DEGREE GUIDE

Spanish

What do Spanish degrees involve?

Spanish degrees teach you how to communicate fluently in Spanish while exploring the history, literature, politics, and cultures of Spanish-speaking countries across Europe and Latin America. You will study key areas such as language acquisition, translation, linguistics, film, and contemporary society. These courses help you develop strong analytical, communication, and intercultural skills while gaining a deeper understanding of Spain’s and Latin America’s global influence. You will also have the opportunity to study or work abroad, immersing yourself in the language and culture of a Spanish-speaking country. Through a combination of language training, cultural studies, and real-world experience, you’ll be prepared for careers in translation, diplomacy, international business, and education.

Example
Modules

Spanish Language Proficiency: Build confidence through intensive Spanish-language classes focused on grammar, vocabulary, conversation, and written expression.

Spanish Grammar and Composition: Develop accuracy and fluency by tackling advanced structures and writing essays, creative pieces and reports in Spanish.

Spanish History and Society: Study key events, from the Spanish Civil War to contemporary issues, exploring how politics, culture and identity have evolved.

Common Degree Names

💼 Placement opportunities are often available during the year abroad, including teaching assistantships or internships.
🌍 A year abroad in a Spanish-speaking country is a core part of most Spanish degrees.

BA (Hons) Spanish
BA (Hons) Spanish and French
BA (Hons) Spanish and English
BA (Hons) Spanish and International Relations
BA (Hons) Spanish and Translation Studies

Level 3 (A-level / IB Diploma (HL) / Scottish Highers)

Spanish degrees develop fluency in the language while exploring the history, literature, and cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Most courses include a compulsory year abroad in Year 3 of a 4-year degree.

For advanced/post-A-level stream:

A-level Spanish (or equivalent) – required for the advanced stream ⭐

For beginners stream (ab initio):

Many universities offer beginner Spanish, allowing you to start the language from scratch
Any A-level subjects demonstrating academic ability are welcome
Other language A-levels show aptitude for language learning

Subjects that strengthen your application:

English Literature or Language & Literature – develops textual analysis skills
History – useful for understanding Spanish and Latin American history
Politics – relevant for understanding contemporary Spanish-speaking societies
Other modern languages – demonstrate language-learning ability

✨ Check whether your chosen university offers a beginners stream – not all do. If you have A-level Spanish, you'll join the advanced stream. If you're starting from scratch, look for courses offering ab initio or beginner pathways.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside relevant A-Level subjects
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with at least two IB Higher Level subjects, including Spanish B, for advanced level courses (ideally three - see relevant subjects above) alongside your Career-Related Study

Always check specific course requirements.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE or equivalent)

Most courses ask for:

GCSE English Language and Maths (or equivalent) – often at grade 4/C or above. Equivalents include Scottish National 5s, BTEC Level 2, or IB MYP certificates
GCSE Science (or equivalent) – sometimes required

📋 Sport and Exercise Science involves understanding data and statistics, so comfortable numeracy is helpful.

💬 Interviews

Interviews are not usually required, but some universities may invite you for a short conversation, either online or in person, to learn more about your interest in the subject.

🔍 Work Experience

You don't need work experience to apply for Spanish. If you have a school placement to fill, any setting where you can use your Spanish — a business with Spanish-speaking clients, a community organisation, a tourism company, or even volunteering with a language exchange group — gives you experience of using the language beyond the classroom. For this subject, your genuine engagement with the language and the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world matters far more than any placement.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

What draws you to studying Spanish at degree level - the language itself, literature, cinema, history, or the diverse cultures of the Spanish-speaking world? A Spanish degree goes far beyond language learning to explore Spain, Latin America, and Hispanic cultures globally. If you've engaged through films, music, books, podcasts, news coverage, or reading literature in Spanish or translation, reflect on what sparked your interest and what you'd want to study further. You don't need to have visited a Spanish-speaking country, but showing genuine curiosity about the diversity of the Hispanic world - not just one country - will strengthen your application.

If your qualifications don't match the usual entry requirements, there are some other possibilities.

🌱 Foundation Year in Languages or Humanities

Some universities offer a foundation year that can lead into Spanish, including beginner and ab initio pathways. This adds an extra year but provides a route in if you don't have the required subjects or grades.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Humanities or Social Science)

Accepted by some universities. Choose a pathway with essay-based units, and aim for Merits and Distinctions in your graded units. Many Spanish degrees offer a beginner route, so previous study of Spanish isn't always required.

Is this degree right for you?

Members can explore whether this degree fits who they are:

Skills you'd develop and whether they match your strengths
How this aligns with your interests, motivators and values
Career paths and where graduates end up

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Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Use the tabs to explore the kind of person that this would be a good fit for. Do you share the Interests, Motivations, Values, Work identity and skills that people who thrive in this course tend to have?

Not sure what these things are? Explore your Identity Tree with us first.

Interests that connect well with a Spanish degree

Students who enjoy this degree often share these interests. You don't need to feel strongly about all of them, and interests develop over time. If one or two catch your curiosity, or sound like something you'd like to know more about, that's a good sign.

Different Cultures, Languages & Beliefs: The degree opens a window into the Spanish-speaking world, from Spain to Latin America. You'll develop fluency while exploring how colonialism, religion, art, and politics have shaped hugely diverse cultural traditions across countries like Mexico, Argentina, Cuba, and beyond.

Language, Stories & Writing: Hispanic literature spans novels, poetry, plays, and film from Spain and Latin America, giving you access to one of the richest literary traditions in the world. Translation modules build deep understanding of how Spanish and English express meaning differently.

Students who thrive in a Spanish degree are often motivated by

Engaging with People and Cultures

You're energised by working closely with people to understand what's really going on for them: talking, listening, asking questions, spending time, picking up on what isn't being said directly. That might be interviewing someone for a piece of research, sitting with a client who's trying to work something out, exploring a community you've not been part of, or working alongside people from a different culture. The energy comes from the engagement itself, not just from reading or thinking about people.

Analysing and Investigating

You're energised by making sense of information, looking for evidence, spotting patterns, and piecing together how things connect. Whether it's pulling apart data, questioning assumptions, or tracing a problem back to its source, you find energy in the process of understanding what's really going on. You'd rather dig into the details than accept things at face value.

Curiosity and Learning

You're energised by the activity of learning itself: diving into a subject you've never explored, watching documentaries, taking apart how something works, or constantly asking "why?" The process of learning gives you energy, not just the outcome. You don't just want the answer; you want to understand how things connect, why they matter, and what's underneath the surface explanation.

Working Internationally

You're energised by work that crosses borders and connects you with people from different countries, backgrounds, and systems. That might be collaborating with international colleagues, working in a place that isn't your own, using another language professionally, or tackling problems that don't stop at a single country's borders. You come alive when the work you're doing reaches beyond your own patch of the world.

What makes Spanish click for the students who love it?

One language reaches Spain and dozens of countries across Latin America, and that range is what pulls them towards it. They are curious about how people live, speak and see the world across those places, wanting to know it close up rather than from a holiday. A year abroad sets them inside one of those worlds as a participant. Hearing how the same language shifts from Madrid to Buenos Aires, familiar words carrying a different feel, is part of the fun.

These are the skills that students who love this degree tend to enjoy using. You don't need to be great at them already, but if they sound like you, that's a good sign.

Skill Name

Skills that suit this degree

You don't need to be great at these already — but if you enjoy using them or want to get better at them, that's a good sign.

Are you drawn to understanding how people live and express themselves across very different countries and cultures?
Do you enjoy finding ways to make yourself understood, even when there are language or cultural differences?
Do you like comparing how the same theme — like identity, power, or tradition — plays out differently in different places?

Careers a Spanish degree could lead you to

Spanish

What do Spanish degrees involve?

Example Modules

Common Degree Names

Is this degree right for you?

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Careers a Spanish degree could lead you to

Example
Modules