Spanish


Faculty List

Professors Emeriti
J.F. Burke, MA, PhD 
K.A.A. Ellis, MA, PhD, Dr Fil, FRSC 
R.J. Glickman, AM, PhD 
J. Gulsoy, MA, PhD, D Honoris Causa, FRSC 
O. Hegyi, MA, PhD (UTM) 
P.R. Len, MA, PhD (S) 
E.G. Neglia, MA, PhD (UTM) 
A. Percival, MA, PhD 
W.L. Rolph, MA, Phil M (I) 
R. Skyrme, MA, M Litt, PhD (S) 
R. Sternberg, MA, PhD (SM) 
M.J. Valdés, MA, PhD, FRSC, Miembro Correspondiente de la Academia Mexicana (U) 
J.R. Webster, MA, PhD, FRSC (SM) 

Professor and Chair
A.T. Pérez-Leroux, MA, PhD

Professors
R. Davidson, MA, PhD 
A.T. Pérez-Leroux, MA, PhD 
S. Rupp, MA, M Phil, PhD 
R. Sarabia, MA, PhD 

Associate Professors
S. Antebi, MA, PhD 
M.C. Cuervo, PhD 
Y. Iglesias, MA, PhD 
E. Jagoe, MA, PhD 
S. Munjic, MA, PhD 
N.E. Rodríguez, PhD 

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
M. Ramírez, MA, PhD 

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
J.C. Rocha Osornio, MA, PhD

Lecturer
I. Fernández Peláez, MA, PhD 

Introduction

Overview

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 590 million speakers. It is the official language in 21 countries throughout Europe, Africa, and the Americas, making it an essential tool for global communication and business. Canada has strong commercial ties with the world’s two largest Spanish-speaking countries: Mexico (127 million) and the United States of America (57 million).

Spanish opens the door to the study of a rich range of cultural expressions in literature, film, and art, from medieval and early modern transatlantic world to the literary and cultural productions of contemporary Spanish and Spanish American societies. The department offers a wide selection of courses at all levels in literature, culture, and linguistics. Students are encouraged to complement and expand on the training they receive in these courses by taking courses in other academic units. By the time of their graduation, our students acquire skills to reflect critically on the world in which they live and a deep knowledge of Hispanic cultures.

Spanish also opens the door to the study of the Romance language family. The Department offers students the opportunity to advance their language skills through the systematic reflection on the language structure, from the sound system to the morphology and syntax. Through a variety of courses with a theoretical and experimental focus in linguistics, students acquire basic skills that can be transferred to teaching or research programs. Through collaboration with other language and linguistics programs, students are provided with opportunities and training to conduct research in linguistics with a focus on the Spanish language.

What can I do with a degree in Spanish?

Plenty! Proficiency in Spanish can open a wide range of career opportunities, and Canada's multicultural landscape and its trade relationships with Spanish-speaking countries can provide ample job opportunities for Spanish speakers.

In addition, some graduate academic programs or professional fields may require proficiency in a second language, and Spanish is often a popular choice due to its global significance and relevance in various industries.

The skills that students acquire through the study of Spanish and of the Spanish-speaking world either prepare them directly for or are an asset in some of the following fields:

  • media, journalism, marketing, public relations
  • domestic government services and NGOs; foreign services and foreign affairs specialist; international development; political aid; policy analyst
  • commerce, finances, tourism, and hospitality
  • post-graduate studies and academic careers; cultural work
  • editing, publishing, translation, education
  • library and information sciences
  • careers in the health profession, including medicine, speech pathology and audiology
  • computational linguistics, speech recognition, and synthesis

For the Portuguese component, please see the Portuguese Program in this Calendar.

For further information, please contact us in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Victoria College, Room 208.

The Department offers Specialist, Major and Minor programs, as well as a language citation certificate.

Placement Test

All students who are interested in Spanish studies should take the online placement test by carefully following the instructions found in the following link:

https://www.spanport.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/programs/spanish

The placement test can only be taken once. Misrepresenting previous knowledge of Spanish is considered a serious academic offense. If you have any questions about your placement level, please contact the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies and you will receive personal advice for placement in the language sequence. 

Students should contact the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies early on in the course of their university career to receive advice on how to proceed with their studies and to thus assure that they can receive their degree by the time of planned graduation. For further information, please visit us in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Victoria College, Room 208, email spanport.undergraduate@utoronto.ca, or call (416) 813-4080.