By studying Spanish at St. Edward’s, you’ll develop language skills that build cultural understanding and a global mindset.

Major Roadmap

Explore your options — classes, internships, research and study abroad. Use the Spanish Major Guide to find what interests you, discover what you love, and create a major experience that jumpstarts your future. 

Spanish is spoken by 37 million people in the United States. It’s the third most widely spoken language in the world and is the official or primary language in 25 countries. And it’s spoken every day in classrooms and workplaces across Austin — home to Spanish-language news organizations, a Mexican Consulate, political organizations reaching out to Spanish speakers, and nonprofits helping immigrants.

You’ll have the chance to study abroad at partner universities in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Spain and develop fluency by immersing yourself in the language. When you graduate, you’ll be ready to make your mark in international business, work for the State Department or an NGO, or serve the community at a social-service agency that supports Spanish speakers. If you’re planning to pursue a field like journalism, medicine, law or social work, knowing Spanish will dramatically expand your job prospects.

Earn Two Degrees in Five Years

Complete your BA in Spanish and Master's Degree (MBA) with our pathway to receive two degrees in five years.

Success Coaches and Academic Advisors guide students through undergraduate and graduate courses to maximize benefits. Learn More.

What do our graduates do?

Spanish majors go on to a variety of careers and graduate schools from St. Edward’s. Here’s a sample.

  • Reporter for Searchlight New Mexico, a nonprofit investigative journalism outlet
  • Graphic designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
  • Account executive at NWN Corporation, a technology solutions company
  • Vice president of Sales for Brazilian Blowout

For more information on the Spanish major, please contact Associate Professor of Spanish Georgia Seminet. The Spanish major is part of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures

54 Alumni Who Inspire

St. Edward’s University counts more than 25,000 alumni around the globe. Some are making their mark in the job they started right after graduation. Others have excelled in multiple careers. Read about how they’re all building on the education they received at St. Edward’s. 

The Classroom and Beyond

As a Spanish major, you’ll have opportunities to immerse yourself in Spanish-speaking cultures through study abroad and to develop your language skills by volunteering and interning in Austin. 

Experiential Education 

Several courses at St. Edward’s include projects that take you off campus to enrich your knowledge of Spanish. For example, in Spanish for Heritage Learners – designed for students who were exposed to Spanish as a child but mostly speak English – students conduct and analyze interviews with bilingual members of the community. And if you take the Senior Seminar on Gabriel Garcia Marquez, you’ll visit the Harry Ransom Center to see the Garcia Marquez archives, including the author’s manuscripts and correspondence.

SEU to You

In this class students, study Spanish grammar from a sociolinguistic perspective. They learn about dialect variation and why bilingual speakers often use Spanish differently than monolingual speakers.

En esta clase se estudia la gramática española desde una perspectiva sociolingüística. Aprendemos sobre la variación dialectal y por qué el habla de los hablantes bilingües suele diferenciarse del habla de los monolingües.

Study Abroad 

Studying abroad is the perfect way to immerse yourself in a Spanish-speaking environment and rely exclusively on your Spanish skills. These programs will help you understand another culture and how people in another country view the United States. They also offer tremendous opportunities for personal growth. St. Edward’s offers study-abroad opportunities in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Spain. You can choose a program in which a St. Edward’s professor leads students in classes and guided travels for several weeks, or you can study at an international university for a semester. When you study at an overseas university, you’ll live in campus housing with students from that country or with a host family, which immerses you in the rhythms of daily life.

Service Experiences

In Spring 2020, Spanish majors worked on a special project to educate Spanish-speaking families about the 2020 U.S. Census. The St. Edward’s students discussed the census with parents of students at an Austin elementary school to address the parents’ concerns and provide factual information about the census.