Alhambra, Granada, Spain (Creative Commons, Phillip Capper)

Why Study Spanish?

A. Spanish is the native language of more than 400 million people, 46.9 million of whom live in the United States. A working knowledge of Spanish, the world’s second most spoken language, is becoming essential for employment in many areas of the country–especially in the Sun Belt states of California, Florida, and Texas.

B. For those students interested in business and trade: Spanish is the language of nineteen countries in Latin America, which are currently the fastest-growing export-import market for U.S. products. The U.S. is now the fifth largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world, after Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Colombia.

C. The Spanish and Hispanic Studies Section participates in the new university core curriculum by offering all levels of language instruction, from beginning through advanced. Courses in Spanish and Latin-American culture, literature, and film fulfill the International, the Literature, the Diversity, and the Writing-intensive course requirements.

D. Areas where Spanish and Hispanic Studies help majors in the job market as a primary skill are: Teaching, Interpreting, Translating.

E. Where Spanish is often used as a secondary skill: United Nations, UNESCO, foreign embassies, immigration services, banking, library science, federal government departments and agencies, business and finance, marketing and distribution, public and health services, travel and transportation, communications, non-governmental organizations (NGO), publishing and editing firms, investment firms, advertising, export-import fields, etc.

F. The Language Department maintains an extensive file of materials, articles, and job descriptions related to career opportunities in Spanish; students are welcome to consult this literature. Students are also advised to consult the office of Student Career Development.