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Check out what Westminster Spanish major students and alums are doing and get department updates.
Spanish Major News
In the United States, being fluent in Spanish is an invaluable asset for any career path. Those who major or minor in Spanish are exposed to different aspects of the Hispanic world through high quality courses on culture, literature, politics, translation, art, business, and history (taught in Spanish).
At Westminster College, we seek to develop in you advanced communication skills, as well as critical and innovative thinking. We are committed to preparing you for the complexity and challenges of life in a global society. Our full-time faculty members are also successful scholars in their respective fields who research, publish, and share their professional experiences and training with our you.
Students who wish to obtain certification in secondary education must complete the major in Spanish and take all the required classes in the Education Department, including EDU 400 (Methodologies of Teaching a Foreign Language).
The Spanish Program has several successful study abroad opportunities for you. There are fall, spring, and summer study abroad programs in Oviedo, Spain; Quito, Ecuador; and Viña del Mar, Chile. You will live with Spanish, Ecuadorian, or Chilean host-families and actively engage in language-learning both in and outside of the classroom. The Department also actively helps you to find post-study abroad opportunities, such as business internships in Spain, volunteering or interning at medical clinics in Peru, teaching English at an orphanage for girls in Mexico, or interning at law firms in Chile or Ecuador. The Department highly recommends that you participate in a study abroad or post-study abroad program.
“A value certainly cannot be placed on the numerous advantages of learning to speak a second language like Spanish, especially given the current population trends. With Westminster’s stellar faculty in the Spanish Department, learning the language was not only incredibly fun, but also readily achievable with their guidance and assistance.”
Clayton Jordan, ’09
Students who study Spanish at Westminster are employed in fields as varied as education, business, marketing, accounting, government, NGOs, and healthcare. Many have testified that their language-ability has helped them advance in their careers. Other students have gone on to graduate school, to medical school, and to law school. Having the ability to communicate in another language is undoubtedly a desirable skill in today’s job market.
There is a Spanish Club and an academic fraternity, Sigma Delta Pi. Both organizations give you the opportunity to speak Spanish outside of the classroom. The International Club on campus also exposes you to the countries of our international students, many of whom come from Central America, South America, and Mexico.
The Spanish minor consists of 21 hours of study beyond the elementary level. There are four main requirements for the minor: grammar, conversation, civilization, and literature. Students need to take three elective courses (9 credits.)
The upper-level courses cover a wide variety of topics that, in addition to the expected advanced written and oral communication progress, also refine critical and analytical skills by studying more in depth the cultural production (literature, art and cinema) of regions where the language is spoken; other courses related to specific fields (translation or specialized writing of commercial and formal documents) are theoretical and practical in nature, and have proven very successful for students willing to apply their knowledge in other areas of expertise. You can also pursue a certificate with 12 credit hours (all of which are on 200 and/or 300 level), a program designed for those who want to learn some practical applications of the language while focusing in other programs of study here at Westminster. We currently offer certificates in Spanish Communication, Spanish for Business, Spanish Language, and Translation (Spanish to English).
Check out what Westminster Spanish major students and alums are doing and get department updates.
Spanish Major News
The Spanish and French programs currently offer a major with two tracks, a minor, and three certificates. The major consists of 30 hours of study and a student can choose to complete his/her degree with an emphasis in culture and literatures or with an emphasis in translation. The Spanish minor consists of 21 hours of study, and while the Spanish and French majors and minors have certain mandatory requirements, our students can choose classes to fit their interests. Finally, the department also offers three 12-credit hour certificates: Spanish/French communication, Spanish/French for Business, and Spanish/French translation. All programs in our department are designed to to refine written and oral communication and enhance the student’s critical and analytical skills.
Our Department offers a variety of Study Abroad opportunities for our students. More specifically, the Spanish department regularly opens a May term Study Abroad course either to Latin America or Spain. These courses are led by Westminster faculty and groups of students have enjoyed stays in Argentina, Guatemala, and Spain. Students enjoy the opportunity of fully immersing in Hispanic culture and its lifestyle while leaning about its history, cultural production, and people. One of the most important outcomes of this experience is developing the students' communicative proficiency in Spanish by taking intensive language courses with native professors and living with families. There is also an important service-learning component and we have built relationships with non-profit organizations that improve the quality of life of communities with scarce resources. Finally, advanced students in the major also have opportunities of studying for a full semester in Spain (University of Oviedo) or France (Université de Bourgogne, Université Catholique de l’Ouest).
There is no doubt that the practical aspect of developing the skill of speaking a foreign language is very relevant today. Globalization and transnational population flows have increased the demand for workers with proficiency in different languages. In addition to the utilitarian view of language, our program is committed to provide our students enriching cultural activities and options that also increase and develop their cultural awareness. People with advanced proficiency in a Foreign Language are in high demand in the current market and can search for a diversity of career paths. Our students have been employed in fields as varied as education, business, marketing, accounting, goverment and provate agencies, ONGs, and healthcare.
The Foreign Languages department is home of the Spanish Club and the French Club, two student organizations that bring cultural diversity to our campus. Among the events organized in the last years are the annual celebration of the "Día de los muertos" or
“Day of the Death” (with a lecture on the origins and historical significance of this festivity), salsa dancing lessons, movie nights, cheese tastings and dinner celebrations. The department also is home of chapters for two very important national organizations: Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish Honor Society (Psi Psi Chapter), and Alpha Mu Gamma, two national collegiate honor societies of the United States to recognize exceptional achievements in the fields of Spanish and Foreign Languages respectively.
The Foreign Language department only require students to complete a capstone project in the translation track. The student focus on an extensive final written project related to the area of his/her interest (all under the professor's supervision and feedback) by applying all the concepts and theory learned in previous courses. The final capstone project and all the translation samples are organized and compiled in an electronic portfolio.