A minor in Spanish is eighteen (18) semester hours at the 200 level or above, no more than six (6) of which can be below 300. The typical student will take 209 and 210 or 211 and a minimum of four additional courses at the 300 and 400 levels.

The only required course in the sequence is 309. We recommend that students take at least one (1) course at the 400 level. Spanish 315 is not for major or minor credit.

Students majoring in:

Business might include SPAN 316 Business Spanish and SPAN 417 Advanced Spanish for Business and the Professions.

GINT/LASP might include SPAN 401 Spanish American Civilization and/or SPAN 417 Advanced Spanish for Business and the Professions.

Social Sciences should emphasize language and culture courses (SPAN 305, 309, 310, 400, 401, 417).

Students should check the offering of the Special Topics Course (SPAN 375) each semester to see if the topic is especially appropriate for their specialization. All students would benefit from SPAN 350 (Study Abroad).

The Minor in Spanish for majors in the Moore School Of Business

Rationale of the Spanish Minor for Business Majors

Spanish has recently passed English as having the third largest number of speakers in the world (358 million). Much of this growth is taking place within the borders of the U.S., where it is calculated that there were 31.4 million Spanish speakers in the year 2000, and where Hispanics will soon form the largest minority group in the country. Large trading blocks including NAFTA (Mexico/US/Canada) Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay with participation of Chile and Bolivia) and the European Union (Spain) are attractive areas for growth and development in the 21st century which have Spanish as a critical element for communication in a wide variety of media and telecommunication formats. Most international and domestic businesses need human resources who have Spanish language skills in their employ.

A survey of 939 top corporate executives completed by KPMG Peat Marwick, an international consulting firm, found that 40 percent of them planned to hire people fluent in Spanish, largely in response to the North American Free Trade Agreement. Increasingly, college graduates are getting professional jobs in Mexico, while some of their non-Spanish-speaking classmates are having difficulty entering the workplace.

Recommended course sequence

The minimum requirement for the minor in Spanish is eighteen (18) credit hours. Six hours may be at the 200 (intermediate) level; the other hours must be earned at the 300 level or above. Spanish 309 is required of all minors (unless exempted by the Placement Exam) and is a pre-requisite for all courses numbered higher than 309, except for Spanish 315, which may not count for minor credit. The Spanish Program has a varied course offering at the advanced level. To complement your major in Business, some courses may be more beneficial than others. Below find an outline of a typical minor program:

Intermediate Core (6 credits)*

Spanish 209 and 210 Intermediate Spanish I and II, or Spanish 211 Intensive Intermediate Spanish

*Experienced Spanish students or native speakers may be placed in courses beginning at the 300 level. In such cases the minimal requirement for the minor will include four courses (12 hours) from the electives category.

PLUS
Advanced Core (6 credits)

Spanish 309 Advanced Spanish I (all-skills communication practice)

and

Spanish 316 Business Spanish (basic terminology and techniques in business transactions for community within the cultural context)

PLUS
A minimum of two electives (6 credits) from the following:

Spanish 300 Cultural Readings for Conversation (focus on oral practice)
Spanish 305 Working with Hispanic Clients (cross-cultural orientation with a service-learning component)
Spanish 310 Advanced Spanish II (all-skills communication practice)
Spanish 350 Spanish Study Abroad (The USC Summer Program in Mexico or Spain)
Spanish 380 Hispanic Film and Culture (interpretation of contemporary culture through film)
Spanish 400 Spanish Civilization (history and culture of Spain)
Spanish 401 Spanish American Civilization (history and culture of Spanish America)
Spanish 417 Advanced Spanish for Business and the Professions (focus on communicating in Spanish in professional settings (Prereq: Spanish 316 or consent of instructor)

The above are the most appropriate electives to complement your major in business. Any other course at the 300 level, except 315 (see the Bulletin for listings) may be substituted for the electives above with permission of the Spanish for business advisor.

For more information contact: Dr. T. Bruce Fryer, Spanish for Business Advisor, Professor of Spanish, Humanities Office Bldg. 704 (777-2973), E-mail: bfryer@sc.edu