Spanish B.A.

The ability to communicate with Spanish speakers and appreciate Hispanic cultures gives you a tremendous advantage in a wide range of careers. Whether on the job or in your community, your Spanish language competency and cultural understanding can help you establish valuable connections in the inter-dependent global community.

Students will attain an advanced level of proficiency in Spanish according to the criteria of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines. Students will also acquire a reasonable understanding and knowledge of Hispanic cultures through the study of literature, history, art, social science, philosophy, etc. in a variety of courses taught in Spanish and English. As students plan their programs, they select a specific area of concentration (literature, culture, language) in which to acquire a more profound knowledge relative to their particular interests and goals. Additionally, students will engage in real-life learning via their service learning experiences where they will have opportunities to work with public and private agencies on projects that integrate their language skills with community needs. Finally, in students’ Senior Capstone projects they will have the opportunity to demonstrate thorough understanding of a topic of interest to them.

The program prepares graduates for successful careers as professionals in teaching, business and technology, travel, tourism, governmental and nongovernmental agencies, and for graduate study in hispanic languages and literatures, Chicano/Latino studies, linguistics, translation and interpretation, TESOL, or focused international disciplines such as policy, management and business.

To learn more about the major, visit the World Languages & Cultures website.

Required Courses

Special Requirements

If you transferred into CSUMB as an AA-T-certified student in Spanish, please see the AA-T certified requirements.

If you are unsure about your transfer status, please talk to a Spanish faculty advisor as soon as possible.

All other Spanish majors, see below.

standard requirements

Complete ALL of the following courses:

• WLC 300: WLC Major ProSeminar
• SPAN 301S: Service Learning in the Chicano / Latino Community
• WLC 400: WLC Major Capstone
• SPAN 301: Comp/Oral Practice
• SPAN 304: Intro To Hispanic Literat

Complete ONE of the following courses:

• SPAN 302: Hist/Phonetic Struct Span Lang
• SPAN 303: Adv Spanish Grammar
• SPAN 305: Spanish for The Professions
• SPAN 313: Intro to Spanish Linguistics
• SPAN 315: Introduction to Translation: Spanish/English

Complete ONE of the following courses:

• SPAN 306: Cultur/Civ Span Ltn Amer
• SPAN 316: Cultures and Civilizations of Spain
• SPAN 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Lit
• SPAN 322: Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature: Latin America & the Caribbean

Complete ONE of the following courses:

• JAPN 305: Introduction to Japanese Culture & Civilization
• JAPN 306: The Japanese Mind
• JAPN 307: Japan-American Experience
• JAPN 308: Japanese Pop-Culture
• JAPN 309: Japanese Literature in Translation
• JAPN 310: Japanese Cinema
• JAPN 311: Social Issues In Japan
• JAPN 313: Manga, Anime & Modern Japan
• JAPN 314: Japanese Visual Culture and Media
• JAPN 405: Economic History Of Japan
• JAPN 407: Japan in Asia
• JAPN 408: Business In Japan
• HCOM 322: Asian American Literature
• HCOM 324: African American Narratives
• HCOM 326: Jewish Holocaust Literature
• HCOM 346: African American Life/History
• SBS 365: Black/Civil/Rights:1954-1968
• SBS 381: US in Vietnam and Asia-Pacific: Peoples, Colonization, Conflicts, Resources
• SBS 382: History of Modern Africa
• SBS 383: African Civilizations
• OR, in lieu of taking one of the above courses, with the approval of an advisor, students may choose to independently study, research and analyze the working components of the second culture.

Students select one of the following emphases below. Please note: An emphasis is an informal grouping of courses designed to prepare students for particular careers. Emphases do not appear on final transcripts.

Language and Linguistics

Complete FOUR of the following courses (not repeating any of the previously related lang/ling courses):

• SPAN 302: Hist/Phonetic Struct Span Lang
• SPAN 303: Adv Spanish Grammar
• SPAN 305: Spanish for The Professions
• SPAN 313: Intro to Spanish Linguistics
• SPAN 315: Introduction to Translation: Spanish/English
• LING 392: Nature of Language & Language Acquisition

Literature and Culture

Complete FOUR of the following courses (not repeating any of the previously related culture/literature courses; and no more than two non-SPAN courses can be used to complete this requirement):

• SPAN 306: Cultur/Civ Span Ltn Amer
• SPAN 307: History&Politics Of Mex
• SPAN 308: Hist/Cultr Aztlan:SW US
• SPAN 309: Hist & Polit Of Latn Amer
• SPAN 310: Hispanic Children Literature
• SPAN 311: US Foreign Policy Pac Rim
• SPAN 316: Cultures and Civilizations of Spain
• SPAN 325: Hispanic Cinema
• SPAN 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Lit
• SPAN 322: Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature: Latin America & the Caribbean
• SPAN 330: Hispanic Testimonials
• SPAN 365: The Chicano Novel
• SPAN 370: The Chicano Community
• SPAN 425: La Literatura Mexicana
• SPAN 426: Narativa Hispanoamericana
• SPAN 427: Latin Amer Women Writers
• SPAN 428: La Literatura Afrolatina
• HCOM 328: Latina Life Stories
• HCOM 329: Auto/Biografias
• HCOM 344: Chicana/Latina Experiences
• HCOM 345: Chicano Life & Culture
• HCOM 455: Paradigms Of Chicano Comm
• SBS 325: Art of the Aztec Empire
• SBS 348: Maya Civilization
• SBS 480: The Queretaro Project

To complete the requirements of the Spanish degree, students must demonstrate that he or she has been actively immersed in and has internalized Hispanic culture. There are three pathways by which this can be demonstrated; in consultation with your major advisor, choose ONE of the following pathways:

1. Pathway 1: By participating in a study-abroad program in a Spanish-speaking country for at least one semester. WLC's Spanish program has exchange agreements with the University of Aguas Calientes and the University of Queretero in Mexico, and the University of Córdoba in Spain. In addition, through CSU International Programs, you can study at universities in Madrid or Granada, Spain or in Santiago, Chile.
2. Pathway 2: By living and working in a local heritage community over an extended period of time without interruption for at least two years.
3. Pathway 3: By participating in and/or completing all of the following cultural learning scenarios with accompanying documentation, in the target language:

• Participate in service learning within a local heritage community for a minimum of eight weeks beyond the actual service learning requirement.
• Make a minimum of three home-visits in the local heritage community to interact and communicate with members of the Hispanic culture regarding topics of personal interest, the community, culture and language.
• Attend or view via media a minimum of 10 cultural events and /or social activities of Hispanic culture.
• Actively participate and/or perform in a school or heritage community event or celebration.
• Participate in a heritage-community project (of some duration) that requires proficiency in Spanish and knowledge of Hispanic cultures.
• Conducting a one hour in-depth interview with a speaker of Spanish, eliciting, in a conversational manner, comments of a biographical nature, cultural and social observations and anecdotal reflections.
• View and comment on 10 movie-length films produced within and about Hispanic culture.
• Participate at least five times in organized sports or recreation activities of Hispanic culture.
• Demonstrate cultural skills by making hotel reservations, ordering meals and shopping in stores or markets in heritage settings where Spanish is spoken.

Learning Outcomes

MLO 1 Language Proficiency

The student sustains performance in speaking, listening, reading and writing at the Advanced level of language proficiency, as outlined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL):

1.1 Speaking ability: The student is able to satisfy the requirements of everyday situations and routine school and work requirements. Can communicate facts and talk casually about topics of current public and personal interest, using general vocabulary. The student can be understood without difficulty by native speakers.

1.2 Listening ability: The student is able to understand main ideas and most details of connected discourse on a variety of topics beyond the immediacy of the situation. Comprehension may be uneven due to a variety of linguistic factors and topics.

1.3 Reading ability: The student is able to read prose selections of several paragraphs in length, particularly if printed clearly and if prose is in familiar sentence patterns. Reader understands the main ideas and facts but may miss some details. At this level the student can read such texts as descriptions, narratives, short stories, news items and routine personal and business correspondence.

1.4 Writing ability: The student is able to write routine social correspondence and join sentences in simple discourse of at least several paragraphs in length on familiar topics, and is able to express him/herself simply with some circumlocution. Good control of the most frequently used syntactic structures, but makes frequent errors in producing complex sentences. Writing is understandable to natives not used to the writing of non-natives.

Note: Final Language Proficiency is demonstrated in WLC 400: WLC Major Capstone

MLO 2 Language and Linguistic Knowledge

The student develops an understanding of the structure of the Spanish language and is able to use an appropriate level of formality according to the situation, whether in writing or in speech.

The student completes between two and six courses (depending on his or her choice of emphasis, as either language and linguistics knowledge or literary and cultural knowledge) related to the Spanish language and linguistics. These courses deal with: the sound system of Spanish, the history of Spanish, advanced grammar, Spanish-English translation, a general introduction to Spanish linguistics, Spanish for professional application (medical, legal, etc. spheres), composition and conversation.

MLO 3 Literary and Cultural Knowledge

The student develops a reasonable understanding of the ways of thinking (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), the behavioral practices (patterns of social interactions) and the cultural products – both tangible and intangible (for example, art, history, literature, music) — of Hispanic cultures.

There are two pathways by which this outcome can be fulfilled:

1. The student completes between two and six courses (depending on his or her choice of emphasis, as either in language and linguistics knowledge or literary and cultural knowledge) in Hispanic literature, culture or society. General areas to choose from are: literature, the social sciences (anthropology, geography, history, political systems), art history, music history, religion or other non-Spanish courses specific to Hispanic culture or society.
2. With prior approval and guidance from WLC faculty, the student may opt for a more individual pathway. He or she may choose to independently study, research and analyze four of the following areas as they are reflected in the civilization or national culture of the language chosen to study: architecture, dance, dress, fiction, healing processes, high art, issues of gender and racial equity, music, national history, poetry, political systems, popular art, religious beliefs, theatre.

MLO 4 Secondary Cultural Knowledge

In addition to the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures, the student demonstrates a general knowledge of a socio-cultural group other than a Hispanic one or mainstream American culture. The student develops a basic understanding of the ways of thinking (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), the behavioral practices (patterns of social interactions) and the cultural products – both tangible and intangible (for example, art, history, literature, music) – of the second culture.

There are two pathways by which this outcome can be fulfilled:

1. The student completes at least one upper division course whose focus is a socio-cultural group not reflected by a Hispanic culture. General areas to choose from are: literature, the social sciences (anthropology, geography, history, political systems), art history, music history and/or the second cultural group.
2. With faculty approval, the student may opt for a more individual pathway, choosing to independently study, research and analyze the working components of the second culture.

MLO 5 Cultural Praxis (Cultural Internalization & Language Immersion)

The student demonstrates that he or she has been actively immersed in and has internalized Hispanic culture.

There are three pathways by which this outcome can be fulfilled:

1. By participating in a study-abroad program in a Spanish-speaking country for at least one semester. WLC's Spanish program has exchange agreements with the University of Aguas Calientes and the University of Queretero in Mexico, and the University of Córdoba in Spain. In addition, through CSU International Programs, you can study at universities in Madrid or Granada, Spain or in Santiago, Chile.
2. By living and working in a local heritage community over an extended period of time without interruption for at least two years.
3. By participating in and/or completing 10 of the following cultural learning scenarios with accompanying documentation, in the target language:

• Participate in service learning within a local heritage community for a minimum of eight weeks beyond the actual service learning requirement.
• Make a minimum of three home-visits in the local heritage community to interact and communicate with members of the Hispanic culture regarding topics of personal interest, the community, culture and language.
• Attend or view via media a minimum of 10 cultural events and /or social activities of Hispanic culture.
• Actively participate and/or perform in a school or heritage community event or celebration.
• Participate in a heritage-community project (of some duration) that requires proficiency in Spanish and knowledge of Hispanic cultures.
• Conducting a one hour in-depth interview with a speaker of Spanish, eliciting, in a conversational manner, comments of a biographical nature, cultural and social observations and anecdotal reflections.
• View and comment on 10 movie-length films produced within and about Hispanic culture.
• Participate at least five times in organized sports or recreation activities of Hispanic culture.
• Demonstrate cultural skills by making hotel reservations, ordering meals and shopping in stores or markets in heritage settings where Spanish is spoken. This objective is assessed by faculty.

MLO 6 Information Technology Literacy

The student demonstrates an ability to use technology in support of his or her scholarly work, including gathering, organizing and analyzing sources and employing appropriate delivery techniques in both written and oral formats.

Course Pathways

These pathways are examples of how you might complete all the requirements for your degree in an order that makes sense given prerequisites. They are meant to give you a general sense of what your education will look like.

Your own unique situation and a number of other factors may mean your actual pathway is different. Perhaps you'll need an extra math or language class, or one of the courses we've listed isn't offered in a particular semester. Don't worry - there is flexibility built into the curriculum. You'll want to work closely with an advisor and use the academic advisement report to take all that into account and develop a pathway that's customized for you.

In the meantime, use this example as a starting point for choosing classes or discussing your plans with an advisor. Your advisor is your best resource when it comes to figuring out how to fit all the courses you need, in the right sequence, into your personal academic plan.

Freshman Pathway

Fall Freshman

* This FYS class is just an example. The FYS class you choose might meet a different GE area, so you would have to adjust your actual pathway accordingly.

Spring Freshman

Fall Sophomore

Spring Sophomore

Fall Junior

Spring Junior

Fall Senior

Spring Senior

Spanish with Language and Linguistics Emphasis Transfer Pathway

Fall Junior

Spring Junior

Fall Senior

Spring Senior

Spanish with Literature and Culture Emphasis Transfer Pathway

Fall Junior

Spring Junior

Fall Senior

Spring Senior

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