IU Online’s Graduate Certificate in Spanish offers advanced-level instruction in the Spanish language, as well as Hispanic culture, literature, and linguistics. This program may be of special interest to K–12 Spanish teachers, or anyone looking to improve their mastery of the language. 

As a student in this program, you enhance your language proficiency and teaching techniques; study current research on effective pedagogical strategies and foreign language instruction; and enhance your intercultural competence in order to promote student engagement with the Hispanic world. 

Your IU Online Graduate Certificate in Spanish prepares you for such careers as: 

• Spanish teacher or instructor 
• Linguist, bilingual consultant, or translator 
• Foreign correspondent 
• Technical writer 
• Proofreader/editor 

This 100 percent online program is taught by IU Bloomington, IU East, IUPUI, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. This consortial model allows you to take coursework from several campuses and learn from a wide range of faculty.  

Of Special Interest for Dual-Credit and Community College Instructors Needing to Meet HLC Standards 

The Graduate Certificate in Spanish is ideal for those who want to teach dual-credit courses and who need to meet Higher Learning Commission dual-credit qualification standards. These standards require teachers wanting to teach dual-credit courses to hold either a master's degree in their area of instruction or a master's degree in another discipline (such as education), plus at least 18 credit hours of discipline-specific graduate coursework. 

If you hold a master's degree in another discipline, you can meet HLC standards by completing the 18-credit hour Graduate Certificate in Spanish. 

Degree Requirements 

To earn a Graduate Certificate in Spanish, you must complete 18 credit hours.   

Requirements are broken down as follows: 

• Core courses (18 credit hours) 

Admissions 

To be accepted to this program, you must have: 

1. Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution 
2. 3.0 minimum undergraduate GPA 
3. Spanish instructors affiliated with IU’s Advanced College Project will be admitted to the program on the basis of ACP’s admission process. 

To apply to this program, complete an online application that includes: 

1. Official transcripts from each undergraduate institution 
2. 250-word personal statement explaining background and reasons for entering the program 
3. Evidence of significant study in Spanish (at least 12 credit hours at the 300/400 level, with a minimum 2.5 GPA) 

Application Deadlines 

• Fall semester: Aug 1 
• Spring semester: Jan 1 
• Summer 1 semester: May 1 
• Summer 2 semester: Jun 15 

Core Courses  

• SPAN-T 510 Second Language Acquisition for Spanish Instruction (3 cr.) 
• SPAN-T 520 Spanish Writing and Grammar (3 cr.) 
• SPAN-T 530 Spanish through Cultural Expressions (3 cr.) 
• SPAN-T 540 Spanish Phonetics (3 cr.) 
• SPAN-T 550 Topics in Hispanic Studies (3 cr.) 
• SPAN-T 560 Hispanic Sociolinguistics (3 cr.)