BA with Major or Minor in Spanish

Program Overview

UVM's Program in Spanish gives you the opportunity to expand your Spanish language skills while also deepening your knowledge of the world's Spanish-speaking nations and communities. Our professors combine excellence in teaching with professional achievement in research. The faculty specialize in the literatures and cultures of Latin America and Spain, U.S. Latino Studies, and language teaching. 

Curriculum

We offer a wide range of classes on the literatures and cultures of Spain and Latin America in addition to language courses at all levels. Sample upper-level electives include The Language of Social Justice, Petroculture: Extraction and Latin America, Latin American Poetry in Resistance, Cuban Cinema, Writing and Speaking Creatively, Medical Narratives, Sustainability and Culture.

From the UVM Catalogue:

• Spanish (B.A.)
• Spanish Minor

Admissions

Regardless of how much experience you have with Spanish prior to UVM, we require that everyone take the language placement exam.

Outcomes

Our students advance into a wide variety of professions. We have students who have become teachers, lawyers, investment consultants, marketing managers working in Spain, and community organizers among other things.

Upon completion of the B.A. with Major in Spanish degree, students will be able to:

• Acquire knowledge of the literary and cultural traditions of Spanish-speaking peoples
• Speak and understand the language for the expression of ideas and opinions in academic writing and for purposes of daily life
• Demonstrate critical thinking skills in analyzing literary or cultural topics
• Develop multicultural awareness to enhance professional and personal interactions with people of other cultural traditions

Core Competencies: Skills You Will Master

• Intercultural/global fluency and foreign language skills
• Ethical reasoning and decision making
• Analytical and critical thinking
• Creative expression and innovation
• Teamwork, collaboration, and leadership
• Written, visual, and oral communication

Careers

• Health services
• Peace corps
• Network reporter
• Social services
• Law enforcement

Alumni Reflections

My time studying Spanish not only opened new worlds to me but made my current one so much more interesting. I feel very proud to have been a Spanish major at UVM and to apply the creative and analytical skills I learned in my career as an attorney. 

Mary Petronio, Class of 2017 Associate at Verill Dana LLP, Graduate from Northeastern School of Law. 

I am the export director of a company that sells sheep mainly to the Middle East and Europe. It is an interesting job. This week I had the opportunity to meet clients in person and explore Dubai. The experience was very enriching. I am very happy with the job although Salamanca is getting too small for me, and I am considering moving to another place in Spain. My experience in the Spanish program was very enriching and I feel very grateful for everything I learned. It helped me grow both personally and professionally.  

Madison Yost, Class of 2021 

 I would say the following "Studying Spanish at UVM was a transformative experience, allowing me to shift from a traditional American worldview toward one of many perspectives. Almost 20 years later, there has been no replacement for the journey I took out of my comfort zone and into Spanish-speaking cultures, literary beginnings, and the redefinition of self." 

Greg Lombardi Class of 2003 Finance, Consultant Manager 

I loved studying Spanish at the University of Vermont. I had great professors who were not only interested in what we did during class, but what we also did outside of class. I developed close relationships and I had the opportunity to do an internship and study abroad in Madrid, Spain. In addition, I learned a variety of topics throughout my Spanish major such as extractivism and colonialism in Latin America, Cuban Cinema, Medical Narratives, and different literatures. Furthermore, I always enjoyed the passion of the professors, participating in class discussions, and expressing my own opinions/thoughts. The Spanish Department helped me grow in my knowledge, awareness of the culture, and skills such as writing, speaking, reading, and listening in Spanish. I felt honored to be a member of the National Hispanic Honor Society.  

Ethan Frey, Class of 2023 Currently in the Peace Corps 

More

Our program in Spanish combines language study at all levels with coursework in Spanish, Latin-American, and U.S. Latino(a) literature and cultural studies. Many of our students also gain life-enriching experience by studying Spanish abroad for a semester or year through one of UVM's many exchange program sites in Spain or Latin America, while others participate in our 1-2 week travel-study programs abroad. 

Our Spanish classes offer students the small-class learning environment they need to develop their foreign language skills. In addition, our students are encouraged to participate in the many extracurricular Spanish-language social activities available or reside in  La Casa de Cultura  (Spanish House).  Events on campus such as our weekly tertulias for Spanish conversation, Spanish-language film series, the annual Hispanic Forum on current issues, and dinners and dances sponsored by the Latin community in the Burlington area give students many opportunities to put learning into practice and to make contacts that can further their studies, travel, or career interests in Hispanic lands. 

Spanish is one of the Indo-European family of languages which are spoken by more than a third of the world and can be classified further as a Romance language, a group that includes French, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, and Romanian. One of the fastest growing populations in the world, it constitutes a large community that shares different cultures and services which offer various institutions and businesses a unique growth opportunity.