Spanish Language Requirement

Required Spanish Class

You must take at least one Spanish language/grammar course while in Madrid. Beginning or intermediate students take the appropriate 4-credit course: 

• SPA 101, 102, 201, or 202

More advanced students take the appropriate 3-credit course: 

• SPA 302 - Advanced Language Usage or 

• SPA 428 - Spanish in Context: Oral and Writing Practice

If you have completed SPA 428, or are evaluated by the Madrid Spanish faculty to place beyond SPA 428, you must take at least one of the following optional classes to meet the Spanish study requirement. 

Optional Spanish Classes: "Content Courses"

Any student meeting the listed prerequisite may take one or more of the following courses taught in Spanish.

• SPA 364/HOA464 – Modern Spanish Art (prereq SPA 201)

• SPA 400.2 – De Madrid al Cielo: The Culture of Modernity and the Urban Experience in Spain’s Capital (prereq SPA 202)

• SPA 459/FIL 300.1 - Contemporary Spanish Cinema (prereq SPA 202)

Are you a visiting student? 

Visiting students do not take the placement exam. Please consult the table above to help you choose your Spanish course(s). If you're still unsure of your language level, request Spanish course syllabi from the Madrid Academic Team and review them with your home school's Spanish language department. After you arrive, faculty in Madrid will evaluate your language level to confirm you're in an appropriate class. 

Please clear your preferred Spanish class(es) with your home university's Spanish department and/or your academic advisor to confirm that your Spanish class credit will transfer. 

Please also see special information for Visiting Students.

If you have taken Spanish at Syracuse or have transfer Spanish credit: 

You're good to go! Select the next Spanish course in sequence. You may also register for any optional Spanish course for which you're qualified. See the table above. 

Matriculated Syracuse students who have NOT taken the placement exam and do not have SPA credit on your transcript:

You must take the placement exam to register for Spanish in MySlice. Do this now before you pre-select your Spanish class! Language placement exam instructions are available online in Answers (remember to log in with your NetID). You do not need to request access to the placement exam; our office has arranged for access for you. 

If you have taken the exam in a past semester, do not re-take it. View your score at MySlice > Student Home > "Advising" Tile > Placement Exams > Placement Exam Scores. You should choose the course according to the result displayed. (If your score is SPA 300, please choose SPA 302.)

If MySlice does not display a Spanish exam score for you, take the exam now by navigating to MySlice > Student Home > "Advising" Tile > Placement Exams > Take Placement Exams. 

If you're a Syracuse student with no SU Spanish class nor Spanish transfer credit on your transcript, you must have a placement survey/exam score on record before submitting your Course Preference Form. This includes beginners, native and heritage speakers of Spanish. (YES, even beginners! To receive your SPA 101 placement, you must complete the survey/exam. It requires no study and takes only a few minutes.)

IMPORTANT! The survey/exam was written for first-year university students. When asked how many years you studied Spanish in high school, respond with your total years of Spanish study, whether in middle school, high school, at a previous college, or some combination.

Note that MySlice will not allow you to register for a lower level than your placement exam score. This is the policy of the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature. Syracuse Abroad is subject to this policy, and staff are not permitted to override it.