# 2025-2026 General Catalog

**Source**: https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/departments-programs-degrees/spanish-portuguese/spanish-ab/
**Parent**: https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/departments-programs-degrees/#programsanddegreestext

[Office & Contact Information](https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/departments-programs-degrees/spanish-portuguese/)

The Spanish major program assures proficiency in all four language skills-speaking, understanding, reading, and writing-and acquaints students with the intellectual and cultural contributions of the Spanish-speaking world through a study of its language, literature, and cultural productions.

## The Program

The department's lower division program gives students a solid foundation in the Spanish language, either through the traditional elementary and intermediate language series or through an accelerated three-course sequence of Spanish for native speakers. At the upper division level, students receive a broad introduction to basic concepts and the practice of literary and cultural criticism and to the four areas of study represented in the department's curriculum: Spanish linguistics, Spanish literature and culture, Latin-American literature and culture, and Latina/o literatures and cultures in the United States. Students are encouraged to work closely with the department's academic advisors in designing a program of studies tailored to their individual needs and interests. Many students combine the Spanish major with another major in the humanities or social sciences.

### Prerequisite Credit

Credit normally will not be given for a course if that course is the prerequisite of a course already successfully completed. Exceptions can be made by the Department Chairperson only.

### Advising

Given the great flexibility in the Spanish major, it is important that students design their programs in close consultation with their major advisor. This is especially important for students who intend to use their major as preparation for graduate study, for those who are planning a teaching career, and for those who wish to take advantage of our Education Abroad Program options.

### Major Advisors

213 Sproul Hall.

### Career Alternatives

The program, alone or in combination with other major programs, may lead to advanced study of the language or literature and culture of Spain and Spanish America, and to careers not only in teaching, but also in other professions such as library science, law, medicine, and in government, social service, business, or international relations.

### Honors Program

Candidates for high or highest honors in Spanish must write a senior thesis under the direction of a faculty member. For this purpose, honors candidates must enroll in at least 6 units of [SPA 194H](https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/search/?P=SPA%20194H "SPA 194H") distributed over two quarters. Normally, a student will undertake the honors project during the first two quarters of the senior year; other arrangements must be authorized by the department chair. Only students who, at the end of their junior year (135 units), have attained a cumulative GPA of 3.500 in courses required for the major will be eligible for the honors program. The requirements for earning high and highest honors in Spanish are in addition to the regular requirements for the major in Spanish.

### UC Education Abroad Program Options

The department encourages its majors to consider study in a Spanish-speaking country with our UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP). It is now possible for our students to complete significant portions of the Spanish major in the UCEAP centers at both the lower (Preparatory Subject Matter) and upper division levels through newly introduced options. See the [Global Learning Hub](https://globallearning.ucdavis.edu/).

### UC Davis Quarter Abroad

The Quarter Abroad Program offers programs in Mendoza, Argentina (fall quarter) and in Madrid, Spain (spring quarter). These programs aim at providing students with opportunities to increase their knowledge of the Spanish language and cultures by experiencing the life-learning challenges of living and studying abroad.

Students may earn 15-22 UC Davis units toward the Spanish major, minor, or foreign language requirement. Each program may offer an upper division course taught by the UC Davis Program Director focusing on history, culture and society.

For more information, see [UC Davis Quarter Abroad](https://globallearning.ucdavis.edu/pathways/academics/studyabroad/qa).

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