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UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES


The Schools of Nursing and Pharmacy operate on both the Oxford and Jackson campuses. The Schools of Dentistry, Health Related Professionals and Medicine, and the Health Sciences Graduate School, are based in Jackson only. (Additional healthcare programs are available through the School of Applied Sciences on the Oxford campus.) Other than these exceptions, the schools above are on the Oxford campus.

B.A. in Spanish

Become a global professional with superior levels of Spanish language skills.

Spanish majors at the University of Mississippi study the language, linguistics, history, and cultures of Spain and Latin America. They gain the cultural awareness and intellectual strategies necessary to navigate the interconnected and multicultural world in which we live.

Key Benefits

Spoken by over 400 million people, Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world, with 35 million Spanish speakers in the United States. Spanish majors attain strong language competence in listening and reading comprehension, speaking, and writing skills as well as the cultural knowledge for interacting with Hispanic people in professional and informal contexts. The department's Language Resource Center provided critical support for language acquisition.

Graduate Outcomes

A liberal arts education prepares graduates to deal with complexity and change. They gain key skills in communication, problem-solving, and working with diverse groups. People who fluently speak a foreign language have better job opportunities. Related careers to Spanish include education, international business & banking, tourism, journalism, law, translation, foreign service, cultural affairs, military service, and health care.

Experiences Offered

Spanish majors have a wide variety of outside-the-classroom opportunities for language learning including a living learning community; the Language Resource Center, program that provides online and electronic materials for the study of foreign languages; and dozens of study abroad programs in Spanish-speaking countries.

B.A. in Spanish Faculty

Spanish faculty in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Mississippi have areas of specialization ranging from Spanish literature and cinema, Hispanic sociolinguistics, colonial Spanish literature, Nahuatl, second language acquisition, Spanish-American literature, and women writers.

Heather J Allen
Associate Professor of Spanish
Julia Emilia Bussade
Instructional Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Director of Elementary Spanish and Portuguese Programs
Felice A Coles
Professor of Modern Languages
Enrique Cotelo
Senior Lecturer in Spanish
Karla Duran
Instructor in Modern Languages
Stephen Allan Fafulas
Associate Professor of Modern Languages
Maria Ida Fionda
Associate Professor of Spanish
Gabriel Alexander Garrido Franco
Lecturer in Spanish
Ian Gowan
Instructional Associate Professor of Spanish and Croft Associate Director
Hernan Alberto Garrido
Lecturer in Modern Languages
Irene K Cotelo
Senior Lecturer in Spanish
Jason E Klodt
Associate Professor of Modern Languages
Maria Eugenia Landa Vera
Senior Lecturer in Spanish
Diane Elaine Marting
Professor of Modern Languages
Veronica Estela Menaldi
Assistant Professor of Spanish in Modern Languages
Maria Jose Garcia Otero
Croft Instructional Associate Professor of Spanish
Milene Vanzela Prewitt
Lecturer in Modern Languages
Carmen Sanchez Garcia
Library Specialist I
CARMEN Sanchis-Sinisterra
Instructional Assistant Professor of Modern Languages
Diana F Semmes
Lecturer in Modern Languages
Edgar Serrano
Lecturer in Modern Languages
Maribel Sullivan-Gonzalez
Instructor in Modern Languages
Daniel Valle Arevalo
Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics
Ivonne Jeannette Whitehead
Senior Lecturer in Spanish
Robyn Wright
Assistant Professor of Spanish

A major in Spanish for the B.A. degree requires 30 semester hours beyond the 200 level. Students will take Span 303, 304, 330, and 331 (or equivalent) plus 18 additional hours. Nine of the 18 additional hours must be at the 500 level and must include at least one literature course and one linguistics course. Students must complete a minimum of 9 upper- division credits in residence on the University of Mississippi campus at Oxford, Tupelo, or Southaven. A maximum of 15 of the 30 upper-division credits for the major may be taken through an approved study abroad program.

Admission requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Spanish degree program are the same as the general undergraduate admission requirements.

Wilson Helmhout

Wilson (2016), a pre-med student, participated in a medical mission trip to Bolivia where her Spanish helped with community health screenings and shadowing local physicians. To explore her interest in public health, Wilson was a summer researcher with a Center for Population Studies project on improving birth outcomes in the Delta. For an internship in Clarksdale, she compiled and presented community profiles to local leaders and nonprofit organizers. During her first year of medical school at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Wilson noticed a need for Spanish speaking health care providers. She became involved with the Spanish Club at UMMC and interacted with patients in Spanish at community health screenings. She is looking into becoming a certified medical translator soon.

Why study Spanish at UM?
"Study Spanish because it's an invaluable skill that will be useful in any career track! I loved my Spanish classes in literature, culture, and cinema. The classes were smaller, discussions were thought-provoking, and the faculty took the time to get to know and help every student as we grew in our skill and love of the Spanish language."

Student Organizations

Join Sigma Delta Pi (the Spanish honor society), LASO (the Latin American Student Organization), and El cafe de los lunes, a Spanish conversation group.