Major in Spanish

Pre-Admission Requirements for a BA in Spanish

  1. A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation.
  2. A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work:
    1. Transfer students must have a 2.00 transfer GPA
    2. Continuing UNM students must have a 2.00 institutional GPA
  3. Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the following:
    1. Completion of the University Writing and Speaking Core
    2. Completion of the University Mathematics Core
    3. Completion of the University Foreign Language Core
  4. Completion of Department of Spanish & Portuguese major admission course work with grades of “C” or better for SPAN 2120 or 2220 or 301 or 302 or 307

Core Requirements

Requirements include

30 credit hours in Spanish courses numbered 300 and above as specified below, plus, demonstrated 2120/2115 skill level in another (third) language other than Spanish and English.  All grades must be “C” or higher in order to count toward the degree.

7 Required courses (21 credit hours):

  • SPAN 301 Topics in Hispanic Culture and Language
  • SPAN 302 Developing Spanish Writing Skills
  • SPAN 307 Introduction to Hispanic Literature
  • SPAN 350 Sound Patterns of Spanish - OR - 351 Introduction to Spanish Linguistics
  • SPAN 352 Advanced Grammar
  • SPAN 411 Survey of Spanish Peninsular Literature I - OR - 412 Survey of Spanish Peninsular Literature II
  • SPAN 431 Spanish American Literature Survey I - OR - 432 Spanish American Literature Survey II

3 Elective courses (9 credit hours):

All electives must be above SPAN 307 with at least one course (3 credit hours) at the 400 level.

Demonstrated skill in Portuguese at the 202/2115/2120 level:

Demonstrated skill may be established by either a) passing a Foreign Language Proficiency test administered by a faculty member - or - taking the necessary courses.

Students have the option of taking:
12 credits in a three-course sequence (PORT 1110, 1120 & 2115)
12 credits in a two-course sequence (PORT 2110 & 2115) - or –
6 credits in a single course (PORT 2120**)

**PORT 2120 – Intensive Portuguese for Spanish Speakers, is only for students with strong Spanish language skills.**

Use of courses toward this requirement in a language other than Portuguese must be approved by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

For Spanish majors who will continue to study Spanish at the graduate level:

We recommend that you take all four literature survey courses-

  • SPAN 411 & 412 Survey of Spanish Peninsular Literature I & II;
  • SPAN 431 & 432 Spanish American Literature I & II

Two of these courses will count toward required courses and the other as electives.

Students may follow a general course of studies or choose to emphasize on one of these areas:

  1. Peninsular Literature
  2. Latin American Literature
  3. Hispanic Southwest Studies
  4. Hispanic Linguistics

Students with advanced and/or native language skills are encouraged to take courses above 301:

It is possible to substitute higher level courses for some required courses, such as 301, 302 and in some cases 307. Visit the Advanced Language Skills page for more information.

Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Spanish Literature scores - UNM equivalencies:

The University of New Mexico encourages you to take advantage of this unique opportunity to earn college credit prior to enrolling. CEEB Advanced Placement Program Students who took advanced placement courses in high school, and earned a score of three or higher on the exam, may be eligible for college credit. Score reports should be sent from the College Board directly to the UNM Office of Admissions.

Adanced PlacementScoreUNM Course EquivalentUNM Credit HoursEnroll directly in the following UNM Courses
Spanish Language3SPAN 1110, 11206 total (3 ea.)2110 or 2210
4 or 5SPAN 1110, 1120, 2110,
2120 & 302
15 total307
Spanish Literature4SPAN 3023 total307
5SPAN 302, 3076 total (3 ea.)350 - 370
411 - 439, 479

Studying Abroad:

Second majors in Spanish may apply up to 12 credit hours of courses taken abroad toward their degree requirements. Visit the Study Abroad page for more information.