Major with Specialization

For students wishing to pursue a more rigorously interdisciplinary program, the Department offers a major that integrates courses in Spanish and Latin American Cultures with courses in another department or program chosen carefully by the student, with the approval of the Major Advisor. This major consists of 14 courses (42 points). With advisor approval, courses in the Barnard Department of Spanish and Latin American Cultures and the Columbia Department of Iberian and Latin American Cultures count equally toward the Major with Specialization.

Beyond the Language Requirement, the following are the required introductory courses (labeled as "Bridge Courses" in the Barnard Course Catalogue):

1. SPAN W3300 Advanced Spanish Language through Content
2. SPAN W3349 Hispanic Cultures I: Islamic Spain through the Colonial Period
3. SPAN W3350 Hispanic Cultures II: Enlightenment to the Present

W3300 is a prerequisite for W3349 and W3350, which may be taken successively or simultaneously.

In addition to the three introductory courses, students must take eleven upper-level courses, five of which must be in the Department of Spanish and Latin American Cultures (this includes the Senior Seminar). Six courses must be in a single related field of specialization outside the Department, although in special cases and with advisor approval, students may complete some coursework in another, closely related field. Possible fields of specialization are Anthropology, Art History, Africana Studies, Economics, Film, Gender Studies, History, Latino Studies, Latin American Studies, Music, Political Science, Sociology, or Urban Studies; the specific field will always be chosen in consultation with the Major Advisor.

Students should work closely with the Major Advisor to plan their program of study; it will also be their responsibility to seek advising regarding coursework in their external specialization from appropriate sources (for example, from other departments' Chairs). Specialization electives should include basic methodological or foundation courses in the chosen field. In exceptional cases and with advisor approval, students may take a Senior Seminar (outside Spanish and Latin American Cultures) as a seventh course in their field of specialization if they have completed enough basic courses in that field to manage the demands of an advanced seminar; if so, it may count instead of one of the four courses in Spanish and Latin American Cultures. In such cases, the major advisor must receive written communication from the seminar instructor indicating approval of a student's membership in the course; the seminar project must be on a Spanish/Latin American topic; and a copy of the project must be turned in to the major advisor for the student's file upon completion of the course.

Up to four courses from study abroad may be applied toward the Major with Specialization, as approved by the Major Advisor.