Director of Undergraduate Studies: Jesús Rodríguez-Velasco, 301 Casa Hispánica; 854-8486

Director of the Language Programs: Guadalupe Ruiz-Fajardo, 402 Casa Hispánica; 854-3764

Departmental Office: 101 Casa Hispánica; 612 W. 116th Street; 854-4187; 854-5322 (fax)

• http://www.columbia.edu/cu/spanish/

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Columbia University, located in Casa Hispánica at 612 West 116th Street, has long enjoyed an international reputation as a center for Hispanic and Lusophone studies. In addition to providing students with a commanding linguistic preparation in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan, the department offers a flexible and varied undergraduate program that enables them to study the cultural manifestations of the Hispanic and Lusophone worlds in all historical periods—from the medieval to the globalized present—and in a variety of cultural contexts: the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, the former colonies of Portugal, and the United States. The department's courses aim to study culture as the larger contextual grid in which both individuals and social creations find their ultimate meaning and which they, in turn, help to construct.

Students can enter the program at any level of linguistic and cultural preparedness. The department offers a placement exam to determine the level at which a student should either begin or continue study in the department. Majors and concentrators in Hispanic Studies and Portuguese Studies are typically double majors who bring to our courses insights and methods derived from other disciplines and fields such as history, political science, women's studies, anthropology, economics, Latino studies, Latin American studies, etc., which makes for engaging class discussions.

Academic Programs

There are two major options in Hispanic studies. The major in Hispanic studies gives students a well-rounded preparation in the history and culture of the Hispanic world. The second option, a major in Hispanic studies with specialization, allows students to study the Hispanic world through the disciplinary prism of one of a number of fields of specialization, among them Latin American studies, gender studies, political science, economics, history, and sociology.

In addition, the department offers a concentration in Hispanic studies and a concentration in Portuguese studies. Detailed information about all of these programs of study can be found on the department's Web site.

The language and major programs in our department have been designed in close consultation and cooperation with Barnard's Department of Spanish and Latin American Cultures. All courses taken in one program may be used to fulfill the requirements of the other. Hence, Columbia and Barnard students may move freely between the departments of both institutions in search of the courses that may best fit their intellectual interests and schedules.

Advanced Placement

The department grants 3 credits for a score of 5 on the AP Spanish Language exam, which satisfies the foreign language requirement. Credit is awarded upon successful completion of a 3300-level (or higher) course with a grade of B or higher. This course must be for at least 3 points of credit and be taught in Spanish. Courses taught in English may not be used for language AP credit. The department grants 0 credits for a score of 4 on the AP Spanish Language exam, but the foreign language requirement is satisfied. The department grants 3 credits for a score of 5 on the AP Spanish Literature exam, which satisfies the foreign language requirement. Credit is awarded upon successful completion of a 3300-level (or higher) course with a grade of B or higher. This course must be for at least 3 points of credit and be taught in Spanish. Courses taught in English may not be used for language AP credit. The department grants 0 credits for a score of 4 on the AP Spanish Literature exam, but the foreign language requirement is satisfied.

Study Abroad

The department recommends strongly that all majors and concentrators in Hispanic or Portuguese studies engage in study abroad, and considers experience abroad as a unique opportunity to provide substance and linguistic depth to its academic programs. Most courses taken abroad can be used to fulfill the requirements for the major and concentration in the department, and with adequate planning, even some of the requirements for a second major or concentration. A maximum of four (4) courses taken abroad may be applied to the major, and a maximum of three (3) to the concentration in Hispanic or Portuguese studies.

All students are strongly advised to take either SPAN W3349 Hispanic cultures I: from Islamic Spain to the age of empire or SPAN W3350 Hispanic cultures II: from the Enlightenment to the present before studying abroad. Actual or potential majors and concentrators in Hispanic or Portuguese studies should seek tentative approval of their program of study from the director of undergraduate studies before their departure.

Internships

The department maintains an updated list of internship resources and volunteer opportunities in New York City, the United States, and abroad. Interested students should avail themselves of this resource. No academic credit is given for internship experience.

The Hispanic Institute

The department also hosts the Hispanic Institute at Columbia University. Founded in 1920 as the Instituto de las Españas, the institute's central aim is to sponsor and disseminate research on Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian culture. The institute has also published uninterruptedly since 1934 the Revista Hispánica Moderna, a distinguished journal in the field of Hispanic criticism and theory.

In Fulfillment of the Language Requirement

For students with no knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese, or Catalan at least four terms of the language are required: W1101-W1102 (or W1120) and W1201-W1202 (or W1220). All courses must be taken for a letter grade to fulfill the language requirement.

Students with prior knowledge of Spanish (secondary school, living abroad, near-native or native speakers) who plan to continue studying Spanish are required to take the Spanish Department’s on-line placement examination before registering for a course. Students with prior knowledge of Portuguese or Catalan (secondary school, living abroad, near-native or native speakers) should speak with the director of the language programs.

Students may be exempted from the language requirement in Spanish in one of four ways:

1. By presenting a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Spanish Language or Spanish Literature Exams. If you received a score of 5 in either exam you will be awarded three advanced placement credits upon successful completion of a 3300-level (or above) course with a grade of B or higher. There is no advanced placement credit granted for a score of 4.
2. By presenting a score of 780 or above on the SAT Subject Test. Students with a score lower than 780 should take the department's online placement examination and follow the placement advice received.
3. By presenting a score of a 7, 6, or 5 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Exam in Spanish.
4. By obtaining a score of 625 or higher in the department's online placement examination. If your score in the online test qualifies you for exemption from the language requirement, you will be required to take a written version of the placement examination during Orientation (for entering students) or during the semester (for continuing students). This written exam will be offered every year on the Thursday before the beginning of classes in the fall semester from 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. in Room 352 of the International Affairs Building (the Language Resource Center Computer Lab). You do not need to make an appointment to sit for this exam.

Departmental Honors

Majors interested in competing for departmental honors should take the senior seminar in the fall of their senior year. Toward the end of the fall semester, the Director of Undergraduate Studies will ask seniors to produce a proposal for a senior thesis if they are inclined to undertake the exercise. After reviewing the proposals, the faculty will invite a small number of majors to compete for honors based on the strength of their proposal, the quality of the research paper produced by them in the Senior Seminar, and their overall academic record in the department. In order to be considered for departmental honors, a student must maintain a GPA of at least 3.6 in major courses. An invitation to pursue the honors track is not a guarantee that honors will be awarded. Please keep in mind that, according to Columbia College rules, no more than 10% of the majors graduating in a department or program may be awarded departmental honors.

Students who accept the invitation to pursue the honors track enroll in an independent study course in the spring (SPAN W3998) and undertake a research project with a faculty member during their last semester at Columbia. Students must identify a faculty member who is willing to supervise their project and who assigns the final grade for the course. The independent study course taken in the spring counts toward the number of courses required to fulfill the major. Students may develop further and expand the paper produced in the senior seminar or a paper produced for another course, or undertake a new project in consultation with the faculty sponsor. Students should consult the department's Web site for more information about the honors program.

Undergraduate Prizes

The faculty awards an undergraduate prize every year:

Susan Huntington Vernon Prize

Established in 1941 by a member of the noted family of New York Hispanophiles, it is given to the Columbia College senior major who has demonstrated excellence in the study of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American languages and cultures.

Dr. Antonio G. Mier Prize

Awarded for excellence in Hispanic Studies to a major degree candidate in the School of General Studies at Columbia University.