The Spanish major will equip students for a large variety of positions in industry, social work, medical institutions, and government where advanced proficiency in the Spanish language is required. Students will also be prepared to continue the study of Spanish or a related field in graduate school. They will develop proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish, as well as knowledge and appreciation for the rich cultural heritages of Latin America and Spain.
Upon completing the B.A. degree in Spanish, students will be able to:
If you have any prior experience with studying/speaking Spanish, please review our Placement Exam information prior to registration.
Students will choose a minimum of 33 total hours, which must include the capstone. 27 of them must come from the following list or be Spanish courses taken abroad, but students may opt to complete all 33 from this list.
The approved courses, all of which are three-credit-hour courses, are:
SPAN 052 – Intermediate Spanish II
SPAN 135 – Medical Terminology
SPAN 140 – Practical Speaking and Writing
SPAN 150 – Topics (Students may repeat this course as the topic varies.)
SPAN 151 – National Identity (Students may repeat this course once as the topic varies.)
SPAN 152 – Film (Students may repeat this course once as the topic varies.)
SPAN 153 – Culture and Society (Students may repeat this course once as the topic varies.)
SPAN 154 – Cultural Health Perspectives
SPAN 155 – Spanish for Business
SPAN 156 – Women of Influence
SPAN 157 – Legends and Myths
SPAN 160 – Literature (Students may repeat this course once as the topic varies.)
SPAN 165 – Capstone (Students must have senior status or instructor's approval.)
Electives: Students may earn six hours of coursework toward the major that are taught in English and that are related to the cultures of Spain and/or Latin America. Interested students should consult this list of approved electives. If you have questions about whether courses not on the list would be applicable, please contact your WLC advisor or email worldlanguages@drake.edu.
Students are able to earn up to six credits in Spanish and apply them as electives to the major requirements through AP, CLEP, or IB taken while in high school. More specifically, students earn:
A minimum of 21 credits must be earned at Drake or at other institutions approved by Drake International. To earn the major, students must have a 2.67 GPA (B- average) in all Spanish courses.
The Major in Spanish may be earned in conjunction with the Minor in Spanish for the Medical and Health Professions, but no more than 12 credit hours may be counted toward both programs.