Spanish

The Department of Spanish offers research-led teaching and postgraduate supervision spanning the cultures and histories that make up the lives of over 590 million Hispanophone speakers worldwide.

In addition to the expertise in language tuition, including classes for beginners, the Department offers small-group teaching on materials ranging from the 15th to 21st centuries. Students work across a variety of media and disciplines, including literature and culture, history and politics, and film and visual culture.

At undergraduate level, Spanish is available as part of a wide variety of joint or triple Honours degrees. Those studying Spanish will have the option to spend time in a Hispanophone country to improve their language skills further, either as a student of a partner institution or via the British Council’s English Language Assistant programme. For more information, please see the University's study abroad pages.

At the postgraduate level, Spanish is available either as part of a taught MLitt, a research-led MSt (Res), or a PhD with the possibility of funding at all levels.

The MLitt in Modern Languages is a dynamic one-year taught postgraduate degree run by the School of Modern Languages and contains a specific pathway for Spanish and Latin American Studies, as well as the option to split the focus between two language areas.

The Department welcomes expressions of interest for research degrees and encourages applicants to contact potential supervisors in advance.

Why study Spanish?

Spanish is a world-leading language and is spoken in over 21 countries. At St Andrews, Spanish is studied through many different contexts, including:

  • journalism
  • history
  • commerce
  • entertainment
  • literature
  • cinema.

Through these different lenses, students not only gain knowledge and use of the Spanish language, but also explore the great continuities and shifts within Spanish and Spanish American culture, from its early beginnings to the Spain and Latin America of today.