Spanish is spoken by nearly 550 million people worldwide and is an official language in 21 countries and a number of international organizations. Spanish is among the four most spoken languages in the world and has more native speakers than any language except Chinese. Fluency in Spanish opens countless career opportunities for students.
A Spanish major provides exceptional preparation for students interested in a career in business, international affairs, social services, government, health care, communication, translation, marketing, teaching or any profession that requires bilingual written or oral communication skills and cultural understanding. Whether you already have some Spanish communication skills or are starting at the beginning, you will develop both your language capabilities as well as your cultural competence as part of our major. Classes focus on not only language, but literature, linguistics, customs, values, and culture so that students leave UWM ready to speak, read, write and understand Spanish in business and social contexts. Students are strongly encouraged to utilize our Center for International Education to take advantage of study abroad experiences available in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Spain. Some students go short-term, such as a week or two, while others choose to stay abroad for a summer program, a semester or a year.
A Spanish minor and a Business Spanish minor are also available. The Spanish minor can be completed with most Spanish courses at the 300-level and above, while the curriculum for the Business Spanish minor is more structured, with required courses in Business and Legal Spanish. In addition, students who plan to pursue healthcare careers will find value in our Certificate in Spanish for Health Professionals. The certificate is similar to a minor in terms of the number of credits required and can enhance a student's resume.
Course of Study – Bachelor of Arts Degree
Complete 120 credits including 75 credits in the College of Letters & Science and with 36 of the 75 credits in L&S upper-level (numbered above 300) courses.
The College requires that students must complete in residence at UWM at least 15 credits in upper-division (numbered 300 or above) courses in their major. The College also requires that students complete at least 30 credits overall in residence at UWM. For additional residency and transfer credit limitations, see L&S Undergraduate Policies and Regulations.
Students are also required to complete University-wide General Education Requirements and the specific L&S requirements listed below.
To complete a major, students must satisfy all the requirements of the major as stated in this catalog. Students who declare their majors within five years of entering the UW System as a degree candidate may satisfy the requirements outlined in any catalog issued since the time they entered. Credits used to satisfy the major also may be used to satisfy other degree requirements.
University General Education Requirements (GER)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Oral and Written Communication | ||
| Part A | ||
| Achieve a grade of C or better in the following course: | ||
| ENGLISH 102 | College Writing and Research (or equivalent) | |
| Part B | ||
| Course designated as OWC-B; may be completed through a major-specific course requirement | ||
| Quantitative Literacy | ||
| Part A | ||
| Earn at least 3 credits with a grade of C or higher in one of the following courses or an equivalent course, or achieve a placement code of at least 30 on the mathematics placement test (or other appropriate test, as determined by the Mathematical Sciences Department) | ||
| Mathematical Literacy for College Students II | ||
| Contemporary Applications of Mathematics | ||
| Introduction to College Algebra | ||
| Algebraic Literacy II | ||
| Introduction to Logic - Critical Reasoning 1 | ||
or PHILOS 111 | Introduction to Logic - Critical Reasoning | |
| College Algebra | ||
Or equivalent course | ||
| Part B | ||
| Course designated as QL-B; may be completed through a major-specific course requirement | ||
| Arts | ||
| Select 3 credits | 3 | |
| Humanities | ||
| Select 6 credits | 6 | |
| Social Sciences | ||
| Select 6 credits | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences | ||
| Select 6 credits (at least two courses including one lab) | 6 | |
| UWM Foreign Language Requirement | ||
| Complete Foreign Language Requirement through: | ||
Two years (high school) of a single foreign language | ||
Two semesters (college) of a single foreign language | ||
Or equivalent | ||
| UWM Cultural Diversity Requirement | ||
| One course from the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences must also satisfy UWM's Cultural Diversity requirement | ||
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Math 111 and Philosophy 111 are jointly offered and count as repeats of one another. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.
College of Letters & Science Requirements
The degree requirements in the College of Letters and Science build on the University General Education Requirements to provide a broad base of knowledge as well as an array of skills cited by employers as critical to professional success: critical thinking, problem solving, oral and written communication, ability to work well with others, and adaptability to change.
For the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), you must complete the UWM General Education Requirements as well as these L&S requirements: the International requirement, the Breadth requirement, and the Research requirement. The International requirement develops your potential for cross-cultural understanding in a globalizing world. The Breadth requirement ensures that you take classes in a wide variety of subjects, across humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. The Research requirement calls for you to build your critical thinking and oral and written communication skills through conducting an independent research project, usually in your major.
For the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) you will also complete the Language other than English requirement, to further develop your understanding of cultures through language.
I. Total Credits and Upper-Division Courses Requirement
Students must complete 120 credits including 75 credits in the College of Letters & Science and with 36 of the 75 credits in L&S upper-level (numbered above 300) courses.
II. Language other than English Requirement
Students doing the BA must fulfill the language other than English requirement by either successfully completing the fourth semester of university work or equivalent in one language other than English, or by successfully completing the second semester of university work or equivalent in two languages other than English (including all world languages and American Sign Language).
Language courses (including American Sign Language) other than English taken in high school may be used to satisfy all or part of this requirement. One year of high school language equates to one semester of college work. Proficiency tests approved by the Languages faculty may be used to satisfy all or part of this requirement.
Completion of the L&S Language Requirement also satisfies the university-wide Language other than English GER, but not vice versa.
III. International Requirement
To meet the International Requirement, students must successfully complete some three course (minimum 9 credits) combination of
- language other than English (not including American Sign Language) at 3rd semester level or above, and/or
- non-language courses with L&S approved international content (see Courses Approved for the L&S International Requirement for course options).
IV. Breadth Requirement
In addition to completing the University General Education Requirements, L&S students must complete the Breadth requirement.
The L&S Breadth requirement calls for 6 credits each in L&S courses designated L&S Humanities, L&S Natural Sciences, and L&S Social Sciences breadth. One of the L&S Natural Science breadth courses must be a laboratory or fieldwork course. These courses must be beyond and in addition to courses in those areas used to satisfy General Education Requirements.
Please refer to the list of Courses Approved for the L&S Breadth Requirement.
V. The Major
The College of Letters and Science requires that students attain at least a 2.0 GPA in all credits in the major attempted at UWM. In addition, students must attain a 2.0 GPA on all major credits attempted, including any transfer work. Individual departments or programs may require higher GPAs for graduation. Some departmental majors require courses from other departments. Contact your major department for information on whether those credits will count as part of the major GPA. The College requires that students must complete in residence at UWM at least 15 credits in upper-division (numbered 300 or above) courses in their major.
Research Requirement
Within their majors, students must complete a research experience approved by the L&S faculty. A list of courses satisfying the research requirement in each major can be found here.
VI. The Minor
Students are encouraged to consider completing a minor, but it is not required. To complete a minor, the College of Letters and Science requires that students attain at least a 2.0 GPA in all credits in the minor attempted at UWM. In addition, students must attain a 2.0 GPA on all minor credits attempted, including any transfer work. The minor must contain at least 9 credits in upper-division (numbered 300 and above) courses.
Spanish Major Requirements
The major in Spanish requires 33 credits at the 300 level and above. At least 15 of these advanced credits must be taken in residence at UWM. PORTUGS 202 may be used to satisfy 3 credits of these 33 advanced credits.
The College requires that students attain at least a 2.0 GPA in all credits in the major attempted at UWM, as well as in any transfer work counting toward the major.
All majors are required to take an exit examination, which is offered on campus near the end of each semester. It is recommended strongly that they take this exam during their last semester in the Spanish program.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | ||
| Language | ||
| SPANISH 308 | Advanced Writing and Reading | 3 |
| SPANISH 318 | Advanced Speaking and Listening | 3 |
| or SPANISH 319 | Advanced Speaking and Listening for Heritage Speakers | |
| Linguistics | ||
| SPANISH 341 | Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics | 3 |
| Literature | ||
| SPANISH 350 | Introduction to Literary Analysis | 3 |
| Select three electives at the 300-level or above, or PORTUGS 202: 1 | 9 | |
| Portuguese for Spanish Speakers 2 | ||
| Using Spanish in the Business World | ||
| Advanced Spanish Grammar | ||
| Spanish for Health Professionals | ||
| Introduction to Translation: English to Spanish | ||
| Health Issues in the Hispanic World | ||
| Social and Historical Issues in the Hispanic World: | ||
Only one of the following 300-level courses, taught in English, count as an elective: | ||
| Luso-Brazilian Culture: | ||
| Introduction to Latino Literature in English | ||
| Topics in Latino Literature in English: | ||
| Select three electives at the 400-level or above: 1 | 9 | |
| Spanish Phonetics and Phonology | ||
| Spanish Syntax and Morphology | ||
| Hispanic Sociolinguistics | ||
| Survey of Hispanic Literature and Civilization | ||
| Survey of Spanish-American Literature and Civilization | ||
| Survey of Spanish Literature and Civilization | ||
| Topics in Hispanic Culture: | ||
| Select one course at the 500 level (fulfills L&S Research Requirement): 3 | 3 | |
| Seminar in Spanish Literature: | ||
| Seminar in Spanish-American Literature: | ||
| Seminar in Hispanic Literature: | ||
| History of the Spanish Language | ||
| Seminar in Hispanic Linguistics: | ||
| Seminar in Spanish Golden Age Literature: | ||
| Seminar on Cervantes: | ||
| Seminar in Modern Spanish Literature and Civilization: | ||
| Total Credits | 33 | |
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Students may always use a higher-level course to satisfy lower-level electives. For example, to satisfy the "three 300-level or above electives" requirement, a student may take one 300-level course and two 500-level courses.
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We encourage our Spanish majors to build on their proficiency in Spanish in order to develop their language skills in Portuguese, a language closely related to Spanish historically, geographically and linguistically. Because of this, PORTUGS 202 also counts towards the Spanish major, as a 300-level elective, and prepares students to continue their study of Portuguese if they are interested in completing a minor.
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Students must complete the L&S research experience in a 500-level course. All of these courses include a research component that serves to develop students’ ability to do independent research in a specific field of interest. Both the oral presentation and the written research paper will be evaluated and rated in the areas of language acquisition/usage as well as research ability/synthesis. Students who complete a second 500-level course as one of their electives and fulfill other GPA requirements can apply for Honors in the major.
Spanish BA Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from the Spanish, B.A. program will be able to:
Speaking Proficiency
- narrate in the past, present and future with enough accuracy to be understood by native Spanish speakers.
- use vocabulary and rephrasing to talk about topics related to their personal lives as well as topics of academic and social interest with minimal miscommunication.
- communicate at paragraph length with fluency and notice and self-correct errors.
Listening Proficiency
- understand authentic language on a variety of topics related to their personal lives and topics of academic and social interest, when they have clear contextual clues or prior knowledge of the topics.
Writing Proficiency
- narrate in the past, present and future with enough accuracy to be understood by native Spanish speakers.
- produce written texts related to basic functions of academic and professional writing.
- communicate at paragraph length with some use of connecting and transitional phrases to create cohesion.
Reading Proficiency
- understand authentic language on a variety of general interest topics, when the texts employ frequently used grammatical structures and vocabulary and offer clear context clues.
Linguistic Understanding
- compare shared structures in English and Spanish and contrast structures unique to each language.
- recognize and sometimes reproduce cultural characteristics of language like formalities and levels of politeness.
Cultural Understanding
- recognize and differentiate between cultural practices of different cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and compare them with their own.
- evaluate cultural products, such as visual art, literature and film, and argue the relationship between cultural products and practices.
Disciplinary Expertise
- recognize and correctly reproduce discipline-specific vocabulary in areas of interest such as literary analysis, cultural studies, linguistics, health care, and business and legal transactions.
- design and edit basic analytic essays (or other culminating projects) using the second language in the disciplinary areas.
Letters & Science Advising
During your time at UWM, you may have multiple members of your success team, including advisors, peer mentors and success coaches. Letters & Science students typically work with at least two different types of advisors as they pursue their degrees: professional college advisors and faculty advisors. L&S college advisors advise across your entire degree program while departmental faculty advisors focus on the major.
College advisors are located in Holton Hall (or virtually for online students) and serve as your primary advisor. They are your point person for your questions about navigating college and completing your degree. College advisors will:
- Assist you in defining your academic and life goals.
- Help you create an educational plan that is consistent with those goals.
- Assist you in understanding curriculum, major and degree requirements for graduation, as well as university policies and procedures.
- Provide you with information about campus and community resources and refer you to those resources as appropriate.
- Monitor your progress toward graduation and completion of requirements.
Faculty advisors mentor students in the major and assist them in maximizing their development in the program. You will begin working with a faculty advisor when you declare your major. Faculty advisors are an important partner and will:
- Help you understand major requirements and course offerings in the department.
- Explain opportunities for internships and undergraduate research and guide you in obtaining those experiences.
- Serve as an excellent resource as you consider potential graduate programs and career paths in your field.
Students are encouraged to meet with both their college advisor and faculty advisor at least once each semester. Appointments are available in-person, by phone or by video.
Currently enrolled students should use the Navigate360 website to make an appointment with your assigned advisor or call (414) 229-4654 if you do not currently have an assigned Letters & Science advisor. Prospective students who haven't enrolled in classes yet should call (414) 229-7711 or email let-sci@uwm.edu.
Honors in the Major
Spanish majors who meet the following requirements may apply to the undergraduate advisor to graduate with Honors in the Major:
- Maintain at least a 3.500 GPA in all advanced credits that count toward the major;
- Maintain at least a 3.000 GPA in all graded courses attempted at UWM; and
- Take at least two 500-level Spanish courses.
College of Letters and Science Dean's Honor List
GPA of 3.750 or above, earned on a full-time student's GPA on 12 or more graded credits in a given semester.
Honors College Degree and Honors College Degree with Distinction
Granted to graduating seniors who complete Honors College requirements, as listed in the Honors College section of this site.
Commencement Honors
Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.500 or above, based on a minimum of 40 graded UWM credits earned prior to the final semester, will receive all-university commencement honors and be awarded the traditional gold cord at the December or May Honors Convocation. Please note that for honors calculation, the GPA is not rounded and is truncated at the third decimal (e.g., 3.499).
Final Honors
Earned on a minimum of 60 graded UWM credits: Cum Laude - 3.500 or above; Magna Cum Laude - 3.650 or above; Summa Cum Laude - 3.800 or above.