The transnational character of today’s fields of science, engineering, and management increasingly requires proficiency in foreign languages and the ability to understand other peoples’ histories, social institutions, and cultures. The HASS Minor gives undergraduates a unique opportunity to combine a degree in science, engineering, or management with a subspecialty in a foreign language. The HASS Spanish Minor allows students who have reached a level of proficiency equivalent to at least one year of college-level Spanish to continue their study of the language and to deepen their knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world.

The Minor Program in Spanish consists of six subjects. All Spanish courses including Spanish III and above can count towards the minor. The distribution of subjects across tiers will depend on the individual student’s level when beginning the minor. For example, if a student begins at Spanish III, he/she may take two subjects in Tier I; 2 or 3 in Tier II and 2 or 3 in Tier III. However, if a student begins the study of Spanish at MIT at a higher level, he/she might take only Spanish IV in Tier I, or, skip Tier I altogether, and take 2 or 3 courses from Tier II and take 3 or more courses from Tier III adding up to six courses. Of course, a small number of students may have proficiency in Spanish that allows them to proceed directly to Tier III, in which case all the Minor courses will come from this tier. The Minor advisor will work with each student to create a program that fits the student’s individual profile. Please note that Spanish I and II do not count towards the minor. Unlike other Minor Programs in HASS, the Minor Advisor for languages can, at his or her discretion, approve a minor in which MIT subjects comprise a minimum of one third of the subjects of the program. However, this exception to the general HASS Minor Requirement is only allowed in those cases in which students have received transfer credits equal to four subjects through study abroad in a country where the language of the minor is the dominant tongue. Please consult the MIT bulletin or the FL&L web page for subject offerings.

Tier I: Two language subjects or fewer depending on demonstrated level of competence:

21F.703/773 Spanish III; HASS-H (HASS-D Language Option)
21F.704/774 Spanish IV; HASS-H (HASS-D Language Option)

Tier II: Three subjects or fewer depending on demonstrated level of competence from the Spanish intermediate subjects in language, literature and culture: 21F.711 – 21F.714, and 21F.792:

21F.711 Advanced Spanish Conversation and Composition: Perspectives on Technology and Culture; HASS-H
21F.712/792 Spanish Conversation and Composition; HASS-H
21F.713 Advanced Communication in Spanish: Film, Visual Arts, and and Fiction; HASS-H
21F.714 Spanish for Bilingual Students; HASS-H

Tier III: Two subjects or more depending on demonstrated level of competence from the Spanish advanced subjects in literature and culture: 21F.084J, 21F.716J-21F.740.

Current Subjects:
21F.084J Introduction to Latin American Studies (taught in English) [17.55J, 21A.430J] (HASS-D, Category 4), CI-H; HASS-S
21F.716J Introduction to Contemporary Hispanic Literature and Film [21L.616J]; HASS-H (HASS-D, Category 1)
21F.730 Hispanic America: One Hundred Years of Literature and Film; HASS-H
21F.735 Advanced Topics in Hispanic Literature and Film; HASS-H
21F.738J Literature and Social Conflict: Perspectives on Modern Spain [21L.638J]; HASS-H
21F.739J Globalization and its Discontents: Spanish-Speaking Nations (NEW); HASS-H
21F.740J The New Spain: 1977-Present [21L.640J]; HASS-H

Note: Students who have taken the following subjects that are no longer offered can count these subjects toward their minor:
21F.080 Masterpieces of Hispanic Culture (taught in English) CI-H
21F.705 Oral Communication in Spanish
21F.010 Introduction to European and Latin American Fiction (taught in English); HASS-H (HASS-D, Cat. 1), CI-H
21F.717 Introduction to Spanish Culture
21F.721 The Novelist as Witness: Science and Imagination in 20th-Century Spain; HASS-H
21F.731 Creation of a Continent: Representations of Hispanic America, 1492-1898, in Literature and Film; HASS-H
21F.736 The Short Story in Spain and Hispanic America; HASS-H
21F.742 Cervantes and His Times: Spanish Golden Age Literature and Thought in Don Quixote

 

Your Spanish Minor and Your G.I.R.S.

Of the six subjects required for the minor, at most five can count toward satisfaction of the eight-subject Institute HASS Requirement. Of these five, only one can count toward the HASS Distribution requirement. You can Minor and Concentrate in the same field.

1. You may not use your junior- senior Pass/Fail option for any of your minor subjects.

2. The Minor Proposal should be on file by the end of your sophomore year, no later than two terms before you intend to graduate.

3. There is a $50 late fee if you have not filed your Minor Completion form by the third week of the semester in which you intend to graduate.

Note for students who entered MIT prior to Fall 2010:
HASS-D Language Option: Because the Institute regards competence in foreign language as a fundamental value, students may substitute one languages subject at the level III or IV (i.e., 21F.103, 21F.104, 21F.303, 21F.304, 21F.403, 21F.404, 21F.503, 21F.504, 21F.703, or 21F.704) for one HASS-D subject. The two remaining HASS-Ds may be chosen from any two of the five HASS-D categories.

Contact the Academic Administrator, Andrea Wirth, with any other questions:
awirth@mit.edu
14N-310 x3-4550

Paperwork Procedure

1. Pick up a HASS Minor Application form in 14N-305, 4-240, 7-104, or 11-120.
2. Fill it out in consultation with the Minor Advisor. Distribute copies of the application to your Major Advisor, the HASS Academic Administrator, and the FL&L main office.
3. When you complete all of your minor subjects, bring the white copy of your grade report (as well as a copy of your proposal) back to your Minor Advisor. You will need his/her signature and that of the FL&L Section Head to certify that you have completed your minor program.