Spanish (B.A.)

  • Major, Minor
  • 4-year, On Campus

What You’ll learn

The Spanish Program is designed to develop the cognitive and critical abilities of students. It reflects the diverse corpus of knowledge required to master a target language with an acceptable degree of proficiency. The course offerings seek to reflect the breadth of skills required for such proficiency and focus on developing students’ linguistic and cultural fluency.

Why Study Spanish at La Salle?

Spanish is spoken by more than 559 million people worldwide. A major in Spanish will open the worlds of all major industries such as business, healthcare, law, government, and education. Globally, effective written and oral communication with Spanish speakers is critically important as it is spoken in nineteen Latin American Countries, Spain, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara, Philippines, Andorra, and Gibraltar.  Not only is Spanish one of the six working languages of the United Nations, but according to Pew Research, over 50% of the households in the United States will speak Spanish by 2050.

The Global Languages, Literatures, and Perspectives and the Hispanic Institute, at La Salle, are proud to offer the option of a 4+1 year program for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish (120 credits) and a Master of Arts degree in Translation and Interpretation (30 Credits).  Students can transfer 6 credits from the BA into the MA.

Curriculum, Courses and Requirements

Highlighted Courses

SPN 314: Latin American Short Stories

This is a survey course in which a wide selection of short stories from the late 19th century through the 21st century are studied. The goal is to familiarize students with works written by a variety of Latin American authors. Themes such as love, gender roles, and discrimination, among others, are examined.

SPN 307: Commercial Spanish

The purpose of this course is to better enable students to utilize Spanish in business and other professional contexts. The course aims to increase students’ workplace vocabulary (ex. vocabulary related to the office, computers, travel, etc. will be covered).

SPN 330: Second Language Teaching Methods

Second Language Teaching Methods is a general course in second language acquisition theories and teaching methodologies for students interested in a career in second language teaching – both ESL and foreign language.

SPN 480: Spanish Seminar

Topics of investigation will vary from semester to semester. Recent topics include Contemporary Cinema, and Hispanic Cultural Traditions.

Meet the Faculty

Upon graduation, you’ll have honed your written and verbal skills to be able to use them in the workplace. Our faculty members not only train you for your specific field but place you in real-life scenarios to learn collaborative and interpersonal skills, professionalism, and diligence.

Career Opportunities

Our students have gone on to work in sectors including:

  • Medical and Health
  • Legal and Law Enforcement
  • Publishing
  • Education
  • Social Work
  • Interpretation
  • Translation

Our alumni work for employers such as:

  • University of Pennsylvania Hospitals
  • Immigration Services
  • Hiccup Media
  • Einstein Medical Center
  • Pennsylvania State Courts
  • Luz Inc. (a translation company)
  • Border Servants Corps
  • Military
  • Bryn Mawr Trust
  • The City of Philadelphia

Ludmille Glaude, ’18

Upon coming to La Salle, Ludmille immediately carved a spot for herself as an Explorer by getting involved on campus. She was on the women’s club rugby team, the former president of the African American Student League, and tirelessly addressed issues of social injustice in the world, using her voice to help others find their own.

Majoring in political science, international relations, and Spanish with a religion minor, Ludmille plans to continue using her voice and education to make a difference in the world. “I want to be an ambassador,” she says. “Having lived in Haiti as a child, I always saw myself as a global citizen, so if I can help people with policy change and travel the world, that’s the dream.”

Ludmille recognizes Philadelphia is the perfect city to explore her passions and to help fulfill her dreams. As a student, Ludmille pursued several internship opportunities.

When asked about her favorite part of being an Explorer, Ludmille states that the friendly community has been her favorite part of La Salle.

Ivy-yon Jackson, ’24

Ivy-yon Jackson, ’24, is a psychology and sociology major with a minor in criminal justice at La Salle.

Cagatay Ozbay, ‘24

Cagatay Ozbay, ‘24, who is an accounting major and finance minor is proud of all he’s accomplished—and overcome—as a student.  

Wesson had been serving interim provost and vice president of academic affairs since November 2023.