The Spanish major consists of a minimum of eight courses in Spanish.
SPAN 202, 205 and all 300 and 400 level courses count toward the major.
Of these eight courses, at least four must be taken from the Spanish Department offerings at Amherst College, including the senior seminar (SPAN 495, offered each fall semester) and one additional 400-level seminar during the student’s final year. Other courses may count toward the major with pre-approval from the advisor. These may include a maximum of one Special Topics course, three or four courses taken while studying abroad (three courses if one semester and four courses if two semesters abroad), and upper-level courses from the Spanish Departments at Smith, Mount Holyoke, or UMass. Double majors may count up to two Spanish courses taken at Amherst, the Five Colleges or an approved Study Away program toward their Spanish major requirements as well as the requirements for their second major. All courses, at Amherst and elsewhere, must be taught in Spanish and not substantially repeat topics that the student has already studied in order to be counted for major credit. Courses in English and courses taken pass/fail may not be counted toward the major.
We expect all Spanish majors to spend a semester or a full year in an immersive study away program in a Spanish-speaking country when feasible.