Spanish Major

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Major Requirements

The major in Spanish consists of nine courses beyond SPAN 033 CM - Intermediate Spanish , and is distributed as follows:

One of the following pair of courses:
- SPAN 120A-B - Survey of Spanish Literature, offered at Scripps College and Pomona College, or
- SPAN 125A CM - Introduction to Latin American Literature and Civilization I -SPAN 125B CM - Introduction to Latin American Literature and Civilization II , offered at CMC and Pomona College
Two courses in Peninsular Literature and Culture, or Latin American Literature and Culture (thus constituting a concentration)
Elective course: five elective courses in Spanish

Senior Thesis in Spanish

The senior thesis is a general education requirement and the capstone experience to a student’s undergraduate education. Students must complete a senior thesis in at least one of their majors under supervision of a faculty reader who teaches within that major, unless granted a special exception.

Students interested in doing a two-semester thesis project complete a one-half credit or full credit thesis research course in the first semester and the senior thesis in the second semester. The senior thesis and the thesis research course may not be counted as courses in the major.

Special Options for Majors

Dual Majors

Students with a dual major including Spanish must take at least seven Spanish courses above SPAN 033 CM . All dual majors must take SPAN 120A-B, or SPAN 125A CM /SPAN 125B CM , and a course in linguistics. Other Spanish courses, including courses taken abroad for major credit, should be selected in consultation with the CMC Spanish faculty member in charge of advising students.

Students with a dual major including Spanish are encouraged to write their senior thesis on a topic in Spanish. For further information, see Senior Thesis in Spanish above.

Please note the restrictions on honors in the major for students with a dual major under Honors in Spanish below. For further information on dual majors and the requirements for the other discipline of the dual major, please check the appropriate sections of this catalog.

Honors in Spanish

To be eligible for departmental honors in Spanish, a student must achieve an “A-” (11.00) average in the major and at least an “A-” (11.00) for an honors thesis in Spanish. A petition for honors candidacy must be submitted to the chair of the Modern Languages and Literatures department at the beginning of the senior year. Students with a dual major including Spanish who wish to be considered for honors in Spanish will only receive honors if they:

Have completed all requirements for a full major in Spanish and are granted honors, or
Qualify and receive honors in both disciplines of their dual major. See Academic Honors at Graduation for details.

Sigma Delta Pi

Claremont McKenna College is a member of The Claremont Colleges chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the national Spanish honor society. Juniors and seniors are elected to membership on the basis of academic standing and regulations for eligibility established by the chapter and the national society. Information may be obtained from Professor Velazco.

Study Abroad

A semester or year of study abroad in either Spain or Latin America is highly recommended. Two of the nine required courses may be completed abroad for each semester spent studying in a Spanish speaking country. For details, see Foreign Language Study Abroad .