Students may opt for a Specialized Honours BA, an Honours BA, a BA, an Honours Double Major, an Honours Double Major (Interdisciplinary), an Honours Major/Minor, an Honours Minor. The Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics also offers a Certificate of Language Proficiency in Spanish.

Engage with the language, literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world in all their magnitude and diversity. Interact with faculty specializing in various areas of leading-edge research on Spain and Latin America. Master listening, reading, writing and speaking in Spanish, while discovering the Spanish-speaking world’s social and cultural context. Spanish courses explore a wide variety of topics: the 900-year literary tradition of Spain; the innovative work of Latin America's writers; and the social, historical and pedagogical aspects of Spanish linguistics.

Experience all the Spanish program has to offer: publish in the student literary magazine ENTRE VOCES; connect with community and univerisity-wide activities, lectures series, theatre and music/literary events; gain valuable research and cross-cultural skills and build your international networks by participating in faculty-led research projects. Participate in study abroad and summer internship programs to Spain and Latin America.

Course offerings include: Literature and Music in Spanish America; Theatre of the Golden Age; Varieties of Spanish Worldwide; and Otherness in Spanish Literature and Cinema.

Career options include: education; foreign service; international development; social services; arts; media; journalism; national and international law, business and finance; publishing.

The Spanish program studies the language, literatures, and linguistics of Spain and Spanish America. Students undertake intensive training in listening, reading, writing, and speaking, while discovering the Spanish-speaking world’s social and cultural context. Spanish courses explore a wide variety of topics: the 900-year literary tradition of Spain; the innovative work of Latin America's writers; and the social, historical, and pedagogical aspects of Spanish linguistics. Qualified bilingual graduates are sought after in national and international law, business, and finance, the media, social services, medicine, education, hospitality, and the environment because they can communicate in a major international language. Spanish is an ideal match, as a specialization, as part of a double major, or as a minor, with any program in the humanities or social sciences and may also inform programs in the natural or physical sciences. Students can participate in York International's study abroad and summer internship programs to Spain and Latin America.

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics offers one of the widest selections of languages of any Canadian university: American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), German, Greek (both Classical and Modern), Hebrew, Hindi-Urdu, Jamaican Creole, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil and Yiddish. The ESL section fosters the developing abilities of domestic and international students to use English for academic purposes, allowing them to engage more fully in their programs. The study of foreign languages and literatures makes communication possible among people of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and fosters intercultural understanding. This enables our students to engage the global community thoughtfully and creatively.

The department also offers courses in linguistics, the discipline concerned with discovering the organizing principles of human language and applying these principles to the description of individual languages. Linguistics attempts to answer questions about the structure of languages, about how languages are alike and how they differ, about how children acquire language, about the relation between language and thought, language perception and production, as well as language and society. As a result, the study of linguistics can provide new perspectives on almost every aspect of the humanities and social sciences.

The department offers courses leading to Honours BA and BA degrees in German studies, Italian culture, Italian studies, linguistics, Portuguese studies and Spanish, as well as graduate MA and PhD degrees in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics. The department also offers Certificates of Language Proficiency in Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, as well as an Advanced Certificate in Hebrew and Judaic Studies and a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The department’s language programs, through their various courses and language proficiency certificates, contribute to a variety of area studies and interdisciplinary programs: African Studies, Business and Society, Classical Studies, East Asian Studies, Environmental Studies, European Studies, Hellenic Studies, International Development Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, South Asian Studies, Religious Studies and Women’s Studies. The department's language programs may also contribute to a variety of graduate programs such as Development Studies. For specific program requirements, certificate requirements and course listings, please consult the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Programs of Study section.

Courses in Language, Literature and Culture

General Regulations

1. Entry to Language Courses

Any student may enrol in a language course at any level, subject to the conditions enumerated below.

a) Admission to a student’s first course in a language at York is by placement questionnaire and/or interview, or departmental authorization slip.

b) In most cases, students who have completed a 1000-level language course with a grade of at least C are automatically admissible to a course at the next level in the same language, but may be pre-tested for purposes of course or section placement.

c) Registration in any language course may be limited at the discretion of the department.

d) Students intending to major or minor in German studies, Italian studies, Portuguese studies or Spanish are encouraged to begin study of the relevant language in their first year.

2. Credit for Language Courses

A language course may be taken for credit in any year of any undergraduate program. Credit is given for a course if a grade of D or better is achieved. However, to advance from one level to another level, a student must achieve at least a grade of C.

3. Language of Instruction

Some literature and culture courses are given in English. In others, instruction is given in the relevant language, and entry to courses and programs depends upon the student’s ability to function in that language. The department may require a student to demonstrate language competence before granting admission to a course. For details, please consult the department’s online supplemental calendar.

4. Frequency of Course Offerings

Not all of the courses will necessarily be offered in any given year. For details of courses to be offered, please consult the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics online supplemental calendar.

• Spanish (BA) degree requirements
• Certificate of Proficiency in Spanish Language certificate information
• Rules and regulations in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies
• Search for courses offered in Spanish
• Other programs offered in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies