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If you’re interested in languages and the people who speak them, consider a major in Spanish or Portuguese. You’ll become skilled at understanding one of the world’s most widely spoken languages as well as reading, writing, and speaking it. You’ll also learn about Hispanic or Luso-Brazilian literature and culture.
Why
Study Spanish or Portuguese at Iowa?
Iowa’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese has a highly flexible undergraduate program that offers a major in either language. You'll be encouraged to combine your major in Spanish or Portuguese with other University of Iowa majors, minors, or certificates in order to maximize your career options and other opportunities. You'll also have the option to participate in a wide range of study abroad programs.
The department’s faculty includes many native speakers. Faculty members have attracted wide support for their research, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Fulbright-Hays program, and the University’s Obermann Center for Advanced Studies.
The department also plays an important role in the Latin American Studies Program, an interdisciplinary undergraduate program focusing on the history, politics, social organization, economy, art, music, religion, and literature of Latin America.
Course Work
Students majoring in either Spanish or Portuguese earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The BA requires a minimum of 120 semester hours (s.h.), including credit for the major.
Courses in elementary and intermediate Spanish are structured to link five performance goals—listening, reading, speaking, writing, and cultural knowledge—in a staged progression designed to help you develop oral proficiency. If you study Spanish, you’ll acquire language skills through varied ways of communicating and develop grammar skills while speaking and writing. You’ll also enrich your vocabulary during an introduction to Hispanic culture.
Portuguese courses emphasize speaking and comprehending basic Brazilian Portuguese. They also incorporate cultural materials, mainly films and music.
Major in Spanish
Of the 120 s.h. required for the BA, the major in Spanish requires 36 s.h. (12 courses). You’ll complete the required core, which includes courses in Hispanic linguistics, Spanish peninsular literature, Spanish American literature, and peninsular or Spanish American culture. You’ll also continue to develop your language skills and take a number of elective courses, which may include up to two courses in Portuguese and/or two courses in related areas from other departments, such as history, anthropology, or linguistics, subject to certain guidelines.
Major in Portuguese
Of the 120 s.h. required for the BA, the major in Portuguese requires 30 s.h. (10 courses). You must complete the equivalent of four semesters of Portuguese language before beginning course work for the major. Once you begin the major, you’ll study composition and conversation, Brazilian literature, Portuguese literature, and Luso-Brazilian culture.
Beginning course work in Portuguese is geared toward students without previous foreign language study or experience. Classes are small, providing individual attention in an informal learning environment.
For More Details
See Spanish and Portuguese in the UI General Catalog to learn more about the department's majors and for information about graduating with honors or earning a minor in Spanish or Portuguese.
Course Options for Nonmajors
Students majoring in other disciplines may fulfill the General Education Program's World Languages requirement with approved sequences of either Spanish or Portuguese language courses. Additional Spanish and Portuguese courses are approved to satisfy other General Education requirements.
Facilities
The Language Media Center provides students and faculty members with a broad range of services and facilities that include a state-of-the-art audio language laboratory, individual audio-recording carrels, video-viewing rooms and stations for small groups and individuals, and networked microcomputer and interactive multimedia workstations. The center also maintains a number of instructional technology classrooms with special video, audio, and computer equipment for in-class presentations. Its extensive collection of international media resources serves learners at many levels and in many disciplines.
Related Certificates
The University offers a number of undergraduate certificates that students may earn in order to enrich their academic programs and to broaden their opportunities for postgraduation employment or for graduate or professional study. The Certificate in International Business and the Certificate in Latin American Studies are especially appropriate for Spanish and Portuguese majors.
The Certificate in International Business entails study of international business and economics, international relations and institutions, a foreign language, and related area studies. It is offered jointly by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Tippie College of Business.
The Certificate in Latin American Studies focuses on the arts and cultural/social aspects of Latin America. Students must have sufficient command of Spanish or Portuguese to do background readings in one of the languages before enrolling in the certificate’s required senior seminar. The Latin American Studies Program also offers a minor.
Student
Activities
Spanish and Portuguese students have numerous opportunities to learn outside the classroom. The department’s weekly conversation groups in Spanish and Portuguese are friendly, informal gatherings where students may practice with native speakers, meet professors and graduate students, and enjoy each other’s company.
Students have abundant opportunities to attend talks by guests who visit campus, such as Colombian filmmaker Luis Ospina. They also may attend conferences such as the recent Borges Conference, which focused on the work of the widely read Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges.
Learning Outside the
Classroom
You might enjoy living in the Global Village Living-Learning Community in the residence halls. You'll broaden your knowledge of international issues, languages, and cultures while living in a close-knit group.
Study
Abroad
The department participates in a wealth of Spanish study abroad programs in Spain and Latin America, in locations such as Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valladolid, and many others. Some take place during the academic year and others are offered during the summer. A seven-week study abroad program in Portuguese is offered in Brazil.
For more information, visit the Office for Study Abroad web site.
Scholarships
Consult multiple sources for scholarship information, including the Office of Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Aid, and departmental web sites.
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