About the Program
The Program of Spanish and Portuguese offers BA, MA and PhD degrees in Spanish. The program's dedicated and diverse faculty are specialists in Iberian, Latin American and Caribbean Literary and Cultural Studies, Hispanic Linguistics, and Second Language Acquisition.
At the undergraduate level, in addition to our core courses on language, culture, and literature, we offer a wide variety of specialized courses representing faculty interests (e.g., Amazonia, Caribbean Literary and Cultural Studies, Discourse Analysis, Gender Studies, Second Language Acquisition, Phonology, Sociolinguistics, Syntax, and Psycholinguistics). Students have the opportunity to study abroad in various Spanish-speaking locations around the world in Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, or Spain.
Undergraduate
The program offers a 30-hour undergraduate degree with options for a concentration in business and as well as a co-major with another language (French, German, Italian, or Russian). It also offers a 15-hour Spanish minor and 12-hour minor in Portuguese. As all students receiving a degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete a classical or modern foreign language through the intermediate level, the program also has multiple tracks to satisfy general education requirements.
Graduate
The program offers a Master of Arts (MA) in Spanish. Students may choose either a thesis-type program or a course-type program. It also offers a PhD program that normally requires a minimum of 30 hours beyond the MA degree. Candidates can choose from concentrations in Iberian and Latin American Literatures and Cultures, or Hispanic Linguistics.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE IN FLORIDA AND BEYOND
The State of Florida enjoys a long-standing relationship with the Spanish-speaking world. In 2013, cities throughout the state celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon's arrival in Florida, and 2015 marked the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine (1565) by Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Given that Florida was part of the Spanish Empire (1565-1763 and 1784-1821) longer than it has been part of the United States, and due to its proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America, Florida has maintained important cultural, social and economic ties with the Spanish-speaking world for nearly 500 years. Today, almost 25% of Florida's population is of Hispanic origin -that is, one in four Floridians- and the United States Hispanic population has recently reached over 55 million (2014 US Census Bureau). The United States now has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. In addition, the importance of Portuguese in Florida continues to grow given that Brazil is one of the world's largest emerging economies, Florida's leading trading partner in Latin America, and a top overseas market in visitors and investors in the state. Considering Florida's strong past and recent history, Florida State University is an ideal location to study the languages, literatures, and cultures of Spain, Latin America, and the Caribbean.