Spanish, 4 + 1 BA/ MA
Introduction
Please click here to see Modern Languages department information.
The combined BA/MA (4+1) program in Spanish provides a coherent cumulative educational experience that prepares students for either immediate entry into a Master’s level career or continued study in a PhD program. The BA/MA application process is competitive, as the program is designed for highly qualified students who have the scholarly and linguistic competencies necessary for an expedited 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.
These degree requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College 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 major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.
Program Delivery
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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 in their junior year and apply to the graduate program during their senior year. Applicants should have completed all CLAS and Core requirements by the end of their 3rd year.
• Student must demonstrate promise or ability to pursue advanced study and research, as shown by previous scholastic records.
• Demonstrate Spanish oral and written proficiency at the Advanced level, as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
• If a native speaker must be proficient with the English language and able to speak, read and write at a graduate school level. - 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.
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
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Interested students should contact their SPAN undergraduate and graduate advisors as early as possible to ensure proper planning for the five year degree.
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Student and faculty will work together to submit an intent to complete the program form to CLAS Advising.
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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.
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Students may apply to the graduate program during the semester in which they will successfully complete their degree, and should have most of their general education and major requirements completed by this time.
Program Requirements
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Students must complete a minimum of 33 SPAN credit hours.
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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 9 credits of 5000-level Spanish elective courses.
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Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all undergraduate major courses taken at CU Denver and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.5. Students must earn a minimum grade of B- (2.7) in all graduate major courses taken at CU Denver and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 3.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the major GPA. Students cannot complete major or ancillary course requirements as pass/fail.
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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
- 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.
- A maximum of 12 graduate credit hours may be used to fulfill both the undergraduate and graduate degree requirements.
Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take the following required courses | 9 | |
| SPAN 3060 | Hispanic Phonetics: Theory and Practice | 3 |
| SPAN 3101 | Introduction to the Study of Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 5000 | Introduction to Graduate Studies in Spanish | 3 |
Language Skills and Theory
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take two of the following | 6 | |
| SPAN 3010 | Spanish Composition I | 3 |
| SPAN 3020 | Spanish Composition II | 3 |
| SPAN 3025 | Writing for Latinos | 3 |
| SPAN 3026 | Writing for Latinos II | 3 |
| SPAN 3030 | Spanish Oral Proficiency | 3 |
| SPAN 3050 | Advanced Spanish Grammar | 3 |
| SPAN 4010 | History of the Spanish Language | 3 |
| or SPAN 5010 | History of the Spanish Language | |
| SPAN 4020 | Spanish Sociolinguistics | 3 |
| or SPAN 5020 | Spanish Sociolinguistics | |
| SPAN 4030 | The Learning and Teaching of Heritage Speakers | 3 |
| or SPAN 5030 | The Learning and Teaching of Heritage Speakers | |
| SPAN 4040 | Spanish Classroom Methods and Practice | 3 |
| or SPAN 5040 | Spanish Classroom Methods and Practice | |
| SPAN 4060 | Dialects of the Spanish-Speaking World | 3 |
| or SPAN 5060 | Dialects of the Spanish-Speaking World | |
| SPAN 4070 | Spanish Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition | 3 |
| or SPAN 5070 | Spanish Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition | |
| SPAN 4076 | Spanish in Colorado | 3 |
| or SPAN 5076 | Spanish in Colorado | |
| SPAN 4080 | Spanish in the United States | 3 |
| or SPAN 5080 | Spanish in the United States | |
| SPAN 4099 | Special Topics in Linguistics | 3 |
| or SPAN 5099 | Special Topics in Linguistics | |
Culture and Civilizations of Spain or Spanish America
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take two of the following | 6 | |
| SPAN 3212 | Spanish American Culture and Civilization | 3 |
| SPAN 3213 | Contemporary Latin American Culture and Institutions | 3 |
| SPAN 3221 | Culture and Civilization of Spain I | 3 |
| SPAN 3222 | Culture and Civilization of Spain II | 3 |
| SPAN 3223 | Contemporary Spanish Culture and Institutions | 3 |
| SPAN 3225 | Special Topics In Hispanic Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 3230 | Ibero-American Cultures through Film | 3 |
| SPAN 3240 | Food Metaphors: Ibero-American Cuisine and Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 3270 | Bilingual Communities: Spanish as a Language of Contact | 3 |
Peninsular Spanish Literature, Culture and Film
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take one of the following | 3 | |
| SPAN 3199 | Topics in Spanish Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 4110 | Contemporary Spanish Literature | 3 |
| or SPAN 5110 | Contemporary Spanish Literature | |
| SPAN 4130 | Medieval Spanish Literature | 3 |
| or SPAN 5130 | Medieval Spanish Literature | |
| SPAN 4150 | Masterpieces of Spanish Literature | 3 |
| or SPAN 5150 | Masterpieces of Spanish Literature | |
| SPAN 4170 | Golden Age Drama | 3 |
| or SPAN 4170 | Golden Age Drama | |
| SPAN 4180 | Modernism | 3 |
| or SPAN 5180 | Modernism | |
| SPAN 4190 | Nineteenth-Century Spanish Novel | 3 |
| or SPAN 5190 | Nineteenth-Century Spanish Novel | |
| SPAN 4300 | Generation of 1898 | 3 |
| or SPAN 5300 | Generation of 1898 | |
| SPAN 4320 | Interculturalism and Transnationalism in Modern Spain | 3 |
| or SPAN 5320 | Interculturalism and Transnationalism in Modern Spain | |
| SPAN 4330 | Modern Culture of Spain through Film and Narrative | 3 |
| or SPAN 5330 | Modern Culture of Spain through Film and Narrative | |
| SPAN 4340 | Race, Class, and Gender in Spanish Golden Age Literature | 3 |
| or SPAN 5340 | Race, Class, and Gender in Spanish Golden Age Literature | |
| SPAN 4350 | Don Quijote | 3 |
| or SPAN 5350 | Don Quijote | |
| SPAN 4360 | Women and the Spanish Civil War | 3 |
| or SPAN 5360 | Women and the Spanish Civil War | |
| SPAN 4380 | Romanticism in Spain | 3 |
| or SPAN 5380 | Romanticism in Spain | |
| SPAN 4399 | Special Topics: Spanish Peninsular Literature | 3 |
| or SPAN 5399 | Special Topics: Spanish Peninsular Literature | |
Latin American Literature, Culture and Film
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take one of the following | 3 | |
| SPAN 4401 | Survey of Spanish-American Literature I: Pre-1898 | 3 |
| or SPAN 5401 | Survey of Spanish-American Literature I: Pre-1898 | |
| SPAN 4411 | Contemporary Spanish-American Novel | 3 |
| or SPAN 5411 | Contemporary Spanish-American Novel | |
| SPAN 4450 | Masterpieces of Spanish-American Literature | 3 |
| or SPAN 5450 | Masterpieces of Spanish-American Literature | |
| SPAN 4501 | Borges: An Introduction to His Labyrinths | 3 |
| or SPAN 5501 | Borges: An Introduction to His Labyrinths | |
| SPAN 4512 | Contemporary Argentine Short Stories | 3 |
| or SPAN 5512 | Contemporary Argentine Short Stories | |
| SPAN 4521 | Mexican Literature I: pre-Columbian and Colonial | 3 |
| or SPAN 5521 | Mexican Literature I: pre-Columbian and Colonial | |
| SPAN 4522 | Mexican Literature II: 19th to 21st Centuries | 3 |
| or SPAN 5522 | Mexican Literature II: 19th to 21st Centuries | |
| SPAN 4525 | Orientalisms In The Hispanic Tradition | 3 |
| or SPAN 5525 | Orientalisms In The Hispanic Traditions | |
| SPAN 4541 | Unexpected Lives: Ibero-American Queer Cinema | 3 |
| or SPAN 5541 | Unexpected Lives: Ibero-American Queer Cinema | |
| SPAN 4550 | Garcia Marquez: Words of Magic | 3 |
| or SPAN 5550 | Garcia Marquez: Words of Magic | |
| SPAN 4590 | Ibero-American Thought | 3 |
| or SPAN 5590 | Ibero-American Thought | |
| SPAN 4599 | Special Topics: Latin American Literature | 3 |
| or SPAN 5599 | Special Topics: Latin American Literature | |
Graduate Level Linguistics
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take one of the following, in consultation with the graduate program director | 3 | |
| SPAN 5010 | History of the Spanish Language | 3 |
| SPAN 5020 | Spanish Sociolinguistics | 3 |
| SPAN 5040 | Spanish Classroom Methods and Practice | 3 |
| SPAN 5060 | Dialects of the Spanish-Speaking World | 3 |
| SPAN 5070 | Spanish Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition | 3 |
| SPAN 5076 | Spanish in Colorado | 3 |
| SPAN 5080 | Spanish in the United States | 3 |
| SPAN 5690 | Methods of Teaching Modern Languages | 3 |
| or MLNG 5690 | Methods of Teaching Modern Languages | |
Graduate Level Literature
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take one of the following, in consultation with the graduate program director | 3 | |
| SPAN 5030 | The Learning and Teaching of Heritage Speakers | 3 |
| SPAN 5110 | Contemporary Spanish Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 5130 | Medieval Spanish Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 5150 | Masterpieces of Spanish Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 5170 | Golden Age Drama | 3 |
| SPAN 5180 | Modernism | 3 |
| SPAN 5330 | Modern Culture of Spain through Film and Narrative | 3 |
| SPAN 5340 | Race, Class, and Gender in Spanish Golden Age Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 5350 | Don Quijote | 3 |
| SPAN 5360 | Women and the Spanish Civil War | 3 |
| SPAN 5399 | Special Topics: Spanish Peninsular Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 5411 | Contemporary Spanish-American Novel | 3 |
| SPAN 5450 | Masterpieces of Spanish-American Literature | 3 |
| SPAN 5521 | Mexican Literature I: pre-Columbian and Colonial | 3 |
| SPAN 5522 | Mexican Literature II: 19th to 21st Centuries | 3 |
| SPAN 5525 | Orientalisms In The Hispanic Traditions | 3 |
| SPAN 5590 | Ibero-American Thought | 3 |
| SPAN 5970 | Special Topics in Literature | 3 |
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.