Spanish Language Studies
Why Study Spanish?
- Spanish is a language of critical importance in the United States for people in many different occupations, as the following list demonstrates.
- Spanish is the native tongue of approximately 455 million people, and is spoken by over 505 million people worldwide
- Spanish is the second most natively spoken language in the world (Mandarin Chinese is first and English is third) and the third most spoken language by total number of speakers (after English and Mandarin Chinese)
- Spanish is the third most common language on the internet (after English and Mandarin Chinese)
- Spanish is the second most studied language in the world (after English)
- Spanish is the second language of international communication (after English)
- Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, an official language of the European Union, and an official language of Mercosur
- The United States is the world's second-largest Spanish-speaking country with over 35 million native speakers and over 14 million that speak Spanish as a second language for a total of 50 million Spanish speakers
- Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country with over 110 million total speakers
- Spain is the third-largest with over 46 million total speakers
- The ability to communicate in Spanish and English has become essential in many parts of the United States
- Spanish is a good language to study due to similarity with other Romance languages (lexical similarity is 89% with Portuguese, 89% with Italian, 75% with French, and 71% with Romanian)
- Exploring the traditions of another country gives you fresh insight into your own culture and way of life
Spanish at UWL
UWL offers several degree options in Spanish.
- The Spanish major (30 credits) includes conversation, composition, grammar, civilization, literature, and phonetics.
- The Spanish major with a concentration in business (30 credits in Spanish and 24 credits in business) includes conversation, composition, grammar, business Spanish, civilization, phonetics, literature, accounting, economics, finance, and marketing. Also recommended are computer science and upper-level economics and math.
- The Spanish minor (18 credits) includes conversation, composition, grammar, civilization, literature, and phonetics.
Students may also elect to complete the International Studies minor with an emphasis in Latin American studies. More information about Spanish degree options can be found here.
Study and Work Abroad
Students have opportunities to study abroad in many Spanish-speaking coutnries throughout the world. For more information, please contact the Office of International Education or ISEP (International Student Exchange Program).
Spanish Organizations at UWL
UWL has several academic and social organizations related to Spanish languages and cultures, including a Spanish Club (Club de Español), Sigma Delta Pi (the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society), Latin American Student Organization, and Women of ALANA (Asian, Latina, Native American) descent.
