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SPANISH

Spanish (Spanish and Portuguese)

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The department at a glance

All recorded grades
average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades

How grades break down

Grades over time

Red: department · Gray: UW–Madison

About these statistics

GPA and percentages are weighted by recorded letter grades. UW comparisons use the same terms. Cross-listed courses count once within this department and once across UW; department totals should not be added together. Grade counts are not unique students. Offering counts reflect captured records, not a complete historical schedule.

Spring 2027

Recorded this term
courses with offerings
instructors recorded

Grades have not been recorded for this term. Historical results remain in the overview above.

Across course levels

Recorded this term

No released grades for this term.

Recorded offerings over time

Find your next class

32 courses

An interdisciplinary graduate seminar exploring Latin American society and culture through multiple academic lenses.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sample

Introduction to Latin American culture and society from an interdisciplinary perspective, covering historical developments from pre-Columbian times to the present.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Kathryn Sanchez

Lectures delivered a lot of information quickly, requiring diligent note-taking to succeed on tests. One student noted that multiple-choice questions often targeted small details mentioned only once during class.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026

Explores social and political issues of migration, contact zones, transculturation, and diaspora in Latinx America through cultural and literary texts.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Paola Hernandez

The course was rated as relatively easy in terms of difficulty.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2024–Spring 2026

Introduction to the culture and history of Mexican and Latin American origin people in the U.S., focusing on diversity, hybridity, and socio-political issues.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2024–Spring 2026

Explores the cultural evolution of Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and other U.S. Latinx groups in relation to their countries of origin.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2024–Fall 2025 · limited sample

First Semester Spanish covers basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills without requiring prior knowledge of the language.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Michelle Dutton, Caitlin Beduhn

The workload was very heavy, particularly in accelerated summer sessions, with a large volume of homework that some students rushed through. There were no opportunities for extra credit or dropped assignments.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Second Semester Spanish covers all basic language skills: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. It continues SPANISH 101.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Erin Russ, Jamie De Moya-Cotter

In Erin Russ’s 102 section, there was daily homework, many exams, and constant textbook use; Jamie De Moya-Cotter allowed only three skipped classes before a grade drop.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

SPANISH 203 is an intermediate third-semester Spanish course focused on language review, Hispanic readings, culture, and conversational patterns.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Beatrice Steinhilber

A student in Beatrice Steinhilber's class found the course difficult, but said exams got easier as the class progressed and students could drop one exam.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Fourth Semester Spanish covers intermediate language review, Hispanic readings and culture, and intensive written and oral activities.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Sabina Madrid-Malloy

Sabina Madrid-Malloy’s class had a lot of daily homework, but the reviewer said it was not too difficult to complete.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Introduction to Hispanic Literatures focuses on reading and analyzing literary works in Spanish, developing oral and written skills for literary discussion and applying methods to basic forms, genres, and short texts.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Steve Hutchinson

A student claimed that reading independently and attending discussion allowed one to get an easy A, advising against attending lectures.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Introduction to linguistic study of Spanish using real-world examples like blogs, corpora, and film to examine variation across regions, speakers, and contexts.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Fernando Tejedo-Herrero

The course was described as super fast-paced and really difficult to manage, with a heavy focus on practice problems and questions.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Intermediate Spanish course offering intensive practice in reading, writing, and grammar with an emphasis on applying grammatical structures and revising written work.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Jamie De Moya-Cotter, Emily Frerichs

The course involved significant writing assignments, which were central to the learning goals. Grading often relied on class participation and personal improvement rather than heavy homework loads.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Surveys the historical and contemporary presence of Spanish in U.S. communities, pop culture, media, schools, and politics through linguistic and sociolinguistic lenses.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2025–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Examines the history of soccer and its role as a cultural phenomenon linked to nation building, progress, and national self-image in Latin America.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2026–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Advanced Spanish language practice focusing on intensive writing, grammar, and stylistics. Students develop vocabulary usage and apply genre-specific characteristics to their own compositions.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Saylin Alvarez

Assessment typically involved several short papers, homework, and participation, with some students noting that grading on essays could be strict regarding grammar details.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Topics in Spanish Language Practice offers intensive oral and written practice in Spanish professional usage, focusing each offering on fields like journalism, commerce, medicine, law, or social services.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2024

A practice course in Spanish phonetics focused on improving pronunciation and introducing transcription, phonetic, and phonemic analysis.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Fernando Tejedo-Herrero

Tests required studying and deep understanding of the material, though the instructor was knowledgeable and eager to help with questions.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Survey of Modern Spanish Literature covering the eighteenth century to present through readings, discussions, and literary history.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Katarzyna Beilin

The course was described as having a relatively low difficulty level, with one student characterizing the grading as easy.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Advanced Conversation focuses on practicing and improving conversational Spanish while forming and presenting opinions on cultural and social issues affecting Latin America and the US.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Veronica Egon

Work included homework, take-home exams, presentations, and out-of-class assignments that compiled into a portfolio graded at the semester's midpoint and end.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Survey of Spanish American literature from the eighteenth century to the present, covering reading, discussions, and literary history.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Marcelo Pellegrini

Pellegrini demanded attendance, which the student found fair, and the exams were relatively easy because he did not believe in them.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Advanced Medical Spanish focuses on medical terminology and cultural issues for interacting with Spanish-speaking patients in clinical settings.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2025–Fall 2025 · limited sample

Covers Spanish business language, culture, and practice within Spanish-speaking economic markets, focusing on comparative business models and professional portfolio development.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026

Illustrated lectures on the cultural evolution of Spain from the medieval period to the present, taught entirely in Spanish.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Juan Egea

A student who took the course over a four-week summer period described it as fast-paced. They emphasized that consistent completion of homework was key to performing well in the class.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

SPANISH AMERICAN CIVILIZATION covers the cultural evolution of Spanish America from pre-Hispanic times to the present, conducted entirely in Spanish.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Sarli Mercado

The class involved lots of reading homework, which students noted was essential because all in-class activities focused on discussing those specific texts.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2023–Spring 2025 · limited sample

Advanced descriptive, historical, or applied topics in Spanish linguistics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Monograph on a specific Latin American author, work, or literary current such as Modernismo, the novel of protest, or theater within Spanish American literature.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Ruben Medina

One student found the course content occasionally dry, but noted that Ruben Medina strived to keep everyone interested in the material.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sample

TOPICS IN HISPANIC CULTURE provides an in-depth study of important cultural-historical issues concerning the Hispanic world.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Examines encounters with otherness in early modern Spanish and Colonial texts from the late 15th to 17th centuries, focusing on race, religion, and ethnicity across America, Spain, and the Mediterranean.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample

An advanced graduate course examining particular theories, approaches, and methodologies in Spanish linguistics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample