Spanish and Linguistics (BA)

Program Description

Spanish

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures boasts one of the most prestigious and innovative programs in the country. Students with an interest in the Spanish and Portuguese languages and/or the cultural production of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain take a wide range of courses with a world-class faculty, who frequently collaborate with NYU’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the King Juan Carlos I Center, and the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics.

The department offers a range of majors and minors. Highly qualified students may participate in the honors program, which culminates in the writing of a thesis during the student’s senior year under the supervision of a faculty member. Internships are offered for credit with educational and cultural institutions throughout the city. Students are encouraged to study away at NYU Madrid and NYU Buenos Aires, where they may fulfill many major or minor requirements through site-specific classes and immersive experiences.

In addition, the department collaborates on programs with the Residential Life Exploration Program’s Spanish language floor for freshmen, and publishes the online undergraduate journal wp.nyu.edu/esferas.

Linguistics

Linguistics is the science of human language. It seeks to determine that which is necessary in human language, that which is possible, and that which is impossible. While linguists work to determine the unique qualities of individual languages, they are constantly searching for linguistic universals—properties whose explanatory power reaches across languages. The discipline of linguistics is organized around syntax (the principles by which sentences are organized), morphology (the principles by which words are constructed), semantics (the study of meaning), phonetics (the study of speech sounds), phonology (the sound patterns of language), historical linguistics (the ways in which languages change over time), sociolinguistics (the interaction of language with society), psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics (the representation of language in the brain). Current research by faculty members extends across the field, including topics in the interaction of syntax and semantics, phonetics and phonology, languages in contact, pidgin and creole languages, urban sociolinguistics, and computer analogies of syntactic processes.

Joint Honors

Students interested in pursuing joint honors in Spanish and Linguistics should consult with the Spanish department as well as with the director of undergraduate studies in Linguistics, in or before the second semester of their junior year.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU.  For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply. 

Program Requirements

The joint major requirements (40 credits) must all be completed with a grade of C or better.

The prerequisite for entering the major is either SPAN-UA 50 , or SPAN-UA 51 Advanced Spanish for Spanish-Speaking Students. Note that neither course counts toward the major.

¹

The foreign language requirement is satisfied upon successful completion through the Intermediate level of a language. This may be accomplished in fewer than 16 credits, but those credits must then be completed as elective credit.

²

This SPAN-UA 3XX course cannot double-count toward the next requirement.

³

Chosen with the advice of the director of undergraduate studies. These are often at the SPAN-UA 3## level. With permission, students may meet this 16-point requirement with a combination of 2- and 4-point courses. One and only one of these additional four courses may be an advanced language elective (creative writing, conversation, or translation), chosen from the following: 

• Advanced Spanish Conversation (SPAN-UA 60)

• Advanced Spanish Conversation for the Medical Professions (SPAN-UA 61)

• Techniques of Translation (SPAN-UA 110)

• Literary Translation (SPAN-UA 111)

• Introduction to Creative Writing in Spanish (SPAN-UA 120)

• Advanced Fiction and Nonfiction Workshop in Spanish (SPAN-UA 122)

• Advanced Poetry Workshop in Spanish (SPAN-UA 124)

Course Numbering System

Effective fall 2020, the department has extensively renumbered and reorganized many of its courses. All courses in Spanish and Portuguese above the intermediate level fall into the following categories:

50/60-level courses are bridge courses focusing on the acquisition of oral and written language skills that facilitate the transition from basic language courses to the major.

100-level courses are advanced language courses in which students can acquire specific skills in translation, creative writing, and professional vocabularies while they reinforce and deepen their knowledge and proficiency in Spanish and/or Portuguese. The 100 level also includes 2-credit courses, independent study, and internships.

200-level courses are content courses that provide (a) historical foundations and frameworks for the study of Hispanic and Lusophone cultures; (b) critical, theoretical, and methodological tools for the study of cultural works; and (c) an emphasis on writing in the discipline. Some are taught in English.

300-level courses combine the acquisition of critical and methodological skills with a writing-intensive component, offering students the opportunity to learn and practice critical skills and expand historical knowledge at the same time as they acquire proficiency in writing in the fields of Hispanic and Lusophone cultural and critical studies. These courses are taught only in Spanish or Portuguese, and require departmental permission (an access code) to register.

400-level courses focus on critical debates and methodological skills applied to specific cultural artifacts or historical periods. These courses, some of which are taught in English, utilize research skills learned in previous courses and develop new ones; expand students’ command of critical vocabularies and debates; and emphasize the presentation of research results in a variety of formats and genres, from research papers to journalistic reports and multimedia projects. This level also includes the honors seminar and thesis course for honors-track students.

Admission to Courses above Intermediate Spanish

Students who have completed Intermediate Spanish I and II (SPAN-UA 3 and SPAN-UA 4) or Intensive Intermediate Spanish (SPAN-UA 20) must take Advanced Spanish (SPAN-UA 50; formerly Advanced Grammar and Composition, SPAN-UA 100) as a prerequisite for upper-level courses, unless otherwise noted in course descriptions.

Sample Plan of Study

Note: Students may choose the "extensive" sequence of SPAN-UA 1, 2, 3, and 4 in lieu of the "intensive" sequence of SPAN-UA 10 and 20, and graduate with the minimum 128 credits. 

¹

This course is a prerequisite for entering the major. Does not count toward major requirements.

²

Chosen by advisement from a list of approved courses. Each course must represent a distinct field of linguistics.

³

Only one of these four courses may be a pre-approved, advanced language course in creative writing, conversation, or translation.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have acquired:

1. Proficiency in Spanish that will enable them to communicate their ideas clearly, both orally and in writing.
2. The ability to structure and develop analytical arguments and analyses (in Spanish) based on close reading of primary sources ranging from literature, to photography and film, to social activism.
3. An understanding of how to approach the study of human language scientifically.
4. A knowledge of methods for analyzing linguistic data in the subfields of phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and sociolinguistics.

Policies

Double Counting of Courses

Majors may share (double count) two courses with a second major, with permission from the other department/program.

Policies Applying to All Departmental Majors

For all majors in this department, students must discuss and plan their program of study with the director of undergraduate studies (DUS). All courses must be completed with a grade of C or better (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count). Transfer students must complete at least half of the major in residence at New York University.

Placement in Spanish Language Courses

Note: All SAT Subject Examinations were discontinued in the U.S. as of January 2021 and after June 2021 internationally.

For full details, students must consult the website of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, as well as the Spanish language program's polices on course placement and on AP, IB, and A Level exams in this department's section in this Bulletin. To enroll in one's first Spanish language course at NYU, students must have taken the SAT Subject Test in Spanish; have advanced standing credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, A Levels, or equivalent; or have taken the placement examination administered by the University. The exception is students with no previous study of Spanish or who took no more than one year of Spanish in high school, who may enroll in Spanish for Beginners I (SPAN-UA 1). Students from a Spanish-speaking background who wish to study the language may not enroll in any level of Spanish for Beginners (SPAN-UA 1, SPAN-UA 2, and SPAN-UA 10) or Intermediate Spanish (SPAN-UA 3, SPAN-UA 4, and SPAN-UA 20), but must instead enroll in Spanish for Spanish Speakers (SPAN-UA 11) or Advanced Spanish for Spanish Speakers (SPAN-UA 51; formerly SPAN-UA 111) after taking a special written placement test in the department. Students with transfer credit in Spanish must take a placement test if they intend to register for the language in CAS. Note that after 18 months, a completed SPAN-UA course no longer serves as a prerequisite for more advanced courses; students must take or retake the placement exam. In addition, test scores are valid for only 18 months.

For more information and tables showing appropriate course placement for specific test scores, consult the section on language placement at the department's website, as.nyu.edu/spanish. To contact the director of the language program (DLP), call 212-998-8770 or write to spanish.dlp@nyu.edu.

Advanced Placement Policy

Students who score a 4 or 5 on the Spanish Language exam earn 4 credits for Intermediate Spanish II (SPAN-UA 4) and are exempt from the College's language requirement.

Students who are not native speakers, who earned a 4 on the Spanish Language AP exam, and who intend to continue studying Spanish are required to take the NYU online language placement exam to confirm placement into Advanced Spanish (SPAN-UA 50; formerly Advanced Grammar and Composition, SPAN-UA 100). Students who score less than 59 on the online test will be required to take Advanced Spanish Conversation (SPAN-UA 60; formerly SPAN-UA 101) before enrolling in SPAN-UA 50. On the first day of classes they will also take an in-class exam to finalize proper course placement. This may result in dropping to a lower level and losing the AP credit. AP scores over 18 months old cannot be used for placement. Native speakers who earned a 4 on the Spanish Language AP exam and intend to continue studying Spanish will need to take a written assessment with the director of the language program (spanish.dlp@nyu.edu) to finalize placement.  

Students who are not native speakers, who earned a 5 on the Spanish Language AP exam, and who intend to continue studying Spanish may register for Advanced Spanish (SPAN-UA 50; formerly Advanced Grammar and Composition, SPAN-UA 100). On the first day of classes they will take an in-class exam to finalize proper course placement. This may result in dropping to a lower level and losing the AP credit. AP scores over 18 months old cannot be used for placement. Native speakers who earned a 5 on the Spanish Language AP exam and intend to continue studying Spanish will need to take a written assessment with the director of the language program (spanish.dlp@nyu.edu) to finalize placement.

Students who obtain a score of 4 or 5 on the Spanish Literature exam receive 4 credits for Advanced Spanish (SPAN-UA 50; formerly Advanced Grammar and Composition, SPAN-UA 100) and satisfy the Core language requirement. If they wish to continue taking Spanish classes, they must take a special, advanced language placement evaluation at the Spanish department (not the online placement or usual written exemption exam) and consult with the director of the Spanish language program (spanish.dlp@nyu.edu).

International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Level (A Level) Examinations Policies

Students who present a score of 6 or 7 on the High Level International Baccalaureate exam in Spanish "B," or who present a score of B or higher on the Advanced Level exam in Spanish, earn 8 credits for Intermediate Spanish I and II (SPAN-UA 3 and 4) and are exempt from the College's language requirement.

Students in these two categories who are not native speakers and intend to continue studying Spanish may register for Advanced Spanish (SPAN-UA 50; formerly Advanced Grammar and Composition, SPAN-UA 100). On the first day of classes they will take an in-class exam to finalize proper course placement. This may result in dropping to a lower level and losing the IB or A Level credit. IB and A Level scores over 18 months old cannot be used for placement. Native speakers with IB or A Level credit who intend to continue studying Spanish will need to take a written assessment with the director of the language program (spanish.dlp@nyu.edu) to finalize placement.

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

College of Arts and Science Policies

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.