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About the Program

The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks our department first in the nation for all public and private universities in the area of faculty research productivity, and "U.S.News & World Report" ranks our Spanish Department 14th among all universities - public or private - in the entire country.

The UCD Spanish program, part of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, offers B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Spanish. The Spanish program has over 200 undergraduate majors and over 45 graduate students. There are seventeen faculty members, and the department's curriculum focuses on four areas of study:

  • Spanish linguistics
  • Spanish literature
  • Spanish-American literature
  • Hispanic literatures and cultures in the United States

Spanish Undergraduate Program 
Students in our undergraduate program develop their proficiency in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing, and they also learn about Hispanic cultures and traditions. The university also offers students opportunities for first-hand experience with the language and Hispanic cultures through study abroad programs. To meet the needs of our diverse population, we have placement exams for students with experience with the language and an accelerated course series for native speakers. Students also have the opportunity to participate in the honors program to earn high and highest honors in Spanish.

The Luso-Brazilian Studies Minor
Students are offered the opportunity to engage with the Portuguese-speaking world as a global space, as well as gain in-depth knowledge of Brazilian literature, culture and society. The minor is structured to facilitate engagement with Latin American, peninsular, and transatlantic topics, while ensuring that students master the essential skills of linguistic competence, and literary and cultural knowledge. Many students who major in Spanish opt to minor in Portuguese.

Graduate Program
We offer both M.A. and Ph.D. degree programs, and our Ph.D. program is recognized as one of the top in the nation. Our students are very successful in securing tenure-track positions after graduation, and our program is dedicated to challenging our graduate students to the highest levels of scholarly research, quality teaching, and personal success.