Honors Program in Spanish

Requirements

Candidates for the major or minor in Spanish must meet these requirements to be accepted into Honors:

  1. A “B+” average in Spanish coursework at Swarthmore.
  2. Completion at Swarthmore of either SPAN 022 or SPAN 023 (except in cases when the department waives this requirement or approves a similar course taken abroad) and one course numbered 040 to 089.
  3. Completion of one semester of study in a Spanish-speaking country in a program approved by the Department of Spanish. (Depending on their linguistic proficiency, as evaluated by the Spanish faculty, honors majors and minors may petition to have the requirement waived or fulfilled with a summer-long off-campus study program.)
  4. Demonstrated linguistic ability in Spanish in academic settings.
  5. Present fields for external examination based on Honors seminars offered by the department. (In exceptional cases, a two-course combination approved by the department might be used as an Honors preparation. Students must consult with their sophomore plan advisor and/or department chair.)

  6. All majors in the Honors Program must do three (3) preparations for  a total of six units of credit while all minors must complete one (1) preparation consisting of two units of credit.

  7. Honors majors and minors must submit a Senior Honors Study (SHS) portfolio to be assessed by the examiner(s). 

Senior Honors Study

Senior Honors Study (SHS) portfolio materials are Honors materials sent to the examiner to be used as part of the evaluation.

All honors majors and minors will select one paper from each seminar to be sent to the external examiner for that seminar. The student is free to submit the paper with minor or major revisions or no revisions at all. 4,000 words is the senior honors limit set by the college.  Majors will, therefore, submit three such papers, and minors will submit one.

The Honors Exam for Majors and Minors

Majors will take three (3) three-hour written examinations prepared by the external examiners, as well as three (3) 45 minute oral exams based on the contents of each field of preparation.

Minors will take one (1) three-hour written examination prepared by the external examiner, as well as one (1) half-hour oral exam based on the contents of the written examination, senior honors study portfolio materials, and their overall preparation in the field presented.

All Honors exams will be conducted exclusively in Spanish.