There are two tracks in the Spanish section of the Language Department: Spanish as a second language, and Spanish for Heritage Speakers.
1. Spanish as a second language offers the following lower division courses:First year (Elementary)
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3
Second year (Intermediate)
- Spanish 4
- Spanish 5 and Spanish 5M (5M is required for declared Global and Community Health Majors)
- Spanish 6
2. Spanish for Heritage Speakers offers the following lower division courses:
- SpHS 4 (Fall Quarter only)
- SpHS 5 (Winter Quarter only)
- SpHS 6 (Spring Quarter only)
These courses are offered in sequence. They are thematic courses and are offered once a year only.
3. The following are Spanish and SpHS upper-division courses. They may be taken by students from either track who have met the prerequisite by completing courses or by taking the online Spanish Placement Exam.
Third year (Advanced)
- Spanish 114, Advanced Conversation and Composition
- Spanish 156A, Hispanic Culture Through Film
- Spanish 156E, Spanish Culture
- Spanish 156F, Humor in the Spanish Speaking World
- Spanish 156J, Contemporary Central America
- Spanish 156M, Mexico and the Southwest
- SpHS 115, El ensayo lectura, analisis y redaccion
Some of these courses are offered every year. Check the schedule of classes for more information.
Placement Guidelines
Taking the Spanish Placement Assessment
Prior to taking the Spanish placement assessment, all students must enroll in the Canvas Placement Module.
Who needs to take the assessment?
All students looking to enroll in Spanish courses, regardless of their prior knowledge or experience, must take the placement assessment, even to enroll in SPAN 1.
About the Assessment
The exam measures the level of the student’s grammatical knowledge of the language. The major portion of each section has a multiple option format, but there are other testing sections as well, such as paragraphs to fill in and questions to answer in writing.
The time the placement assessment takes each student to complete depends on his or her level of ability in the language. The exam can be self-administered at any time, and you have three days to complete it.
The exam indicates the probable level where you will place, but you will not be able to register in a course until after the results are forwarded by a faculty member to the Department of Languages and Applied Linguistics and recorded in the Canvas Placement Module. This generally takes 3-4 days (excluding weekends and holidays).
Spanish for Heritage Speakers
Self-Assessment for Placement (Placement questionnaire): This is a questionnaire that asks for information on your use of Spanish. It will guide you on deciding if you belong in the Heritage Speakers program. It is not necessary to take the regular placement assessment to enroll in the SPHS courses if you use this questionnaire to place yourself.
If after using the Self-Assessment you still think you need to take the regular placement assessment, you can. All students must enroll in the Canvas Placement Module.
Contact
In case you think you have been wrongly placed, either too low or too high, or have questions about the placement assessment, please email spanish_placement@ucsc.edu.