Undergraduate

  • Your undergraduate experience

    The aim of Spanish and Latin American Studies is to develop your awareness and understanding of Spanish and Latin American societies and cultures. A crucial aspect of this is the ability to speak and understand the language.

    Beginners units focus on developing your language skills in a variety of cultural contexts as well as introducing you to the field of Spanish and Latin American Studies.

    Students with previous knowledge of the language are given the opportunity to accelerate their learning by entering at Intermediate or Proficient levels. These units focus on further developing language skills in context and providing students with the critical and analytical skills necessary to gain a deeper understanding of Spanish and Latin American societies and cultures.

    New students with some knowledge of Spanish will need to sit a placement test to determine the appropriate language entry level.
    For more information, please see: Proficiency Placement Test for New Students

    From second year, students have the opportunity to undertake a wide range of elective units in which you are able to explore important current issues in Spanish and Latin American Studies, such as multiculturalism and identity, gender, tradition and modernity and historical memory.

    For an overview of the course structure and a list of available units, see the Spanish and Latin American language and studies – Undergraduate Area of Study Handbook entry.

  • Why Spanish at Monash?
    Monash University has been teaching Spanish for over forty years and the lecturers and tutors have an excellent reputation. In 2010 staff were awarded eight “Dean’s Commendations of Excellence in Teaching” and Dr Sarah McDonald was “Highly Commended” in the Dean’s Teaching Awards for her unit on Spanish and Latin American cinema. At Monash we ... Read more
  • What would my first year be like?
    Depending upon the unit in which you are enrolled, you will have four or five hours of classes per week. You will be taught by native and non-native speakers, all of whom have extensive experience in a variety of Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish is the language of instruction for all language classes, as this allows you ... Read more
  • Student Comments about Spanish and Latin American Studies
    Matthew Bilsborough (3rd year student. Double degree: Arts/Laws) My name is Matthew Bilsborough and in November 2007 I finished my final class towards my Spanish and Latin American Studies major at Monash Clayton. I began at Spanish studies 1 in March of 2004 with a basic knowledge of French, and no knowledge of the Castilian (Spanish) language or ... Read more
  • School-wide units
    The School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics expects students majoring in a language to take (at least) one school-wide elective as part of their major sequence. The school-wide electives are listed below. Some programs may consider some of these options of particular relevance and will advise students accordingly. Second and third year options available as school-wide ... Read more
  • Diploma in Languages
    Also see the entries in the Monash Course Finder. What is a Diploma in Languages? The Diploma in Languages is an extra undergraduate qualification that can be taken while studying another degree. It is the equivalent of a language major (48 points of study) and is appropriate for both beginners and those with a language background, as there ... Read more