Spanish Language and Culture

Learning Spanish enables you to be a more successful, competitive player in a global marketplace, and a minor in Spanish Language and Culture will make you more marketable regardless of your chosen field. In addition, the study of language, literature, and cultures encourages spiritual, imaginative, and emotional development. Students in our Spanish classes have helped organize the campus-wide Día de los Muertos celebration and the Dubuque city-wide Día de los Muertos celebration with the Multicultural Family Center. They have also worked with the Multicultural Family Center to host the annual Cinco de Mayo celebration. Have you ever wondered what the Spanish minor requirements are? If you are interested in earning a Spanish minor degree, check out our campus visits and virtual visits in Dubuque, Iowa, so that you can see for yourself that Spanish at Clarke offers you an opportunity to be more marketable and successful both personally and professionally.

Careers

Clarke’s Spanish minor degree prepares students for graduate studies and most professional schools, including law, business, and education, and medicine, and for work in professions such as law, teaching, business, management, healthcare, and publishing. Graduates who have minored in our minor degree in Spanish have gone on to earn careers in a wide variety of fields, both locally here in Dubuque and beyond, such as:

• Translator
• Interpreter
• Nursing
• Law enforcement
• Health services
• Teacher
• Editor
• Technical writer
• Librarian
• Flight attendant
• Banking
• International law
• Marketing
• Journalism

Complimentary Majors

Our minor degree in Spanish pairs well with many different majors and other minors, such as those in healthcare, Business, Education, Psychology, Music, Religious Studies, Philosophy, or Social Work.

Unique Courses

Here is a sampling of the types of unique and diverse classes you will take in among your Spanish minor requirements:

CONVERSATION, COMPOSITION, AND GRAMMAR — You will improve pronunciation and develop fluency while exploring Hispanic culture.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND CULTURAL PROFICIENCY: U.S. LATINOS — You will learn about the Latino cultures of the U.S. and how to have successful interactions both socially and professionally.

SPANISH FOR SERVICE PROFESSIONALS — You will learn how to successfully serve Spanish-speakers in the areas of healthcare, education and social work.

Ways to Engage

Our college Spanish students get involved in the community, whether that is right here in Dubuque, Iowa, nationally, or even internationally. Here are some of the ways:

• Study in Spain and Latin America
• Engage in internships at sites such as the Dubuque Multicultural Family Center or Our Lady of Guadalupe Spanish Immersion School
• Present at our annual Streamlines conference
• Publish in the Tenth Muse, Clarke’s literary magazine

Quick Facts

• Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority in the United States. By 2060, Latinos will account for nearly one in three people in the United States.
• Spanish as a discipline within the humanities offers students communication and critical thinking skills.
• Spanish pairs well with many disciplines (nursing, business, physical therapy, education, social work) in which professionals are likely to interact with Spanish-speaking clientele.
• 41 million people in the U.S., or 18.2 percent of the population, speak Spanish.
• Because the ability to speak Spanish is such a sought-after trait, many students typically add a Spanish minor.