Spanish and Portuguese: Undergraduate Program

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers both a major and a minor in Spanish, emphasizing the language, linguistics, literature and culture of and Latin America

With an intellectual commitment to multiculturalism and interdisciplinarity, the undergraduate program actively explores the transnational intersection of various aspects of Spanish and Latin American culture, including literature, folklore, cinema, art, music and architecture. While living and studying in twenty-first century Los Angeles--the ideal site for thinking about the planet's increasingly transcultural condition--students are challenged to consider and reconsider a number of important critical issues: the growing importance of popular culture in Iberia, Latin America and Latino USA; the role of race, class, and gender within Spanish and Latin American society; the crucial impact of diasporas and migrations on our contemporary cultural landscape; among many others.

The department encourages students to combine a Spanish major with a double-major or minor in another discipline either within the of , Arts and Sciences or other schools at USC. Faculty undergraduate advisors are available to help provide information and assistance to students wishing to explore these various options.

The department also offers basic language instruction in both Spanish and Portuguese through which students can satisfy their foreign language requirement.

General Information

Spanish Language Proficiency Examination
Students who have studied Spanish in high school are required to take a placement test, administered by the University Testing Bureau. Credit is given only for course work taken above the level of proficiency determined by the examination. Students with no record of previous instruction in Spanish are not required to take the placement examination and should enroll in first semester Spanish (SPAN 120).

Courses in Spanish
All courses at the 200, 300 and 400 levels are conducted in Spanish unless otherwise noted in the course descriptions that follow. Courses are kept small to allow for maximum interaction between students and professors.

Advisement
Every year faculty members are assigned to serve as Spanish undergraduate advisors and mentors, providing advice prior to registration and throughout the academic year.

Undergraduate Degrees

Department Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Spanish

Lower Division (8 units)*

SPAN 260** Advanced Spanish: Arts and Sciences

SPAN 261** Advanced Spanish: Society and the Media

Upper Division (16 units)

Four of the following courses:

SPAN 301 Introduction to Hispanic Literature and Film

SPAN 310 Structure of Spanish

One other SPAN literature, culture, film course

One 400 level SPAN course

Electives (16 units):

Four other upper division SPAN courses.

* Majors and minors may request a waiver of one or both lower division courses (SPAN 260 and/or SPAN 261) if they meet one of the following prerequisites: a) a score of 5 on the Spanish language or literature advanced placement (AP) exam; b) a score of 6 or 7 on the Spanish International Baccalaureate Higher-Level exam (IBHL); c) a score of 800 in the Spanish SAT subject exam; or d) they can demonstrate advanced proficiency in spoken and written Spanish. Departmental approval is required in every case.

**SPAN 260 and SPAN 261 may be taken concurrently. The second of these courses may be taken concurrently with a 300-level course.

Requirements for the Spanish minor

Lower Division (8 units)*

SPAN 260** Advanced Spanish Arts and Sciences

SPAN 261** Advanced Spanish: Society and the Media

Upper Division (16 units)

Any four courses at the 300- or 400-level

Basic Language (12 units)

SPAN 120 Spanish I

SPAN 150 Spanish II

SPAN 220 Spanish III

**SPAN 260 and SPAN 261 may be taken concurrently. The second of these courses may be taken concurrently with a 300-level course.