Spanish Advising for First-Year Students

“It is most desirable that students include in their programs some work in a foreign language, beyond the basic language requirement.” Swarthmore College Bulletin, Educational Program (Section 7.2. Program for the First and Second Years)

Plan your Spanish courses during your first semester at Swarthmore to avoid scheduling conflicts with other courses required for your major at a later stage. Spanish classes can help you structure and maintain a daily study routine, which can be very helpful in your first year. They can also help you anchor your place at Swarthmore by building close relationships with your classmates. The department faculty is ready to support you, and provide the best advice on course selection.

Proficiency in Spanish will open new doors and prepare you to take advantage of full immersion study-abroad programs in Latin America and Spain.

First-year students will receive information on how and when to complete the Spanish Placement Exam. The online test will automatically give you a placement suggestion. Please enroll in the course suggested. Course descriptions are below.

If an oral interview is required, the department will get in touch with you in August. Oral interviews will be conducted via zoom.

A student with a placement score at the extremes of an indicated range should consult the course instructor to consider other factors before shifting to a higher- or lower-level course. It is important to emphasize that the online placement test is for diagnostic purposes only. These diagnostic tools may be supplemented by your instructor's evaluation during the first week of classes, at which time he or she may recommend a change of course level.

Please read Spanish Curriculum to get a better understanding on how our courses are organized.

SPAN 001-002 Elementary Spanish is a year-long course. Students who are placed in this sequence have to start with SPAN001 and must complete SPAN002 to get credit for both courses. No credit will be given for SPAN001 if SPAN002 is not completed. SPAN001 is only taught in the fall semester and SPAN002 in the spring. Each class is taught by one instructor, and meets 4 days per week (M/T/W/Th).

SPAN 02B Spanish for Advanced Beginners is intended only for those students who have had at least a year of Spanish but have not yet attained the level of Spanish 003. This class is taught by one instructor, and meets 4 days per week (M/T/W/Th). This class is only offered in the fall semester.

SPAN 001 Elementary Spanish and SPAN 02B Spanish for Advanced Beginners are offered only in the fall semester. Consider registering this Fall to avoid waiting a whole year!   

SPAN 003 Intermediate Spanish and SPAN 004 Advanced Spanish are offered every semester. These classes are taught by one instructor, and meet 3 days per week (T/W/Th). 

SPAN 008 Spanish Conversation and Composition (every semester, Writing Course) is a practical course for writing and rewriting in a variety of contexts, and it will prepare students to write at an academic level of Spanish.

SPAN 012 Imágenes y contextos hispánicos (Writing Course) provides an introduction to the Hispanic world with an emphasis on its visual culture.

SPAN 015 Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture (Writing Course) is an introduction to the writings of Latino/as in the U.S., and it is taught in English. 

SPAN 022 Introducción a la literatura española (every spring, Writing Course) and SPAN 023 Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana (every fall, Writing Course) present the literary histories of Spain and Latin America respectively, and introduce students to literary analysis for further work in advanced literature courses.

SPAN 008, 012, 015, 022 and 023 are officially designated Writing Courses, and as such they fulfill the Writing Course Requirement.

If you have concerns regarding your placement, please consult the chair of the department. To know more about a specific course, please contact the course instructor directly.

¡Bienvenidas y bienvenidos a Swarthmore!

Useful Pages:

• Foreign Language Requirement: An explanation on how to fulfill this requirement.
• Schedule of Spanish Language Courses: Our class schedule makes it easy to fit Spanish into your schedule.
• Spanish Curriculum: Gives you an overview on how our curriculum is organized.
• Spanish Courses Taught in English: The department offers a wide range of courses on literature, culture and visual culture taught in English.
• Follow the Spanish Department on Instagram!