Spanish Program

With more than 460 million speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken native language of the world. It is the official language in 21 countries and is spoken by more than 13% of the United States population, making it the second largest community of Spanish speakers in the world.

The Spanish Program at Southwest Minnesota State University offers students from all disciplines the opportunity to develop listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills in the Spanish language, and to familiarize themselves with the literatures and civilizations of Spanish-speaking countries. The Spanish Program encourages students to broaden their perspective and increase their understanding and sensitivity to the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.

The Spanish Program offers two courses for beginners, Beginning Spanish 1 and 2. In addition, the Program also offers a Minor in Spanish, which includes intermediate and advanced Spanish courses. Students must complete 15 credits in order to obtain the Minor in Spanish.

Minor in Spanish (15 credits)

Required Courses (6 credits):
Intermediate Spanish courses focusing on the development of the four basic language skills through the study of the cultures and peoples of Spanish-speaking countries.

Elective Courses (9 credits):
Elective courses cover topics such as Culture of the Spanish-Speaking World; Latin America and Spanish Cinema; Composition and Conversation in Spanish; 20th-Century Literature of Spain and Latin America; and Contemporary Hispanic History, among others.

Benefits
One of the main benefits of the Spanish Program is that students will obtain skills essential in fields such as international business, education, government service, and the tourism and hospitality industries.

Additionally, the Minor in Spanish is a popular choice among students of medicine, nursing, dentistry, and other health professionals, who want to cater to Spanish-speaking patients and clients.