major or graduate requirements.

4. Students must complete a minimum of 18 SPAN undergraduate level credit hours with CU Denver faculty. All graduate level credit hours must be completed with CU Denver faculty.

Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. Students must satisfy all existing requirements for both an undergraduate degree in CLAS with a Spanish Language, Literature and Culture major and a Master of Arts in Spanish degree. These requirements can be fulfilled through multiple possible paths through the department's curriculum.
2. A maximum of 12 graduate credit hours may be used to fulfill both the undergraduate and graduate degree requirements.

Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following required courses:		9
SPAN 3060
SPAN 3101	Introduction to the Study of Literature
SPAN 5000	Introduction to Graduate Studies in Spanish

Language Skills and Theory

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete two of the following courses:		6
SPAN 3010	Spanish Composition I
SPAN 3020	Spanish Composition II
SPAN 3025	Writing for Latinos
SPAN 3026	Writing for Latinos II
SPAN 3030	Spanish Oral Proficiency
SPAN 3050
SPAN 4010
or SPAN 5010
SPAN 4020	Spanish Sociolinguistics
or SPAN 5020	Spanish Sociolinguistics
SPAN 4030	The Learning and Teaching of Heritage Speakers
or SPAN 5030	The Learning and Teaching of Heritage Speakers
SPAN 4040	Spanish Classroom Methods and Practice
or SPAN 5040	Spanish Classroom Methods and Practice
SPAN 4060	Dialects of the Spanish-Speaking World
or SPAN 5060	Dialects of the Spanish-Speaking World
SPAN 4070	Spanish Second Language Acquisition
or SPAN 5070	Spanish Second Language Acquisition
SPAN 4076	Spanish in Colorado
or SPAN 5076	Spanish in Colorado
SPAN 4080	Spanish in the United States
or SPAN 5080	Spanish in the United States
SPAN 4099	Special Topics in Linguistics
or SPAN 5099	Special Topics in Linguistics

Culture and Civilizations of Spain or Spanish America 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete two of the following courses:		6
SPAN 3212
SPAN 3213	Contemporary Latin American Culture and Institutions
SPAN 3221
SPAN 3222
SPAN 3223	Contemporary Spanish Culture and Institutions
SPAN 3225	Special Topics In Hispanic Culture
SPAN 3230	Ibero-American Cultures through Film
SPAN 3240	Food Metaphors: Ibero-American Cuisine and Culture
SPAN 3270	Bilingual Communities: Spanish as a Language of Contact

Peninsular Spanish Literature, Culture and Film 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following courses:		3
SPAN 3199
SPAN 4110	Contemporary Spanish Literature
or SPAN 5110	Contemporary Spanish Literature
SPAN 4130
or SPAN 5130
SPAN 4150
or SPAN 5150
SPAN 4170
or SPAN 4170
SPAN 4180
or SPAN 5180
SPAN 4190
or SPAN 5190
SPAN 4300
or SPAN 5300
SPAN 4320
or SPAN 5320
SPAN 4330	Modern Culture of Spain through Film and Narrative
or SPAN 5330	Modern Culture of Spain through Film and Narrative
SPAN 4340
or SPAN 5340
SPAN 4350	Don Quijote
or SPAN 5350	Don Quijote
SPAN 4360	Women and the Spanish Civil War
or SPAN 5360	Women and the Spanish Civil War
SPAN 4380
or SPAN 5380
SPAN 4399	Special Topics: Spanish Peninsular Literature
or SPAN 5399	Special Topics: Spanish Peninsular Literature

Latin American Literature, Culture and Film

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following courses:		3
SPAN 4401
or SPAN 5401
SPAN 4411	Contemporary Spanish-American Novel
or SPAN 5411	Contemporary Spanish-American Novel
SPAN 4450	Masterpieces of Spanish-American Literature
or SPAN 5450	Masterpieces of Spanish-American Literature
SPAN 4501	Borges: An Introduction to His Labyrinths
or SPAN 5501	Borges: An Introduction to His Labyrinths
SPAN 4512	Contemporary Argentine Short Stories
or SPAN 5512	Contemporary Argentine Short Stories
SPAN 4521	Mexican Literature I: pre-Columbian and Colonial
or SPAN 5521	Mexican Literature I: pre-Columbian and Colonial
SPAN 4522	Mexican Literature II: 19th to 21st Centuries
or SPAN 5522	Mexican Literature II: 19th to 21st Centuries
SPAN 4525	Orientalisms In The Hispanic Tradition
or SPAN 5525	Orientalisms In The Hispanic Traditions
SPAN 4541	Unexpected Lives: Ibero-American Queer Cinema
or SPAN 5541	Unexpected Lives: Ibero-American Queer Cinema
SPAN 4550	Garcia Marquez: Words of Magic
or SPAN 5550	Garcia Marquez: Words of Magic
SPAN 4590	Ibero-American Thought
or SPAN 5590	Ibero-American Thought
SPAN 4599	Special Topics: Latin American Literature
or SPAN 5599	Special Topics: Latin American Literature

Graduate Level Linguistics

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following courses, in consultation with the graduate program director:		3
SPAN 5010
SPAN 5020	Spanish Sociolinguistics
SPAN 5040	Spanish Classroom Methods and Practice
SPAN 5060	Dialects of the Spanish-Speaking World
SPAN 5070	Spanish Second Language Acquisition
SPAN 5076	Spanish in Colorado
SPAN 5080	Spanish in the United States
SPAN 5690	Methods of Teaching Modern Languages
or MLNG 5690	Methods of Teaching Modern Languages

Graduate Level Literature 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following courses, in consultation with the graduate program director:		3
SPAN 5030	The Learning and Teaching of Heritage Speakers
SPAN 5110	Contemporary Spanish Literature
SPAN 5130
SPAN 5150
SPAN 5170
SPAN 5180
SPAN 5330	Modern Culture of Spain through Film and Narrative
SPAN 5340
SPAN 5350	Don Quijote
SPAN 5360	Women and the Spanish Civil War
SPAN 5399	Special Topics: Spanish Peninsular Literature
SPAN 5411	Contemporary Spanish-American Novel
SPAN 5450	Masterpieces of Spanish-American Literature
SPAN 5521	Mexican Literature I: pre-Columbian and Colonial
SPAN 5522	Mexican Literature II: 19th to 21st Centuries
SPAN 5525	Orientalisms In The Hispanic Traditions
SPAN 5590	Ibero-American Thought
SPAN 5970	Special Topics in Literature

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.

To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.