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SPANISH MAJOR
at Meredith College

As a Spanish major, you’ll develop language and cultural skills and learn to apply these skills in practical situations, including employment. You will acquire the advanced language skills needed to pursue graduate study, and you can also pursue teacher licensure, which prepares you to teach K-12 Spanish.

“Spanish majors master a lot more than just the language: we also strengthen our intercultural awareness, something that’s not only personally valuable but important in our increasingly international working world.”
Belle Williams.
Belle Williams, ’19

Our Bachelor’s in Spanish

Spanish majors acquire basic and advanced skills by studying language, literature, and cultures; develop cross-cultural knowledge; enhance their understanding of their own language; and sharpen their critical thinking skills.

After earning your Spanish degree, you will be able to communicate effectively in writing and in speaking in a range of formal and informal situations, demonstrate intercultural competence, apply specialized terminology and critical approaches in a variety of contexts, and locate, evaluate, incorporate, and document research sources in support of oral and written assignments.

Spanish Class Professor John Wade and student at computer.

Our Spanish Programs

Students can major in Spanish with a concentration in cultural literacy or professional Spanish. They may also pursue a Spanish minor or teacher licensure.

Students majoring in Spanish with a concentration in cultural literacy are required to complete 35-38 hours, which includes 21-24 hours of core courses, eight hours of concentration courses, and six hours of elective courses.

Spanish course descriptions

Undergraduate course catalogue

Students majoring in Spanish with a concentration in professional Spanish are required to complete 35-38 hours, which includes 21-24 hours of core courses, eight hours of concentration courses, and six hours of elective courses.

Spanish course descriptions

Undergraduate course catalogue

Students minoring in Spanish are required to complete 18-21 credits, including 12 hours of core credits and 6-9 additional hours of elective courses.

Spanish course descriptions

Undergraduate course catalogue

The K-12 Spanish teacher licensure program provides appropriate learning experiences to meet the needs, capabilities, and interests of K-12 students studying Spanish. The program is designed to assist individuals in acquiring knowledge, developing skills and dispositions within a learning environment focused on active involvement and integrated learning activities.

Requirements

To complete the teacher education program and earn licensure in Spanish for grades K-12, students must complete the requirements for general education and their chosen major, as well as the following licensure requirements.

Students must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program to enroll.

Undergraduate course catalogue

Why Get Your Spanish Degree From Meredith?

  • Choose from two concentrations: cultural literacy or professional Spanish.
  • Apply what you’re learning in a real-world context. All Spanish majors are required to participate in community-based learning, which allows you to practice your Spanish and deepen your learning through experiences with partner agencies. You can also intern with local organizations. And, if you’re pursuing licensure to teach Spanish, you’ll complete a field placement as a student teacher.
  • Many Spanish majors choose to study abroad – often more than once. You’ll hone your language skills, increase your independence and self-confidence, and experience a Spanish-speaking culture more deeply. In addition, Meredith’s World Languages Travel Award provides financial support for strong students who wish to study abroad.
  • With the completion of Business Spanish (SPA 301), students can apply for Business Spanish certification.
  • Student organizations for Spanish majors include La Tertulia, Meredith’s Spanish club, and the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi.
  • The Learning Center provides free, one-on-one tutoring to any Meredith student who needs assistance with foreign languages, mathematics, science, and writing for all subjects. All tutors are Meredith students who have excelled in their coursework and have been trained to assist their peers.
  • Examples of student success include
    • Briana Petrusa, a Fulbright award recipient who is now a candidate for medical school.
Rosemay Vega Escutia teaching Spanish.

What Can You Do With a Degree in Spanish?

A Spanish major or minor is a valuable addition to students pursuing any number of career paths, including pre-med, pre-law, dentistry, business, and education. Those who have graduated with a major in Spanish in recent years have gone on to graduate school, immediate employment, and other opportunities.

Meredith’s Spanish program offers numerous and varied internship opportunities for students to apply their proficiency in the language to real-world scenarios. Recent examples of internship placements and community-based learning partner organizations include:

  • Urban Ministries Open Door Clinic
  • Neighbor-to-Neighbor Latino Outreach
  • North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals
  • El Centro para Familias Hispanas
  • Passage Home
  • Together for a Better Education (Wake County 4-H Youth Development)
  • Telamon Corporation
  • Legal Aid of North Carolina
  • Student Action with Farmworkers
  • El Pueblo
  • First Baptist Church of Raleigh Clothing Ministry
  • Raleigh Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources
  • YMCAs of the Triangle

Careers for Spanish majors and graduate or professional programs attended by recent graduates include 

  • M.A. in Spanish literature at the University of Virginia
  • M.D. program at UNC Medical School
  • Student Doctor, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Medical Library Scientist, Duke University Health System
  • Spanish teacher for Wake County and District of Columbia Public Schools

A wide range of positions are available to Spanish majors. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for graduates with a foreign language degree is $54,000.

Many students choose to participate in Meredith’s Undergraduate Research Program and go on to present at the annual Celebrating Student Achievement event. Research topics presented include:

  • Immigration and the U.S. Construction Industry
  • Migration after NAFTA: A closer look into agricultural communities in Mexico
  • The Effects of Gender, School, and Residence on Achievement in the Argentine University
  • Cinemexicanidad: Representations of Mexican National Identity in Two Films
  • Reality is in the eye of the beholder: Perception of reality vs. dream in two Argentinian short stories

Inspired by a study abroad experience and with guidance from her faculty mentor, honors student Natalya Brown, ’21, chose to pursue three majors: Spanish, criminology, and sociology.

Videos About Meredith’s Spanish Major

Inspired by a study abroad experience and with guidance from her faculty mentor, honors student Natalya Brown, ’21, chose to pursue three majors: Spanish, criminology, and sociology.

What makes Don Quixote—a Spanish novel written more than four centuries ago—still relevant today? In this episode of The Meredith Minute, Associate Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures Jonathan Wade explains the lasting power of this classic work of literature.

Spanish News and Events

Three recent graduates of Meredith, Briana Petrusa, ’21, Bailey Birtchet, ’21, and Delaney Rhodes, ’20, have been awarded Fulbright scholarships. The Fulbright Program funds scholarships for students to study, conduct research, or teach English abroad. 

Contact Information
Jonathan Wade Department Chair, Professor of Spanish
109 Martin Hall
(919) 760-8738
wadejon@meredith.edu
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