Spanish and Portuguese

The sequence of undergraduate programs of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese is designed to lead from the acquisition of competence in written and spoken Spanish or Portuguese, through an acquaintance with the structure and history of one or both of these languages and a critical understanding of the development and achievements of their literatures in the Old World and in the New, to training in advanced study and independent research. The department’s policy is to maintain a balanced strength between language and literature and between Peninsular and Latin American facets of a unified field.

Students in this major choose one of the following concentrations based on general area of interest:

Concentration A: The Languages, Literatures, and Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World

This concentration is recommended for students interested in the languages, literature, and cultures of the Spanish-speaking World on both sides of the Atlantic and/or a career in K-12 foreign language teaching, as well as for future graduate students in Hispanic Studies. Spanish is required for this option, and Portuguese and Catalan are optional. 

Concentration B: The Languages, Literatures, and Cultures of the Portuguese-Speaking World

This concentration is recommended for students interested in the language, literature, and culture of the Portuguese-speaking world, and may include up to two upper division electives in Spanish. Portuguese is required for this option, and Spanish is optional.

Concentration C: Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

This concentration is recommended for students interested in the languages, literatures, and cultures of both Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Latin America, and/or a career in K-12 foreign language teaching, as well as for future graduate students in Spanish and Portuguese studies. It requires coursework in both Spanish and Portuguese, which makes possible comparative approaches to the culture, literature, and history of the region.

Concentration D: Hispanic Languages, Linguistics, and Bilingualism

This concentration is recommended for students interested in the linguistic structure of Spanish and/or Portuguese, bilingualism in society, and/or career in K-12 foreign language teaching, as well as for future graduate students in (Hispanic) Linguistics.

Declaring the Major

Students can receive pre-major advising at any time, from the undergraduate major advisor (spanua@berkeley.edu). Students can declare the major once they have completed SPANISH 25 and one upper division course from the department for concentrations A, C, and D. For concentration B, students must complete Spanish 25, PORTUG 50, and one upper division course from the department before declaring the major. These prerequisite courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Honors Program

Students are eligible to do honors work within the Department of Spanish and Portuguese if they have completed at least two semesters of work at Berkeley with an overall grade point average of 3.3 and a grade point average of at least 3.6 in those courses taken within the major. Students must complete two honors courses, SPANISH H195A (1.5 units) and SPANISH H195B (1.5 units), in two successive semesters, and will write a thesis under the supervision of an appropriate departmental faculty member over the course of two successive semesters. A letter grade, reflecting progress, will be given after the first semester. H195A/B will not count toward the required upper division work in the major. Before the semester in which students intend to begin the honors program, they should speak with the staff undergraduate advisor to verify eligibility for honors work and to discuss the process.

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