Course selection, whether for a UM or non-UM study abroad program, should be discussed with an RLL advisor BEFORE a student makes a final decision on their course selection. To make an advising appointment, please call the RLL Main Office 764.5344.

In general, be sure to consider the structure of concentration/minor requirements when looking at courses at a study abroad program. Sometimes students of Spanish take too many 300-level courses when abroad, and later find that they cannot receive credit toward the concentration or the minor for all of them.

As a general guideline, here is some information about the distinguishing characteristics of 300 and 400 level coursework:

300-level courses: Such courses tend to be introductory in nature, broader in scope, and to consist of shorter reading and writing assignments. The following types of courses typically count at the 300 level:

• Culture or civilization courses focusing on Latin America or Spain
  
• Introductions to Spanish or Latin-American literature
  
• Surveys of Spanish or Latin-American literature. These courses typically provide an overview of literary history over several centuries and include selected, short readings from different periods (similar to our courses Spanish 371, 372, 381, 382).
  
• The Spanish or Latin-American short story
  
• Introduction to Spanish or Latin-American poetry
  
• Introduction to popular culture in Spain or Latin America
  

400-level courses: Such courses assume that students have already taken at least three 300-level courses and have gained enough proficiency to handle longer reading and writing assignments. Often, the scope is more specific, focusing on a particular century, genre, literary movement, or a set of cultural/social issues. The following types of courses typically count at the 400 level:

• The Spanish or Latin-American novel
  
• Spanish or Latin-American drama
  
• Spanish or Latin-American film
  
• Literary or cultural criticism/theory
  
• Spanish medieval literature/culture
  
• Golden-Age Spanish literature
  
• Cervantes or Don Quijote. These courses count as our 459 only if students are assigned to read the entire novel Don Quijote. Courses that include only selected readings from the novel will count at the 300 level.
  
• Latin-American colonial literature/culture/social issues
  
• The picaresque novel of Spain/Latin America
  
• Spanish or Latin-American romanticism

Other types of courses:

Language courses: Most programs offer language courses, often called "Intensive Spanish," and will initially test students for language ability and then assign them to a given level in these courses. Keep in mind that although these courses may be called "intensive," they often are equivalent only to our 200-level courses (231, 232, 275, or 276), and therefore may repeat material that you already have studied. You may want to take such a course to brush-up on your language skills, but unless these courses are demonstrably more advanced than our 200 level, we cannot grant 300-level credit for them. In order to count toward the concentration or minor, a language course must be similar in content to our course, Spanish 310- Advanced Composition and Style.

Linguistics courses, including phonetics, phonology, syntax, dialectology, and history of the language will count as equivalents to our 410, 411, or 414.

Orientation courses: During the first few weeks abroad, many programs offer all-day orientation courses that combine language review and culture. We may count such courses as equivalents to our 340 / 341 - Introduction to Iberian / Latin-American Culture(s).

Courses taken in Hispanic universities: We encourage students to take regular courses in a host Hispanic university (which in some countries have 5-year programs). Keep in mind the following rules of thumb in selecting such courses:

Literature courses from the first or second year typically count at the 300 level; those from the fourth or fifth year typically count at the 400 level; third-year courses will be evaluated and assigned a course level by an RLL advisor based on their content (refer to above characteristics of 300- and 400-level courses).

Courses in linguistics and in other fields will need to be evaluated by an RLL advisor to see if they count at the 300 or 400 level.

Courses in other fields, even if introductory, typically count at the 400 level, given the difficulty of acquiring the vocabulary specific to that discipline. Up to two such courses (6 credits) can count towards the Spanish concentration. Courses such as History and Art History (of Latin America or Spain) are not necessarily considered "outside the field," and depending on their content, may count as 300-level culture courses or 400-level electives.

Other types of courses not listed here may also be 400-level equivalents. Based on an evaluation of course materials, an RLL advisor will determine the course level on a case-by-case basis.

Credits from the UM Programs abroad: For some Spanish courses taken in UM programs abroad in Mexico, Spain or Chile, students receive four or five "general university credits" on their UM transcript, but only three credits will count towards a Spanish concentration or minor. The additional credit will still be reported on the transcript and it will count as general university credit toward graduation, but it will not be applied to the Spanish major or minor.

Questions? Contact the rll.undergrad@umich.edu.

University of Michigan  •  College of Literature, Science, & the Arts