Introduction

Please click here to see Modern Languages department information.

The Spanish program studies the language, linguistics, literature, culture and civilization of Spain, Spanish America and the Spanish-speaking areas of the United States.

Getting a major 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. Spanish is useful as a standalone major and also strengthens any other discipline as an additional major.

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.

Majoring in a language 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. Some examples of career fields supported by a Spanish major are: health care, education, social work, 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 major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Delivery

• This is a hybrid program, with courses offered on-campus and online.

Declaring This Major

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.

• To be admitted to major status in Spanish, students must have an overall GPA of C+ (2.3).

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  

• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

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

2. Students may have 6 credits (two courses) of SPAN at the 2000 level apply to the major, and  must complete 24 total hours of SPAN courses at the upper division (3000-level and higher). At least 12 SPAN credit hours must be completed at the 4000 level or higher.

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. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major requirements.

4. Students must complete a minimum of 18 SPAN credit hours with CU Denver faculty.

Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. Courses taken at other institutions while a student is enrolled at CU Denver may be applied to the major only with departmental approval before enrollment in those courses.

2. Before enrolling in their final semester in the language, Spanish majors must be evaluated by the faculty in oral and written skills. Students must see their Spanish advisor for specific information.

3. Up to six credit hours of the 36 upper division level credit hours may be taken in related fields.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following required courses:		12
SPAN 3065	Spanish Phonetics and Pronunciation
SPAN 3101	Introduction to the Study of Literature
Any SPAN 32xx course
Any SPAN 37xx course
Complete 24 total credit hours of upper division (3000-level and higher) Spanish electives. Of the 24 hours, at least 12 credit hours must be taken at the 4000 level.		24
Up to two of these electives may be completed outside the SPAN subject code from the approved course list. 1
Approved Electives outside of SPAN
Total Hours		36

¹

• SPAN 4690 Methods of Teaching Modern Languages and SPAN 4691 Methods of Teaching Modern Languages II apply to the Spanish major as electives outside of Spanish. 

Electives Outside of Spanish

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Up to two of these courses/ cross-lists, can be applied as electives:
ANTH 3121	Language, Culture, and Communication
ANTH 4320	Archaeology of Mexico and Central America
CLDE 4800	Language Development and Acquisition
CHIN 3010	Advanced Intermediate Chinese
CHIN 3130	Special Topics in Chinese
CHIN 3200	Contemporary Chinese Society and Culture
CHIN 3300	Special Topics on Chinese Film
CLDE 5030	Language Development of Multilingual Learners: Advanced 1
CLDE 5820	Methods of Teaching Multilingual Learners I
ENGL 3160	Language Theory
ENGL 3798	International Perspectives in Literature and Film
ENGL 4601	Teaching English Language Learners: Theory and Practice
ENGL 4460	Contemporary World Literature
ETST 3108	Chicano/a and Latino/a History
ETST/HIST 3350	Colonial Latin America
ETST 4768	Chicano/Chicana Narrative and Social History
FREN 3010	French Phonetics and Pronunciation
FREN 3020	Conversation through Film
FREN 3050	Advanced Grammar and Composition
FREN 3060	Advanced French Language Skills
FREN 3112	Survey of French Literature I
FREN 3122	Survey of French Literature II
FREN 3130	Current Topics of the French-Speaking World
FREN 3140	Contemporary Francophone Cultures
FREN 3200	The Francophone World in the Post-Colonial Era
FREN 3970	Special Topics
FREN 4010	Advanced Composition: Stylistics
FREN 4082	Introduction to Translation
FREN 4210	French Civilization - Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
FREN 4480	Twentieth Century French Novel
FREN 4490	Twentieth Century French Theater
FREN 4510	French Women Writers
FREN 4520	Voices of Haiti and the Caribbean
GEOG 3130	Central America and the Caribbean
GEOG 3140	Geography of South America
GRMN 3200	Current German Society and Culture
HIST 3345	Immigration and Ethnicity in American History
HIST 3460	Modern Latin American History
HIST/ETST 4411	Modern Mexico
HIST 4412	Mexico and the United States: People and Politics on the Border
HIST 4415	Social Revolutions in Latin America
HIST 4417	Commodities and Globalization
LING 3100	Language in Society
MLNG/SPAN 4690	Methods of Teaching Modern Languages
MLNG/SPAN 4691	Methods of Teaching Modern Languages II
PSCI 4235	Politics and Markets in Latin America
PSCI 4545	Immigration Politics

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.