Program Overview
The Hispanic Studies BA (Hons) program at the University of Liverpool offers a comprehensive study of the languages, cultures, histories, and societies of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. Students develop proficiency in Spanish (or an additional Iberian language) and gain a deep understanding of Hispanic studies, preparing them for careers in various fields worldwide. The program emphasizes linguistic fluency, cultural immersion (including a year abroad), and a range of transferable skills, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication abilities.
Program Outline
Hispanic Studies BA (Hons) - University of Liverpool
Degree Overview:
Hispanic Studies at the University of Liverpool covers the languages, literatures, cultures, and histories of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The program takes a pluricultural and plurilingual approach to the Luso-Hispanic World, focusing on the variety of languages and cultures encountered in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America.
Objectives:
- Develop Spanish language skills to proficiency level (at least C1 of the CEFR).
- Gain a broad understanding of Hispanic studies, including linguistics, historical and cultural study (including literature and film), and practical skills such as translation and interpreting.
- Become a confident reader, writer, listener, and speaker of Spanish, with the option of studying a second Iberian language (Basque, Catalan, or Portuguese).
- Gain a thorough understanding of many aspects of Hispanic Studies.
Outline:
The program is a four-year full-time degree. Students can choose to study Spanish as a beginner or at an advanced level.
Year One:
- Beginners Spanish: Students take two modules in Spanish language at the appropriate level.
- Advanced Spanish: Students take two modules in Spanish language at the appropriate level, plus two further modules in Portuguese, Catalan, or Basque.
- Foundational Modules: Students take modules introducing Iberian and Latin American histories and cultures.
- Additional Modules: Students of advanced Spanish taking Single Honours will also take a ‘Language awareness’ module and a module on Iberian Literature.
- Optional Modules: Students can choose to take modules in Beginners' Basque, Beginners' Catalan, or Beginners' Portuguese.
Year Two:
- Language Modules: All students must take four language modules, continuing with the two languages studied in Year One or picking up a second language (Basque, Catalan, or Portuguese).
- Optional Modules: Students can choose from a variety of modules, including:
- Intermediate Portuguese
- Intermediate Catalan
- Intermediate Basque
- The Cinematic City
- Multilingual Liverpool: Reading the City
- "Does the Nation Matter?" The Basques' Will to Persist in the Global Culture
- Spanish and Latin American Cinemas: An Introduction
- Latin America in its Literature
- Spain is Not Spain: Nationalisms & Identities in Spanish Literature
- Women in Iberian and Latin American Literature and Culture
- Language Teaching: Theory and Practice
- Globalisation and Development in Latin America
- Global Public Spaces: Resistance, Justice and Heritage
- Elementary Portuguese
- Elementary Catalan
- Elementary Basque
Year Abroad (Year Three):
- Students spend one year abroad as an assistant in a school, as a student at a university, or on a work placement.
- Students are encouraged to split the year between two countries/regions to be fully immersed in all the languages they study.
Year Four:
- Language Modules: All students must take four language modules, continuing with the two languages studied in Years One and Two.
- Optional Modules: Students can choose from a variety of modules, including:
- Proficient Portuguese
- Proficient Catalan
- Advanced Basque
- Transnational Cinema
- Researching Digital Cultures in the Americas
- Contemporary Latin American Politics
- Terror Remembered: Representing Traumatic Histories in Latin America, Europe and China
- Remembering Slavery
- Translation Theory and Practice
- Research Project 1
- Beginners' Basque
- Beginners' Catalan
- Beginners' Portuguese
- Proficient Portuguese
- Proficient Catalan
- Advanced Basque
- Advanced Portuguese
- Advanced Catalan
- Intermediate Basque
- Comics and Graphic Novels: Memory and Transcultural Mobility
- Screening Texts
- Resistance and Renewal: Spanish Poetry from the Folk Songs of the Frontier to the Slam Sessions of Madrid
- Screening Spain: Contemporary Spanish Film and Television
- The Sociolinguistics of Contemporary Spain
- Translation Project
- Research Project 2
- Elementary Basque
- Elementary Catalan
- Elementary Portuguese
- Dissertation
Combined Degree:
- Students can study Hispanic Studies as a joint (50/50) or major/minor (75/25) subject with another subject area.
- Students will study a Spanish language module, at beginners or advanced level, and another language or cultural module per semester, alongside two other modules in their other subject.
Assessment:
- Performance throughout the year is carefully monitored and used to supplement examinations.
- Language modules involve continuous assessment, such as oral presentations, listening tests, and grammar tests, as well as exams.
- Other modules have a mix of essay and exam assessment.
- Exams take place at two points in the academic year: at the end of semester one in January and at the end of the session in May.
- For language programmes, the second year’s work counts for 20%, the work done during the year abroad (foreign exams or extended essay or portfolio) counts for another 10%, and the final year’s work counts for 70%.
Teaching:
- Teaching is delivered by the Department of Languages, Cultures, and Film, who bring together experts in a wide range of disciplines.
- A cutting-edge research programme and award-winning teaching provide great opportunities to study all aspects of language and culture within a global context.
- Tuition takes place in small groups with first-language speakers playing a prominent part and includes a range of skills such as listening, writing, speaking, interpreting, and translation.
- Students are also expected to make regular use of the Language Lounge to enhance their own study.
- Graduates go on to careers in all sectors worldwide, including:
- Media
- Industry and commerce
- Finance
- Local and central government
- Translation
- Interpreting
- Teaching in schools and universities
Other:
- The University of Liverpool has a vibrant community of students who are involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities, including Iberian and Latin American Week, an annual symposium, visiting writers, and much more.
- The University is proud to have been awarded a Gold rating for educational excellence in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2023.
Tuition fees
UK fees (applies to Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland)
Full-time place, per year £9,250 Year in industry fee £1,850 Year abroad fee £1,385
International fees
Full-time place, per year £22,400