The BA in Spanish with a Minor in Secondary Teaching Endorsement provides students with foundational knowledge in the Spanish language and Spanish speaking cultures around the world and in the United States. The skills and knowledge attained will empower students to teach and serve their community. Students work closely with the Teacher Education Program to gain the experience and necessary skills to thrive, lead, and innovate in the classroom.

Specific Program Requirements

Admission into the Education Minor

The Education Minor is reserved for those undergraduate students pursuing a Colorado teaching license in conjunction with their major. It is a “protected” minor, which means students cannot just add it by themselves. When a student successfully completes our admission course (ED 301), the Education Minor is added to his/her program. 

Admission into the Spanish Program

There are no specific requirements for admission to the program, however, students who have prior exposure to Spanish through family interaction or previous studies need to be placed in the appropriate course for their level. 

1. Students who have taken no Spanish in high school or at another institution of higher learning should begin with SPN 101 Beginning Spanish I.
2. Students, who have taken Spanish in high school, but not at another institution of higher learning, must take a placement exam to determine their proper placement.
3. Heritage Spanish speakers (that is, students who speak Spanish at home to a greater or lesser extent), students with significant Spanish immersion experience, and students who have taken Spanish courses at other institutions of higher learning must meet with a Spanish advisor in order to determine correct placement. The advisor will place the student based on any of the following or a combination thereof: an oral interview, a placement exam, a written composition.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Communication: Students can use Spanish to communicate in “real life” situations. Students communicate in oral and written form, interpret oral and written messages, show cultural understanding when they communicate, and present oral and written information for various audiences and purposes.
2. Cultures: Students can interact with cultural competence and understanding. Students develop an understanding and appreciation of the relationship between their native cultures, Spanish-speaking cultures, and the Spanish language. They understand other people’s points of view, ways of life, and contributions to the world.
3. Connections: Students can connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career-related situations. Students develop Spanish proficiency for use in different fields and contexts.
4. Comparisons: Students can make comparisons between Spanish-language varieties, Spanish-speaking cultures, and their own languages and cultures. Through these comparisons, they develop insight into the nature of languages and cultures to interact with cultural competence.
5. Communities: Students extend learning experiences from the Spanish-language classroom to the home and community. Students take their skills beyond the classroom by participating in project-based learning, field trips, clubs, community organizations, exchange or study-abroad programs, and school-to-work opportunities.

Outcomes Assessment Activities

• The faculty of the Spanish program uses several methods for evaluating student learning outcomes for Spanish majors. These include an oral proficiency interview, a written proficiency test, a student portfolio, and an exit survey.

Specific Program Requirements

Program Overview

In addition to the courses listed below, Spanish majors must also meet the following requirements:

1. A senior portfolio.
2. A minor in Education and completion of all requirements of the Teacher Education Program for K-12 Spanish licensure.
3. Completion of the oral and written proficiency exams and of the graduating-senior survey.
4. At least one upper-division SPN course must emphasize Latin America, one Spain.

• Study abroad is strongly encouraged.

Specific Core Requirements

Specific Requirements for the Education, Minor

The student must complete an appropriate major and the following Education courses:

¹

Music students may take PSYC 151 Human Development (GT-SS3) (3 c.h.) or PSYC 251 Childhood and Adolescence (3 c.h.).

²

Music Education students must complete MUS 220 Foundations of Music Education (3 c.h.) instead of ED 202 Foundations of Education (3 c.h.), MUS 103 Music and Computer Technology I (1 c.h.) and MUS 306 Technology for Music Educators (2 c.h.) instead of ED 280 Educational Media and Technology (3 c.h.), and MUS 440 Choral Music Methods (2 c.h.) instead of ED 460 Classroom Management (3 c.h.).

³

Physical Education students may complete EPER 465 Adapted Physical Education (3 c.h.) Adapted Physical Education (3 c.h.) or ED 412 Teaching Diverse Learners (3 c.h.) Teaching Diverse Learners (3 c.h.).

⁴

One of the following special methods courses (or sets of courses) is required depending on major: ED 444 Teaching Secondary Science (4 c.h.) ED 446 Teaching K-12 Art (4 c.h.), ED 447 Teaching English in Secondary Schools (4 c.h.), ED 448 Teaching Foreign Language (K-12) (4 c.h.), ED 451 Teaching Secondary Social Studies (4 c.h.), EPER 351 Methods of Teaching Elem Physical ED (3 c.h.) & EPER 478 Methods of Secondary Physical Education (3 c.h.), MATH 477 Methods for Teaching Secondary Math (4 c.h.), MUS 340 General Music Methods (2 c.h.) & MUS 440 Choral Music Methods (2 c.h.) & MUS 441 Instrumental Music Methods (2 c.h.).

Specific Graduation Requirements

Besides completing at least 120 credits including all coursework for the Spanish major and education minor, students need to: 

• ​Attain a grade of C or better in all Spanish courses for the major
• A total GPA of 2.6
• Complete an exit Spanish Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)
• Complete an exit Spanish Written Proficiency Test (WPT)
• Complete a student Spanish Portfolio
• Complete an exit survey

Planning Sheet

Disclaimer: The Planning Sheet is designed as a guide for students planning their course selections. The information on this page provides only a suggested schedule. Actual course selections should be made with the advice and consent of an academic advisor. While accurately portraying the information contained in the college catalog, this form is not considered a legal substitute for that document. Students should become familiar with the catalog in effect at the time in which they entered the institution.