We know you have goals for your Spanish major. To reach them, give it your all in your classes and integrate your Spanish studies into your life outside of classes. Here are some ideas:
Honors learning agreements. Haz algo extra en tu clase de español. If you are a James Scholar, ask your instructor if you can integrate an honors project into your Spanish class (200-level and higher). The types of projects instructors allow vary, but here are some examples of recent student projects: an extra paper about a topic that fascinates you; blog posts about your community service learning class (here's one example, and here's another); suggest a project that interests you and takes your learning in the course to a new level or on a new path.
Scholarships and awards. If you plan to study Catalan or to study abroad in Latin America, you can apply to departmental scholarships. Our faculty also nominate and select our students for several departmental awards.
Honors thesis. ¿Estás listo/a para emprender un proyecto serio? Spanish majors with an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher and who wish to graduate with Departmental Distinction can work on an honors thesis with a faculty advisor. The work takes place over two semesters. Some students go abroad and come back with a question they want to explore further. You might fall in love with a novel you read for a class and want to analyze it more deeply. Some students wrote a case study about a local refugee center. Work with a faculty member to shape a project into something meaningful for you. Read more details, and contact our Director of Undergraduate Studies (arabbott@illinois.edu) to find out if this option is right for you.
Research opportunities. Las lenguas y las culturas son fascinantes; explóralas en detalle. Some of our students work in a language research lab, and you can work with the Office of Undergraduate Research to explore other options. Finally, don't forget that you are at a university con una biblioteca extraordinaria; read about and use the library resources for Iberian and Latin American information.
Careers. Las lenguas y la competencia cultural son importantes en el mundo profesional. College is a time to learn, explore and ask new questions. Still, finding a job after college weighs on students' minds, too. Start early and take advantage of the resources at Illinois' Career Center, look over the opportunities on the LAS Career Development page, utilize the help that is just for you at the Humanities Professional Resource Center, and look for inspiration at the Illini Success page. Check out this tool that shows potential future earnings for Spanish and other majors. If you would like to live and work outside the US after you graduate, consider applying to be a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant; you can read the profile of a student on her way to being a Fulbright ETA and see the details of an alum who finished up her year as an ETA. Finally, if you are wondering about the value of a degree in the humanities, click through the "Study the Humanities Toolkit" and see for yourself how a degree in Spanish can be your springboard to professional and personal success.