Spanish, B.A.

Curriculum

As you begin to study Spanish at Clark, you’ll focus on building the core skills of linguistic and cultural competencies. If you’re a native Spanish speaker, you’ll be placed directly into Hispanic literature or culture courses. After you declare your major, an adviser will work with you to discuss and approve related courses and help identify areas of special interest to you. In your senior year, a capstone course will bring together all you’ve learned.

A study abroad experience in a Spanish-speaking country is encouraged, and a maximum of four literature or culture courses taken during that time can count toward the nine courses. Students may choose between the study abroad track and the internship track.

major map

Major requirements

Study Abroad Track

If you want to deepen your fluency and cultural understanding through travel, choose this option.

9 courses total, including those you take abroad.
You’ll complete four required courses including Social Change in Hispanic Literature (SPAN 131) or Analyzing Stories and Poems (SPAN 132); Advanced Oral & Written Spanish (SPAN 237); The National Imagination (CMLT 130); and a Capstone Seminar (SPAN 296).
Study abroad for one or two semesters in a Spanish-speaking country (up to four courses count toward the major).
Electives: Choose three additional courses (SPAN 127–299). Courses taken abroad must be in Spanish and connect to Hispanic literature, culture, or society.

Internship Track

If you’re drawn to using your Spanish skills in professional or community settings, the Internship Track offers that experience.

10 courses total, including a year-long internship.
Four required courses as above.
Six electives (SPAN 127–299).
One-year internship (SPAN 205), typically with a local organization serving Worcester’s community.This internship lets you apply your language skills in real-world contexts while building professional experience and community connections. You and your advisor will design an internship plan that aligns with your interests and future goals.

Minor

In order to receive a minor in Spanish, a student needs to complete six courses in Spanish literature or culture at the level of SPAN 131 /SPAN 132 or higher. CMLT 130 may be counted as one of two courses in English that students may take towards the Spanish minor. Some courses, with advisor approval, may be replaced by one related to the field of study.

Learning outcomes

By the time they graduate, Spanish majors should be able to:

Speak, read, write, and comprehend Spanish at an advanced-low level
Delve into different forms of literature and media critically
Have made a connection to the Department, Clark, and the local Hispanic or Latinx community
Distinguish between formal and colloquial Spanish, and between fact and fiction
Take advantage of different research tools
Engage problems creatively
Recognize the value of diversity and difference
Have had an experience abroad
Treat peers amicably and cooperatively
Ask questions and look for answers
Acknowledge their own (racial, economic, educational) privilege

Department learning outcomes

Featured courses

SPAN 136

Women in Hispanic Literature & Art

Consider topics like identity formation, sexuality, education, self-representation, and others as you delve into works of literature, film, and painting created by female artists from Spain and Latin America.

a film cannister with the flag of Spain on it

SPAN 246

Studies in Spanish Cinema

Hone your Spanish while exploring Spanish films of the past 25 years in the context of political and social change in Spain, and consider how cultural ideologies and identities are formulated in this medium.

SPAN 238

Hispanic Literature of Political Commitment

In this course, conducted in Spanish, you’ll read and reflect on the work of Spanish-language poets, writers, and playwrights, on both sides of the Atlantic, during times of 20th-century revolutionary change.

Department of Language, Literature, and Culture