Take your language skills to the next level with a Spanish major and prepare for a career in a globalized world.
Why Study Spanish?
By 2050, an estimated one in three people in the U.S. will speak Spanish, including bilingual people who also speak English.
As a result of this ongoing growth, government agencies, organizations and businesses are working to make sure they include Spanish speakers, which is creating opportunities for those who speak both English and Spanish.
A Spanish degree also opens doors globally. According to a recent Forbes estimate, Spanish is spoken by more than 559 million people around the world. Of those, 460 million are native speakers, making Spanish the language with the second largest population of native speakers in the world. (Mandarin holds the top spot.)
Why Study Spanish at CSUN?
Depth and Flexibility
Our program has options to match your interests and career goals. You can choose one of four options: literature; language and culture; Hispanic linguistics; and translation and interpretation. You'll finish your studies with a capstone paper to be written in an upper-level course of your choice.
An Involved Community
You'll establish a network of fellow students and a solid foundation for lifelong learning, service and participation in the Hispanic, Latino and global communities. You'll work closely with faculty members who care about your progress and your educational goals.
Study Abroad
The California State University International Programs offer eligible students the opportunity to study abroad in one of 18 countries, including Spain. We recommend programs in Madrid and Granada for intermediate students and the program in Jaen for beginners.
What You'll Learn
The department offers four options: literature; language and culture; Hispanic linguistics; and translation and interpretation. All options have a common set of core courses, including:
- Intermediate Spanish I
- Intermediate Spanish II
- Advanced Grammar and Composition
- Advanced Composition
- Introduction to the Analysis of Hispanic Literature
- Language and Culture
- Literature of Spain and Literature of Latin America
In your lower-division courses, you'll broadly study Spanish and Latin American civilization and the works of European literature. Upper-division courses delve into the study of specific time periods and geographic areas. You'll choose classes such as:
- Literature of the Middle Ages
- Literature of the Renaissance
- Literature of the Golden Age
- Literature of the 18th and 19th Centuries: Spain
- Literature of the 20th Century: Spain
- Central American Literature
- Literature of the 19th Century: Latin America
- Literature of the 20th Century: Latin America
In this option, you'll take Spanish phonetics and choose from such courses as:
- Advanced Conversational Spanish
- Language and Contemporary Hispanic Life
- Latin American Civilization
- Spanish Civilization
- Structure of the Spanish Language
- Comparative Structure of Spanish and English
- Literature and Society in Latin America
- Literature and Society in Spain
You'll study the structure of the Spanish language, Spanish phonetics and the comparative structure of Spanish and English. Other classes delve more deeply into linguistics, such as:
- Approaches to Linguistic Analysis
- Phonetics and Phonology
- Introduction to Morphology
- Syntax
- Semantics and Pragmatics
- Language Development and Acquisition
- Sociolinguistics
You'll choose from such courses as:
- Introduction to Spanish Translation
- Introduction to Spanish Interpretation
- Structure of the Spanish Language
- Comparative Structure of Spanish and English
You'll then choose specialty courses in advanced Spanish translation for legal and business purposes or for medical and scientific fields.
Careers & Outcomes
Jobs for Spanish majors are in abundance, thanks to the high demand for bilingual employees across economic sectors. Our majors have gone on to pursue employment in a broad array of fields.
Job Titles
- Interpreter
- Translator
- Teacher
- Marketing manager
- Community services manager
- Tourism manager
- Reporter
CSUN's dedicated language learning resource center
The Barbara Ann Ward Language Center is a dedicated language learning resource center that offers audio, video, electronic and text resources for both instructors and students.
Teaching Credentials
If you're interested in teaching Spanish, choose the language and culture option, which is a program approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Students who successfully complete the program are not be required to take the California Subject Exam for Teachers (CSET) in Spanish.