For students who declared their major in or after AUGUST 2009:

The BA with a major in Spanish consists of 33 credit hours, as follows:

• *SPAN 31103 Oral Communication
• SPAN 31203 Writing in Spanish
• SPAN 31403 Advanced Spanish Grammar
• SPAN 32003 Spanish Culture and Civilization OR
  SPAN 32103 Latin American Culture and Civilization
• SPAN 32503 Panorama of Spanish Literature 1 AND
  SPAN 32603 Panorama of Spanish Literature 2
  OR
  SPAN 32703 Panorama of Latin American Literature 1 AND
  SPAN 32803 Panorama of Latin American Literature 2
• Four electives above 31203
  **Two of the electives must be 40000-level literature courses
• Senior seminar
  

* Native and heritage speakers will not receive credit for Spanish 31103 (Oral Communication in Spanish); they should select another course at the 30000 level and above. (A native speaker is considered to be someone whose primary and/or secondary education took place in a Spanish-speaking country. A heritage speaker is someone who was primarily educated in US schools but who speaks Spanish in the home and with friends and co-workers and is quite fluent.)

**43303 (Hispanic Topics in English Translation) does not count toward the major or minor.

Policy on Grades

Courses taken Pass/No-Credit and courses in which the student earns below a "C" will not count toward the major.

Study Abroad

Study abroad is strongly recommended for all majors of Spanish. Besides the enormous improvement they will gain in their speaking ability, the international experience will enhance their career opportunities and cross-cultural competence. 15 credits of the Spanish major may be earned in study-abroad programs. If the student earns 6 of those credits while on a TCU-sponsored summer program, then the student may still apply 9 credits to the major from a semester-long program.

For students in a year-long program: 21 credits of the Spanish major may be earned in study-abroad programs. If the student earns 6 of those credits while on a TCU-sponsored summer program, then the student may still apply 15 credits to the major from a semester-long program.

In order to receive credit, the student must meet with the Spanish & Hispanic Studies Department's study abroad advisor prior to departure to obtain approval for coursework abroad to transfer to TCU.

Teaching Certification

Students seeking certification for teaching in Spanish at the secondary school level should be advised by the secondary certification adviser of the College of Education. The College of Education offers post-baccalaureate certification to TCU graduates. Students need 24 semester hours in Spanish and the education courses required for an Educational Studies Minor with certification. The following link has general information regarding this option: http://www.coe.tcu.edu/cert_post_grad.asp.

All individuals seeking Texas teaching certification with an elementary specialization (including bilingual education) or secondary teaching field in Spanish must take the TOPT (Texas Oral Proficiency Test). This test must be taken in addition to the ExCet exams required. Candidates who attain the TOPTs passing standard of advanced oral proficiency or higher will be recommended for certification. Candidates who do not meet the TOPTs passing criteria, but who have met all other coursework and certification requirements, may be recommended for a general elementary certificate or a single secondary teaching field.

Students who plan to earn a teaching certificate requiring a passing score in the TOPT must submit a language assessment from the Department of Spanish when applying to the Teacher Education Program of the University.

For students who declared their major prior to AUGUST 2009:

The BA with a major in Spanish consists of 30 credit hours, as follows:

A minimum of 6 credit hours:

SPAN 30103 Spanish for Heritage Speakers
SPAN 30203 Intensive Grammar
SPAN 30303 Conversation
SPAN 30503 Composition and Reading

A minimum of 3 credit hours:

SPAN 30813 TCU in Mexico (Culture)
SPAN 30833 TCU in Spain (Culture)
SPAN 30843 Culture of Spain
SPAN 30853 Culture of Latin America

*SPAN 40103 Analyzing Literary Texts

SPAN 40993 Senior Seminar

A minimum of 15 credit hours in electives at the level of 30000

Students may take the Senior Seminar beginning the second semester of their junior year. A grade of B or better must be earned in the Senior Seminar in order for the student to graduate with a major in Spanish; with a grade of C, the student may graduate with a minor in Spanish.

* Students may substitute SPAN 40103 with one course from SPAN 32503-32803 series.

TCU Degree Requirements

Students must fulfill all University and departmental major/minor requirements for graduation.  Beyond the specific curricular requirements of your major/minor, the University requires all students to earn:

• a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 in all work attempted at TCU
• a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 in all courses applied in the major and minor
  (Some major and minor programs may require a GPA of greater than 2.0.) 
• complete 124 total hours with 58 hours of that total being completed at TCU
• 42 of those 58 hours must be advanced (30000 or higher)
• 12 advanced hours at TCU are required in the major
• 6 advanced hours at TCU are required in the minor 

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