California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Department of English and Foreign Languages Building 24, Room 214 Telephone (909) 869-3940
SURVIVAL TIPS FOR SPANISH MAJORS An Advising Manual
Completion of your academic program—fulfilling all requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Spanish—will be facilitated if you follow an efficient plan of study. Familiarize yourself with the Spanish major curriculum and related graduation requirements. Most of what you need to know can be found in the university catalog. In this document you will find information about: - Communications - Advising - Transfers - Recommended Course Sequence - Balancing GE Requirements and Spanish courses - Registering for and Dropping Classes - Petitions - Spanish Program Assessment - Planning a Minor - General Recommendations for your Classes - Opportunities for Spanish Majors COMMUNICATIONS • •
Essential communication with students is now done via e-mail. Please be sure to check your Cal Poly e-mail regularly, For information about forwarding your e-mail to the e-mail address you use regularly, please see the Identity Management Services page at : https://apps.cpp.edu/idm/
ADVISING You may consult with any of the Spanish major advisers but it is to your benefit to establish a good working relationship with a single adviser, someone who will become familiar with your own academic progress and goals and can answer questions as they arise. •
•
All faculty, including advisers, post their office hours. They may be visited or reached by telephone during those hours. (Office phone numbers are also posted.) You may also contact them via e-mail. Your file in BroncoDIRECT includes your admissions papers, your grade reports, copies of academic petitions you have filed, and your transfer curriculum (if you have attended college elsewhere or have switched majors).
Spanish Major
2
Come prepared to your advising session: bring lists of questions you want to ask, the courses you have taken, your work schedule that might interfere with your classes, your class schedule, etc. And read this entire Manual before seeing an adviser. Also print out a copy of your degree progress report and review it before the advising session to speed up the process with your adviser. •
Call on your academic adviser regularly, not just during the hurry of each quarter's preregistration. Each of your instructors, whether an adviser or not, is concerned with your academic development. Do not hesitate to call on him or her to discuss your coursework and related activities.
•
Annual Obligatory Advising Workshop: Every year the EFL Department holds a series of advising workshops for its majors. Please check your Cal Poly e-mail or the department’s bulletin boards for information about the mandatory advising workshops. Failure to attend the workshop will result in a hold on your registration.
•
You may also visit the CPP Advising page for additional information: http://www.cpp.edu/~advising/
TRANSFERS •
You will need your transfer-curriculum sheet because it indicates which courses and units taken at another campus or in another major can be applied to your present major; this should be mailed to you from the Evaluations Office.
•
Transferability of courses not evaluated in that office may be at the option of your adviser, in which case you need to provide him or her with a course description of the course taken. No more than 70 semester units or 105 quarter units from a community college nor more than 36 units of Extension work may be applied toward a bachelor's degree.
•
Know in which curriculum year you began study (whether 2007-08, 2008-09 or some other). The curriculum of that year will be your curriculum (curriculums sometimes change from year to year) so long as your enrollment remains continuous. If your attendance is interrupted so that you need to seek readmission to the university, then your curriculum will be governed by whichever pattern is in effect at that time. (Complications of readmission can be avoided by petitioning beforehand for an official leave of absence.)
RECOMMENDED COURSE SEQUENCE •
•
Consult your curriculum sheet (usually a pink sheet, "Degree Requirement Evaluation"). (Transfer students will have transfer curriculums.) During registration, consult the printed "Schedule of Classes" (purchasable at the university bookstore) and the Schedule of Classes on the web: http://www.cpp.edu/broncodirect/
Spanish Major •
3
General recommendation: Do your best to take courses in sequence. This will facilitate your academic progress:
Freshman Composition requirement first: •
ENG 110 (Freshman English I) or its equivalent (the 2 quarter sequence ENG108/109 or the 3 quarter sequence, ENG100/106/107) is prerequisite to any 200-level English course. For more information regarding Freshman Composition, please visit the following webpages: o Composition Directed Self-Placement Survey at https://www.cpp.edu/~class/english-foreign-languages/composition/directedself-placement.shtml o Composition courses at https://www.cpp.edu/~class/english-foreignlanguages/composition/composition-courses.shtml
Spanish Intermediate Courses (200-300) If you are a transfer student, you may have already fulfilled all or part of your SPN intermediate sequence. Discuss your situation with your adviser. •
SPN 250 OR 251 SPN 250 and 251Intermediate Spanish are prerequisites to any 200-level Spanish course. If you are a non-Spanish speaker, you should take SPN 251 (Intermediate Spanish). Spanish heritage speakers should take SPN 250 (Spanish for Spanish Speakers II), instead of 251.
•
SPN 252 OR SPN 253 We recommend that students who are non-native speakers of Spanish take SPN 253. This course is designed to help students practice conversational skills in Spanish. We recommend that students who are native speakers of Spanish take SPN 252.
• SPN 254 Intermediate Spanish Composition We highly recommend that you take SPN 254 Intermediate Composition before taking any 300-400 level course. Spanish 300-400 level courses •
No literature course at the 300- or 400- level can be taken without one intermediate Spanish course, preferably SPN 254. But do not wait until you have taken all four required courses before taking courses at a higher level.
•
Take the literature survey courses (SPN 356, SPN 358) before you take any of the more-specialized 300-400 literature courses.
Spanish Major
4
•
Linguistics courses: You may take SPN 371 during your first year in the program. Take the rest of Spanish linguistics courses in this order: SPN 370 – SPN 450 - SPN 451.
•
Civilization courses (SPN 352, SPN 354 or SPN 355) can be taken in any order. If you do not plan to continue with the Teaching Credential Program in Spanish you may take a second Latin American Civilization course instead of ENG 464.
REQUIRED SUPPORT COURSES •
Do not postpone taking ENG 320 and ENG 323. They require ENG 107, ENG 109 or ENG 110 as prerequisite. These courses will be of great help when you take SPN 370, SPN 371, SPN 450 and SPN 451. Some students prefer to start with ENG 323 and then continue with ENG 320 and ENG 464.
WHAT ABOUT GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES? If you are a transfer student, you may have already fulfilled part of your GE courses. Discuss your situation with your adviser. •
Do your best to balance general education, core and elective courses each quarter. Do not attempt to fulfill GE requirements to the neglect of all others.
•
Full-time students are considered to be maintaining satisfactory academic progress toward their degrees when they have completed a minimum of 36 units per academic year, of which a minimum of 24 units directly apply to satisfying the core and/or support course requirements of the major in Spanish.
•
Half-time students must complete a minimum of 18 units per academic year, of which a minimum of l2 units directly apply to satisfying core and/or support course requirements.
•
Most lower-division GE courses are offered frequently and in multiple sections; as a result, you will enjoy far greater flexibility in scheduling GE courses than 300 and 400-level core courses in literature. All SPN upperdivision courses are offered, as a rule, once a year.
GE: AREA C 3 Literature or FOREIGN LANGUAGE Four units of English Literature or a foreign language are required as part of the GE requirement1. Spanish majors may use a Spanish course to satisfy this requirement. However, we encourage you to fulfill this requirement with a course in English literature
1
The chief exception is for transfer students prior to 1989-90 whose GE Category C-3 requirement has been otherwise satisfied.
Spanish Major
5
or a course in another foreign language, such as French, German or Chinese. Also, see list of these courses in the University Catalog. REGISTERING FOR AND DROPPING CLASSES •
Allow yourself sufficient time to plan your courses, and be flexible. Courses will not always be offered at the times you prefer.
•
It is always better to preregister than late-register. You will more likely get enrolled in the courses you are seeking, and you will avoid late fees.
•
If the computer denies you enrollment in a class you are seeking during preregistration, attempt to register during the late registration time beginning six days before the quarter begins. Also, “no-show” students will be dropped after the first class meeting, so keep trying to register to add the class you need.
•
Be realistic about your overall capabilities. Can you successfully carry a full load at school while holding a full-time or even part-time job?
•
If you cease attending a class and fail to officially drop, you will get an WU that will turn into an F. Check the “Important Dates” in Bronco Direct to know when you can drop a class.
PETITIONS You may petition for the following: •
Deviation: If you believe you can make a strong argument in writing for deviating from a stated departmental degree requirement (substitution of one course for another), you may submit, for your adviser's approval, a General Academic Petition. Unreasonable requests (for example, substituting a lower-division for an upper-division requirement) will not be honored.
•
Dual enrollment: at Cal Poly and another campus as well.
•
Academic renewal: if you need to request removal of previous academic work from consideration so as to achieve a minimum 2.0 grade-point average and to graduate.
•
Other petitions are for extensions of time for removing "Incomplete" grades or for taking 500-level graduate courses while you are a senior.
•
Last but not least, remember to withdraw from courses responsibly by using a petition due to extenuating circumstances to avoid an “unofficial withdraw” or WU, which will convert into an F and have an adverse effect on your GPA. Documentation is required and should be filed by the mandated deadlines. Do not wait until the 8th week to petition withdrawing from a course.
Spanish Major
6
SPANISH PROGRAM ASSESSMENT During their senior year Spanish majors must take SPN 480 Spanish Capstone course. This class is designed to integrate and assess students' cumulative experiences as Spanish majors through specific seminar-style research issues. In this class students will provide evidence that they can synthesize the four areas of knowledge of the Spanish major: Spanish language and Hispanic literatures, civilization and linguistics. In SPN 480 the presentation of the portfolio and a fifteen–minute oral presentation will allow students to demonstrate they have achieved the five major goals of the Spanish program: a. Communicate orally in Spanish in real-life situations at the ACTFL advanced high proficiency level. b. Communicate in writing in Spanish at the ACTFL advanced high proficiency level with minimal errors in grammar, spelling, and the mechanics of writing. c. Read critically, interpret analytically, and write coherently about literatures produced in Spanish and demonstrate knowledge about fundamental principles of the Spanish language. d. Understand and demonstrate appreciation of the cultural values of Spanishspeaking peoples. In preparation for SPN 480 save copies of papers and projects of the various classes that you take so that you can prepare a portfolio. Each student portfolio should include the following works written in Spanish: 1. One project in linguistics (6-8 pages in length). 2. One research paper on Hispanic literature (8 pages in length). 3. One survey paper prepared for one of the civilization courses (6-8 pages in length) 4. One 6-page reflective essay prepared while taking the SPN 480 Spanish Capstone course. The reflective essay should include a brief linguistic history in addition to specifying how the student has advanced in the program. PLAN A MINOR The curriculum for the major in Spanish allows as many as 20 units of unrestricted electives, which may fulfill the requirements of an academic minor. Minors that you may find attractive and useful are: English, ESL, Art, Business Law, Communications, Economics, Human Resources Management, Latin American Studies, Managerial Computing, Marketing Management, Music, Newspaper Journalism, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Public Relations, History and Sociology.
Spanish Major
7
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR CLASSES 1) Devote time to read, study, write and proofread what you write. To maximize your chances for success in the program study actively, quizzing yourself. Check to see what you need to study more. Make charts and other visuals to help remember the material. Form study groups with classmates to go over materials every week and to study for tests. Prepare in advance for class, read materials and review your notes and handouts. Participate in class discussions at every session. 2) Take time to read in Spanish. Research indicates that individuals who read a lot, write well and make few spelling mistakes. If you are a Spanish major or minor, try to read a book (written in Spanish) per month. Search for topics or authors that interest you. 3) Keep up with your assignments. Avoid late or incomplete assignments. 4) Make copies of any and all items that you are to turn in. 5) Take exams at the required time. 6) Learn how to type Spanish accent marks, tildes, question and exclamation marks on your computer. These are part of the Spanish language. 7) Take advantage of the various campus computer centers. 8) When you prepare a paper for a class you need to document your sources. Follow the MLA Style Sheet and the guidelines studied in SPN 254 and SPN 351. On papers students must give appropriate citation credit. If you make any use of anyone else’s words data, or ideas you must indicate the source precisely, using MLA parenthetical documentation. This includes any source: books, journals, online sources, CDs, text, music, or video files, radio, TV, film, classes, interviews, lectures, letters, emails, text messages and conversations. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated under any circumstances. 9) Prepare an academic portfolio of at least two papers or projects for each class that you take. Save those materials on disk. 10) Interaction is essential to language learning. In our classes we will discuss and frame ideas. Students are expected to be civil and professional at all times treating fellow students and professors and other people with respect. OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPANISH MAJORS In addition to preparing students to enter graduate studies (M.A. and Ph. D. programs), our Spanish program offers great opportunities for students to prepare for several types of professions: Teaching (University, Secondary, and /or Elementary), Law, International Business, Media, Government, Marketing and Advertising, Publishing, Translating/Interpreting, Hospitality and Tourism. Given the growth of Spanish in California for the foreseeable future, our graduates meet a continued and growing need for professionals conversant in English and Spanish. ABOUT THE SPANISH TEACHING CREDENTIAL The Spanish faculty has developed a teaching credential program in collaboration with Cal Poly Pomona’s School of Education. Completion of the Spanish major meets the subject matter competence requirement for the Single Subject Teaching Credential in Spanish. This means that if upon completing the Spanish BA at Cal Poly Pomona you apply to a Single Subject Teaching Credential Program in Spanish, you will receive a “waiver” of the CSET-Spanish requirement. We recommend that you look at other
Spanish Major
8
requirements for admission in the Teaching Credential program before you graduate, so that you make sure you are ready to start the credential program as soon as you graduate. You can check this website: http://www.cpp.edu/~ceis/education/credentialprograms/programs/single-subject/index.shtml The Spanish faculty wishes you success in your academic endeavors. ¡Bienvenidos al Programa de Español!
