Majors and Minors > Spanish Language and Literature
FAQs | Sample Programs |Study Abroad Liaison | Receiving Credit |
There are many wonderful options all over the world for Spanish to study abroad. This page contains information that will assist Spanish Language and Literature majors and minors in determining how to integrate study abroad into their Brandeis careers.
We understand that many students who major or minor in Spanish wish to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. We encourage this experience as something that is both academically and personally valuable, especially in the context of developing skills and cultural awareness in a foreign language. We have prepared the information presented here in order to help make the process of selecting courses that will count towards your Spanish major or minor at Brandeis easier.
Guidelines/ FAQs
Key Points
- students may count two courses per semester of study abroad up to a maximum of four courses towards the major and up to a maximum of two courses for the minor
- for credit at Brandeis, courses tend to be defined in terms of credit hours, that is, duration. For example, full-credit courses offered during the academic year at Brandeis are usually scheduled to meet for at least 39 hours. At other universities and/or programs in other countries, however, courses and credits may be structured differently. All decisions with respect to whether a course may be used for Brandeis credit, or regarding how much credit a course might receive, are made by the Study Abroad Office in consultation with the Office of the Registrar. If you have questions about whether a course will count for credit here at Brandeis, and for how much credit, please contact the Office of Study Abroad in Usdan 127
- it is your responsibility upon your return to campus to ensure that the Spanish Study Abroad Liaison receives copies of all official paperwork regarding your study abroad. In order to ensure this, you will need to be in touch with the Study Abroad Office.
The major and minor in Spanish at Brandeis comprise the study of the broad spectrum of language, literature, and culture from the perspective of textual analysis. For the Spanish program, a text may be anything open to interpretation; books, stories, films, television programs, people, clothing, events, all are texts because we can read them, that is, interpret them and comprehend them in terms of other contexts and situations. This means that, practically speaking, our courses could address questions of art, history, music, etc., but always from the disciplinary perspectives of textual analysis and Hispanic cultural studies. What is distinct in our program as opposed to other disciplines and fields is the tools we bring to analysis, the fact that, as students of Hispanic cultures, we are not historians, anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, etc., but literary and cultural scholars and critics.
To be more specific, any course that we would teach in our Spanish program which a student takes abroad will count towards the major and minor.
Examples of courses that we would probably accept for credit (as long as you hadn't taken a similar course already at Brandeis) include:
- Cervantes' Don Quixote
- Hispanic Films from Fiction
- Post Civil-War Novel
- Alejandra Pizarnik y la poesía latinoamericana
Examples of courses that we probably would not accept for credit include:
- History of Spanish Art (this course would be taught in the Fine Arts Department at Brandeis)
- History of Latin America (this course would be taught in the History Department at Brandeis)
- Advanced Spanish Grammar (with the exception of SPAN 106 and SPAN 108, language courses do not count towards the major and minor)
- Arabic Literature (even if taught in Spanish, this course is not necessarily pertinent to the study of Hispanic culture)
There are always exceptions to these general guidelines, which is why it's important to discuss your possible program of study while abroad with the Spanish Study Abroad Liaison. Although you might not always receive the definitive "yes" or "no" that you would like to hear, s/he should be able to help you to make sense of all of this.
Finally, it is always a good idea to keep all of the materials from each of the courses taken abroad for which you hope to receive credit: syllabi, handouts, exercises, quizzes, exams, papers, etc. That way, if any question comes up about a course, you will be able to sit down the Study Abroad Liaison to review things.
Of course, the most important thing is that ¡se aprenda mucho y se divierta!
Sample of Approved Programs with Spanish Course Work
Information on specific programs coming soon!
Study Abroad Liaison
To assist students with their academic choices abroad and to help answer any questions about receiving major/ minor credit while abroad, each academic department and program has assigned a faculty member to serve as the Study Abroad Liaison. Spanish majors or minors who plan to study abroad should speak with the study abroad liaison before they go abroad, and again once they have returned from study abroad.
The liaison for Spanish is Prof. Fernando Rosenberg
| Telephone: 63209 | Email: ferosen@brandeis.edu |
| Office: Shiffman 204 | Office Hours: TBA |
Receiving Credit in Spanish
Students wishing to receive credit in Spanish for work done off campus during the academic year should download the Petition for Major/ Minor Transfer Credit (TC03). After filling out the form and gathering the necessary paperwork, please make an appointment to meet with the Study Abroad Liaison as listed above.
We welcome your feedback. If you have concerns or are looking for more information on a topic, please let us know!