Undergraduate Major: International Spanish for the Professions

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese has an interdisciplinary major in Spanish for the Professions. This option in the Spanish major offers exciting career possibilities, both in government and private industry, at home and abroad. Languages are extremely useful in business, industry, commerce, civil service, law, library science, media, science, economics, health and social sciences. Students who follow this course of study could also qualify as teachers of general business subjects in bilingual as well as traditional school systems. This major has the approval of the College of Arts and Sciences and has the cooperation of the Leeds School of Business. Those choosing this major will not be able to enter our graduate program in Spanish without fulfilling the requirements in the Language and Literature major.

Students with bilingual and international interests with majors other than Spanish (i.e., Latin American Studies, International Affairs, Chicano Studies, Economics, Law, Nursing, Public Administration, and Journalism) may participate by choosing appropriate electives in the International Spanish for the Professions major.

International Spanish for the Professions is a controlled enrollment major which takes two years to complete. Spanish 3040 and 4070 must be taken at CU-Boulder.

I. Prerequisites

A. SPAN 2120 or 2150* or equivalent proficiency  
B. ECON 2010-2020* (ECON 1000 for International Affairs double majors)

II. Requirements

Students are required to take courses in the following four categories:  
A. Professional Spanish courses (15 credit hours) NO SUBSTITUTIONS PERMITTED  
SPAN 3030 (3 credits) Professional Spanish for Business I (only offered in fall)  
SPAN 3040 (3 credits) Professional Spanish for Business II (only offered in spring)  
SPAN 4060 (3 credits) Problems of Business Translation I (fall)  
SPAN 4070 (3 credits) Problems of Business Translation II (spring)  
SPAN 3200 (3 credits) Spanish Culture,  
or  
SPAN 3210 (3 credits) The Cultural Heritage of Latin America, 
or 
SPAN/PORT 3220 (3 credits) Latin American Culture: Spanish America and Brazil.

B. Spanish Language courses (17 credit hours) 
SPAN 3000 (5 credits) Advanced Spanish Language Skills (prerequisite to SPAN 3030)  
SPAN 3100* (3 credits) Literary Analysis in Spanish (must be taken at CU)  
SPAN 3120 (3 credits) Advanced Spanish Grammar  
Spanish Elective (3 credits) upper division  
Spanish Elective (3 credits) 4000-level only

C. Business courses (16 credits) NO SUBSTITUTIONS PERMITTED (for any questions regarding these courses please contact the Spanish Department advisor rather than the Leeds School website) 
BCOR 2000 Accounting and Financial Analysis  (4 credits)  
BCOR 2050/2400 Fundamentals of Marketing (3 credits) 
BCOR 2150/2300 Adding Value with Management (3 credits) 
BCOR 3000/3100 Business Law, Ethics, and Public Policy (3 credits) 
ECON 3403 International Economics and Policy (3 credits)

Nota Bene: Courses marked with an * can also be used to fulfill core curriculum requirements.

D. Area courses (12 credit hours)

Students are required to take courses outside the Spanish department in a field related to their professional interests or a second major or degree. These may include courses in business, economics, computer science, linguistics, another foreign language, Chicano studies, Latin American studies and international affairs, and any course dealing with the Hispanic world from anthropology, history, political science, and geography. Courses meeting this requirement must be approved by an advisor.

Six credit hours may be taken in lower-division courses.  Six credit hours must be taken in upper-division courses.

NOTES:

1) Please note that the College of Arts and Sciences does not allow more than 45 hours in any one discipline to be counted toward the 120 hours required for the B.A. degree. This rule does not mean that a student may not take more than 45 hours in Spanish, but rather that one must have at least 2) 75 credits in courses other than Spanish.  

Courses in other foreign languages will be accepted as fulfilling this requirement.

III. Recommendations

1. Language Study Abroad is encouraged; however, formal admission to the major is required before departure. Business courses may also be transferred from established Study Abroad programs. Please consult the appropriate department advisor concerning Study Abroad. 
2. Students in this major are eligible for Honors in Spanish and for membership in the Spanish Honor Society (Sigma Delta Pi). 
3. Academic credits are obtainable through domestic and foreign internships and for cooperative education provided previous arrangements and departmental approval are granted. 
4. Applications from transfer students to the major will be considered on a space-available basis (major advisor approval is required). 
5. Required business courses may be obtained through summer study.

Concurrent BA/MS International Business 
This program is designed for exceptional students who wish to combine their BA in International Spanish for the Professions with an MS in International Business (MSIB) from the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. Students are able to complete both degrees in five years, including two summer sessions, because 15 credits hours of the undergraduate major can be used to waive the common body of knowledge requirement of the MS degree. For more information, visit the CU-Denver BA/MS Joint International Business Program website.