Majors & Minors
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Undergraduate Programs
The BA with a major in Modern Language Studies requires 27 semester hours in a combination of modern language courses and area studies courses. Each student performs a program of study in consultation with a faculty adviser in the Department of Modern Language Studies. Students may major in Chinese, French, German, or Italian.
Requirements
To earn a major in Modern Language Studies, students must complete a total of 27 hours in courses taught predominantly in the Department of Modern Language Studies. One interdisciplinary course from another department can count (permission required). A maximum of 9 credit hours can be transferred from study abroad programs or other universities.
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Students must complete:
- 20053 and 20063 in their language of choice (6 hours)
- the gateway class MOLA 20003: Cosmopolitanism: Thinking from a Global Perspective and the capstone class MOLA 40193: Senior Seminar with variable topics (6 hours)
- 3 classes taught in the language of concentration at the 30000 level or above with at least 1 class at the 40000 level (9 hours)
- 2 classes at any level with an ARAB, CHIN, FREN, GRMN, ITAL, JAPN or MOLA prefix (exclusive of language-sequence classes in the language of concentration). While not required, one interdisciplinary class from outside the Department of Modern Language Studies may be counted for 1 of these 2 classes. For the interdisciplinary classes, please consult with and seek the approval of the major advisor and chair. Only one of these 2 classes may be taught in English. (6 hours)
The Modern Language Studies minor requires 21 semester hours. Students may concentrate in Chinese, French, German, or Italian. The 21 semester hours can include:
- 9-12 hours from the language-sequence courses (10153, 10163, 20053, 20063) in the relevant language;
- and 9-12 hours from courses with the relevant language prefix (CHIN, FREN, GRMN, or ITAL) or the MOLA prefix, excluding the language-sequence courses. At least 6 of these latter 9-12 hours must be at the 30000 level or higher. No more than 3 hours from a course taught in English may be counted towards the MOLA minor.
A maximum of 6 credit hours can be transferred from study abroad programs or other universities for the minor.
The BA with a major in Spanish and Hispanic Studies consists of 33 credit hours.
Requirements
The BA with a major in Spanish & Hispanic Studies consists of 33 credit hours including an initial 6 semester hours in Intermediate Spanish courses and an additional 27 semester hours, in consultation with a faculty adviser in the Department of Spanish & Hispanic Studies, in one of the following three tracks:
- Track One: Spanish
- Track two: Spanish for the Professions
- Track Three: Latin American Studies
Three minor programs:
- Spanish and Hispanic Studies minor
- Spanish for Health Professions (SHP) minor
- Spanish for Business Professions (SBP) minor
Students must choose one of the three, and is not available to those whose major is Spanish and Hispanic Studies.
No credit given to native speakers for 20000-level Spanish; heritage speakers may only receive credit with permission of the department chair. A native speaker is considered to be someone who completed his or her and secondary education in a Spanish-speaking country. A heritage speaker is someone who was primarily educated in U.S. schools but who speaks Spanish in the home and with friends and co-workers. Native speakers and heritage speakers not eligible to take these courses must take additional upper-level Spanish electives instead unless these credits are awarded as transfer credit or Advanced Placement Credit.
Native speakers will not receive credit for SPAN 30503, 30603, and 31703 unless special permission is granted by department chair.
Heritage speakers are encouraged to take SPAN 31703. Non-heritage speakers should not take SPAN 31703.
Policy for majors & minors:
No credit will be given to native speakers for 10000- and 20000-level language-sequence courses (10153, 10163, 20053, 20063); heritage speakers may only receive credit with permission of the program advisor and the department chair.
A native speaker is considered to be someone who completed primary and secondary education in a country where the language of concentration is spoken. A heritage speaker is someone who was primarily educated in U.S. schools but who speaks the language of concentration in the home and with friends and co-workers. Native speakers and heritage speakers not eligible to take these courses must take additional upper-level courses instead of the language-sequence courses, to be determined in consultation with the program advisor.
Courses taken Pass/No-Credit and courses in which the student earns below a "C-" will not count toward the major.
What can I do with this degree?
Top careers for language majors include:- International Business
- Translator
- Linguist
- Scholar
- Historian
- Policy Analyst
- Diplomat