Subject guide to Spanish
Spanish at Manchester
Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. The variety of cultures and countries is represented in the countries where our students spend their Residence Abroad - Spain, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay.
We have language learning pathways for students, who are complete beginners and new to the language, as well as an intermediate pathway for students that have previously studied the language.
For students, who want to become multi-lingual, they can learn Catalan, Portuguese, or combine Spanish with another world or European language - Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese or Russian. In Year 4, students can develop professional skills in translating or interpreting.
Cultural course units enable students to connect with the art, film, literature, history and politics of Spanish-speaking countries and communities. Themes and topics are varied – from Culture and Cold War in Latin America, to the representation of women in the works of canonical writers such as Garcilaso de la Vega, Cervantes and El Inca Garcilaso.
Students are encouraged to engage and connect with Instituto Cervantes Manchester, which runs a wide range of events throughout the year such as talks, books clubs and film screenings. It’s also a good place to hear about music, dance and cultural events hosted at venues in Manchester and the Northwest.
The highlight of my course has definitely been my year abroad which I completed in 3rd year. I went to study in Mexico for the whole academic year and genuinely had the best time out there. I advanced my language skills, immersed myself in the culture, travelled around Mexico and made friends from all over the world.
Meera Balasubramaniam / History and Spanish, 2026.
Video: Discover more about studying here
Courses - 2027 entry
Spanish is available as a specialism in the following 4-year degree courses:
- BA English Literature and Modern Languages
- BA Film Studies and Modern Languages
- BA History and Modern Languages
- BA International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response and Modern Languages
- BA Linguistics and Modern Languages
- BA Modern Languages and Business and Management
- BA Modern Languages
- BA Politics and Modern Languages
- BA Sociology and Modern Languages
BA Modern Languages has 2 pathways for Spanish and students choose one:
- Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (SPLAS)
- Spanish and a language chosen from Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese or Russian.
The degree title on the graduation certificate will state the language(s) that have been studied. For example: BA English Literature and Modern Languages (Spanish), BA Modern Languages (Spanish and French), BA Modern Languages (Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies) BA Modern Languages (Spanish) and Business and Management.
For information about entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships and bursaries, please visit the online prospectus.
Course structures
Degree courses in Spanish provide students with a range of choices. When considering the choices you’d like to make, please note:
- Spanish has 2 language learning pathways – beginner and intermediate.
- Each year, all students study a total of 120 credits. Each course unit is 20 credits unless indicated.
- The course unit titles for each year of study have been listed.
- Joint honours. In Year 1 students take 60 credits from Spanish. In Years 2 and 4, students can take 40, 60 or 80 credits from Spanish. The remaining credits are taken from the other subject or language.
- Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (SPLAS). In Year 1 students take 100 credits from Spanish and Portuguese. In Years 2 and 4, students can choose 100 or 120 credits from Spanish and Portuguese. The remaining credits are chosen from a range of subjects in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, including digital humanities, or the University College for Interdisciplinary Learning.
- Essential course information for students studying a 4-year degree.
Course content
In Year 1, there are different study options for students taking Spanish as a Joint Honours subject and for students taking SPLAS. However, the courses are also designed to bring students together. For example, all students take Cultures of the Hispanic World. This creates a strong sense of community, where people share ideas, swop language learning tips, and discuss the new writers, topics and issues covered by the course.
Joint Honours students
Students studying Spanish with another language or combining Spanish with another subject, study 60 credits of course units from Spanish in Year 1. The remaining credits are taken from the other subject or language.
Language skills developed through the beginner pathway include understanding short texts about everyday life and current affairs, engaging in conversations, understanding media reports (television, radio, social media), and writing short pieces of text about a range of subjects.
On the intermediate pathway, students build on their existing language skills, broadening their vocabulary, improving their writing and translating skills, deepening their cultural awareness, and building their fluency and confidence in debating and presenting in Spanish.
40 credits taken from one of the language learning pathways:
◆ Beginner pathway: Spanish Language 1
◇ Beginner pathway: Spanish Language 2
◈ Intermediate pathway: Spanish Language 3
◈ Intermediate pathway: Themes in Spanish and Latin American Studies
20 credits taken from:
◈ Cultures of the Hispanic World
BA Modern Languages (Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies)
Course units for SPLAS are almost an equal split between Spanish and Portuguese, with students developing their knowledge and skills of both languages, as well as learning about the cultures of the Lusophone and Hispanic worlds. Course units are 20 credits unless indicated.
There are two course units that are only available to students that have taken A-level Portuguese or equivalent. Study Project (Portuguese) enables students to improve their reading abilities in Portuguese, whilst deepening their appreciation and understanding of literary texts and of social issues in the Lusophone world.
From experience, we know that students can really excel when they are learning one new language as a beginner. For many students on the SPLAS degree, the new language is Portuguese. Students that have studied Spanish and Portuguese at A-level or equivalent, have scope to start learning Catalan, if they’d like to do so.
Students that do not have A-level Portuguese have the option of taking Catalan Language and Culture 1 in Year 2.
40 credits taken from the language learning pathways:
◈ Intermediate pathway: Spanish Language 3
◈ Beginner pathway: Portuguese Language 1OR Intermediate pathway: Portuguese Language 3
60 credits taken from:
◈ Themes in Spanish and Latin American Studies
◈ Introduction to the Cultures of the Lusophone World
◈ Cultures of the Hispanic World
20 credits chosen from:
◈ Study Project (Portuguese)
◈ Catalan Language and Culture 1
◆ Free choice units in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures or the University College for Interdisciplinary Learning (10 or 20 credits). Some free choice units are delivered in semester 1, some are delivered in semester 2.
KEY:
◆ Semester 1
◇ Semester 2
◈ Full Year
In Year 2, the choices for Joint Honours students and SPLAS students are very similar and we’ve brought them together in the lists below.
Joint Honours students can take Spanish as a minor (40 credits), joint (60 credits), or major (80 credits) subject. The remaining credits are taken from the other Joint Honours subject or language. SPLAS students take 120 credits. Course units are 20 credits unless indicated.
All students remain on the beginner or intermediate Spanish language learning pathway they took in Year 1. The beginner pathway for Spanish is only available to Joint Honours students.
Catalan Language and Culture 1 is now available to students who were unable to take it in Year 1. Students who completed this course unit in Year 1 can progress to Catalan Language and Culture 2 if they would like to do so.
Three units are only available to SPLAS students - Portuguese Language 3, Portuguese Language 5, which is only available to visiting students who are fluent and proficient in Portuguese, and Empire and its Aftermath: the Making of Modern Portugal in Literature, Art and Film. To choose Empire and its Aftermath, students must have studied Portuguese Language 3 in Year 1, or they take it in Year 2.
All students
20 credits taken from one of the language learning pathways:
◈ Beginner pathway: Spanish Language 4
◈ Intermediate pathway: Spanish Language 5
Spanish (joint honours) students choose 20, 40 or 60 credits. SPLAS students choose 80 or 100 credits from:
◆ Writing Women in the Spanish Golden Age
◆ Modern Latin American Literature
◆ Free choice units in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures or the University College for Interdisciplinary Learning (10 or 20 credits) Some free choice units are delivered in semester 1, some are delivered in semester 2.
◇ Visual Culture in Modern Spain: Film, Painting and Photography
◇ Spanish Linguistics
◇ History of Latin America
◇ Culture and Cold War in Latin America
◈ Catalan Language and Culture 1
◈ Catalan Language and Culture 2
◈ Empire and its Aftermath: The Making of Modern Portugal in Literature, Art and Film
◈ Portuguese Language 3
◈ Portuguese Language 5
KEY:
◆ Semester 1
◇ Semester 2
◈ Full Year
This is the Residence Abroad year and students live in a Spanish-speaking country. Opportunities vary from year to year, and some opportunities are selective.
In 2025/26, students studying Spanish could either study in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico or Uruguay, or apply for work placements in Spain.
Students studying Spanish and another language, usually divide their time between two countries.
Please see Residence Abroad for information about funding and finance, the support provided to students to find suitable study or work placements, and for videos and blog posts from current students.
Students studying Spanish with another subject or language, can take Spanish as a minor (40 credits), joint (60 credits), or major (80 credits) subject. SPLAS students take 120 credits. Course units are 20 credits unless indicated.
In Year 4, the corridors of the Samuel Alexander Building almost sing with students using the accents, dialects, colloquialisms and slang they’ve acquired during their Residence Abroad year! As everyone has a good level of language fluency, everyone takes the same Spanish language learning course unit.
Catalan Language and Culture 1 is an option for students that have not studied it previously. Students taking Catalan Language and Culture 2 must have studied Catalan Language and Culture 1 in Years 1 or 2.
Portuguese Language Project is only available to students who also choose Portuguese Language 5, and these course units are only available to SPLAS students.
The Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures is an optional course unit. This is a guided research project and students develop their own research question and receive support and advice from a supervisor. Contact hours are low (less than 10 hours) and independent study hours are high (391 hours). The dissertation will be written in English but students must demonstrate they analysed or used primary or secondary sources in Spanish. SPLAS students have the option of choosing a topic where the primary or secondary sources are in Portuguese.
There are limited places on Introduction to Interpreting, which is also a selective course unit. Students must achieve a minimum of 60% in Year 2 Language course units to apply.
All students
20 credits taken from the intermediate language learning pathway:
◈ Intermediate: Spanish Language 6
Spanish (joint honours) students choose 20, 40 or 60 credits. SPLAS students choose 80 or 100 credits from:
◆ Introduction to Interpreting: Context, Skills and Modes
◆ History of the Spanish Atlantic World: Empire, Trade, War
◆ Modern Spanish Music: A Cultural History
◆ Imagining the Amazon: Culture and Environment
◆ Free choice units in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures or University College for Interdisciplinary Learning (10 or 20 credits). Some free choice units are delivered in semester 1, some are delivered in semester 2.
◇ The Supernatural in Latin American Literature and Film
◇ The Politics of Business in Latin America
◇ Conquest and Resistance in the Spanish Golden Age
◇ Migration, Identity and Environment in Portuguese and Spanish Film
◇ Introduction to Professional Translation
◈ Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures (40 credits)
◈ Catalan Language and Culture 1
◈ Catalan Language and Culture 2
◈ Portuguese Language 5
◈ Portuguese Language Project
KEY:
◆ Semester 1
◇ Semester 2
◈ Full Year