Program Overview

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Bachelor of Arts in Spanish

The Spanish major is designed to be flexible, creative, and meet a host of different goals, allowing students to develop the advanced linguistic skills and forms of cultural competence so frequently sought in today’s globally competitive and interconnected world.

Concentrations

Students choose between two concentrations:

• Concentration A: Translation and Interpretation - equips students with the necessary knowledge, tools, and abilities to become competent interpreters and translators.
• Concentration B: Spanish and Latin American Literatures and Cultures - is designed for students who wish to pursue a more general course of study of the varied cultural and literary histories of the Spanish-speaking world.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Demonstrate advanced level competency in all language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in accordance with criteria developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) while developing skills in critical and analytical thinking as well as sharpening research skills through discussion and analysis of different kinds of texts, films, documents, and linguistic data.
• Develop professional standards to give presentations in Spanish on a variety of cultural topics including literature, popular culture, and films, or interpret speech and translate documents from one language to another, according to their interests.
• Demonstrate intercultural competency through their contact and engagement with the cultures, literatures, history, and politics of the diverse places where Spanish is spoken: the Americas - North, Central, and South - the Caribbean, and Europe.
• Gain knowledge of the legal systems of the Spanish-speaking world.
• Graduate with extraordinary international opportunities, whether they elect to undertake further specialized study in Hispanic literatures and cultures, or decide instead to translate and interpret from English to Spanish and Spanish to English.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Throughout their studies, students can volunteer as translators and interpreters at John Jay and with partner non-profit organizations.

• In their junior year, students are encouraged to participate in the Student Interpreter Services Program, a paid experiential learning opportunity providing language services for John Jay families through the Office for Student Transition Programs.
• During the senior year, students typically engage in an internship experience in translation and/or interpretation in a specific area of their choice.

Coordinator

Professor Aída Martínez-Gómez, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.

Advising Information

Spanish Major Advising Resources, which include sample four-year plans of study.

Credits Required

• Spanish Major (or more depending on placement): 36 credits
• General Education: 42 credits
• Electives: variable
• Total Credits Required for B.A. Degree: 120 credits

Prerequisites

The Spanish major requires successful completion of the beginning Spanish sequence (SPA 101-SPA 102 OR SPA 111-SPA 112) or placement test results indicating an equivalent level of Spanish language comprehension.

Required Core Courses

• Language Practice Required:
  • SPA 201: Intermediate Spanish I
  • SPA 202: Intermediate Spanish II
  • SPA 215: Spanish Conversation & Composition
• Career Emphasis: Select one
  • SPA 255: Spanish for the Professional
  • SPA 250: Spanish for Criminal Justice

Concentration

Select either Concentration A or Concentration B.

Concentration A: Translation and Interpretation

• Required:
  • SPA 230: Translating I
  • SPA 231: Interpreting I
  • SPA 330: Translating II
  • SPA 333: Interpreting II
  • SPA 340: Legal Interpreting I
  • SPA 435: Legal Translating
• Electives - Select two:
  • SPA 309: The Theme of Justice in Spanish Lit (Taught in Spanish)
  • SPA 321: Spanish Literature I
  • SPA 322: Spanish Literature II
  • SPA 331: Latin-American Literature I
  • SPA 332: Latin-American Literature II
  • SPA 336: Themes of Justice in Latin American Lit & Film (Taught in Spanish)
  • SPA 357: Violence Against Women in the Spanish-Speaking World
  • SPA 380: Advanced Selected Topics in Spanish
  • SPA 440: Legal Interpreting II
  • SPA 478: Internship in Spanish Interpretation and Translation

Concentration B: Spanish and Latin American Literatures and Cultures

• Select one 300-level Spanish Literature course:
  • SPA 321: Spanish Literature I
  • SPA 322: Spanish Literature II
• Select one 300-level Latin American Literature course:
  • SPA 331: Latin-American Literature I
  • SPA 332: Latin-American Literature II
• Select one 300-level Theme of Justice through Literature and/or Film course:
  • SPA 309: The Theme of Justice in Spanish Lit (Taught in Spanish)
  • SPA 336: Themes of Justice in Latin American Lit & Film (Taught in Spanish)
• Select one 400-level course:
  • SPA 401: Contemporary Issues in Hispanic Literature
• Electives - Select four:
  • SPA 230: Translating I
  • SPA 231: Interpreting I
  • SPA 320: Latin-American Theatre Taller de Teatro/Theatre Workshop
  • SPA 351: Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues in Hispanic Film and Literature
  • SPA 354: Hispanic Film
  • SPA 357: Violence Against Women in the Spanish-Speaking World
  • SPA 359: The African Legacy in Latin America Through Literature and Films
  • SPA 380: Advanced Selected Topics in Spanish
  • FRE 201: Intermediate French I
  • POR 201: Intermediate Portuguese I

Notes

• A semester of study abroad in a Spanish-speaking university, approved by the student's major advisor and department chair, may substitute for up to fifteen (15) credit hours toward the major.
• All courses used for the major must be taught primarily in the Spanish language except for the POR 201 and FRE 201 electives.