A minor in Spanish is perfect for motivated students with a passion for language, literature, and culture, who are excited by imaginative, interdisciplinary, and provocative approaches to study and life.
A Spanish degree teaches you about connection, communication, and community, and fits well with a major or minor in another language, or with subjects such as Anthropology, History, Political Science, Geography, and many more.
Degree Requirements
Required language courses
- 6 credits of SPAN 101 (3) Beginners' Spanish I and SPAN 102 (3) Beginners' Spanish II, or 3 credits of SPAN 103 (3) Intensive Beginners' Spanish
- 6 credits of SPAN 201 (3) Elementary Spanish I and SPAN 202 (3) Elementary Spanish II, or 3 credits of SPAN 203 (3) Intensive Elementary Spanish
However, students who have studied Spanish before or for whom Spanish is a heritage language may take a placement test to be exempted from some or all of the above courses. If this is your case, please contact the Student Programs Coordinator at fhis.undergrad@ubc.ca.
Required literature courses
- SPAN 221 (3) Introduction to Hispanic Literature
SPAN 221 covers major texts, authors, periods, and genres of Hispanic literature, as well as the key concepts, terminology, and practices of literary analysis that serve as a foundation for higher-level Spanish literature courses.
Optional courses
- In addition to the courses shown above, students may consider registering for instance in SPAN 206 (Conversational Spanish I), SPAN 207 (Conversational Spanish II), SPAN 222 (Introduction to Hispanic Culture), and so on.
Required language courses
- SPAN 301 (3) Advanced Spanish I
- SPAN 302 (3) Advanced Spanish II
However, students who have studied Spanish before or for whom Spanish is a heritage language may take a placement test to be exempted from some or all of the above courses. If this is your case, please contact the Student Programs Coordinator at fhis.undergrad@ubc.ca.
Required literature and culture courses
Students must take at least two of the following courses:
- SPAN 357 (3) The Golden Age of Peninsular Literature and Culture
- SPAN 358 (3) Divergent Visions: Peninsular Literature and Culture since 1700
- SPAN 364 (3) Colonial Encounters in Spanish-American Literature and Culture
- SPAN 365 (3) Modern Magics: Spanish-American Literature and Culture since the 1820s
These courses provide broad surveys of Peninsular and Spanish-American literature and culture from the early-modern period to the present. They enable understanding of the broad contexts for more specialized courses at 400-level.
Additional courses
Students must take at least two of the following courses:
- SPAN 321 (3) Tradition and Diversity in Spanish History and Culture
- SPAN 322 (3) Dependency and Revolution in Latin American History and Culture
- SPAN 395 (3-6) Special Topics Abroad
- SPAN 401 (3) Upper Intermediate Spanish I
- SPAN 402 (3) Upper Intermediate Spanish II
- SPAN 403 (3) History of the Spanish Language
- SPAN 404 (3) From World to Screen: Topics in Hispanic Cinema
- SPAN 405 (3) Celebrating Diversity: Topics in Peninsular and Latin-American Culture
- SPAN 406 (3) Breaking the Mold: Gender Representation(s) in Hispanic Literature and Culture
- SPAN 409 (3) From Text to Stage: Topics in Hispanic Theatre
- SPAN 410 (3) Multicultural Beginnings: Topics in Medieval Literature and Culture
- SPAN 411 (3) Hispanic Linguistics
- SPAN 420 (3) Ascent and Decline: Topics in Golden-Age Peninsular Literature and Culture
- SPAN 430 (3) Modernization and Autonomy: Topics in Peninsular Literature and Culture since the 18th Century
- SPAN 450 (3) Discourse and Dialect: Topics in Spanish Language
- SPAN 470 (3) Imperial Eyes and Foundational Fictions: Topics in Spanish-American Colonial and Nineteenth-Century Culture
- SPAN 490 (3) Peoples and Nations: Topics in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Spanish-American Culture
- SPAN 495 (3) Research Intensive Seminar in Spanish Literature and Culture
These courses mostly enable more focused analysis of specific issues and topics in Peninsular and Spanish-American literature and culture. SPAN 495 is a research-intensive course that satisfies the Arts research requirement.
Program Diagram
Click on the diagram below to download the PDF.
Entrance Level
Declaring a Minor
Science students wishing to add a Spanish minor to a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree will choose their starting point according to their background, just as BA candidates do, but they will also have to present the Science Faculty’s Minor in an Arts Discipline Approval Form to the Student Programs Coordinator (fhis.undergrad@ubc.ca) to have it filled out and signed before returning it to the Science Advising Office.
BCom candidates will choose their starting point according to their background, just as BA candidates do, but they will also have to present the Sauder School of Business’s Arts Minor Study Plan to the Student Programs Coordinator (fhis.undergrad@ubc.ca) to have it filled out and signed before returning it to the Commerce Undergraduate Program Office.