Pitt considers Spanish minor

Pitt sophomore Utsav Bansal is an aspiring doctor and neuroscience major juggling a full… Pitt sophomore Utsav Bansal is an aspiring doctor and neuroscience major juggling a full courseload, including late-night lab sessions, pre-med meetings and undergraduate research. But Bansal’s strict academic schedule leaves little room for his other passion: Spanish. ‘I take Spanish classes because it’s a really great language to know, especially in the medical field,’ said Bansal. ‘But I couldn’t do a Spanish major now because I have too many pre-med credits I have to fulfill already.’ But for Bansal and other Pitt students who can’t commit to the entire major, there might be an easier way to satisfy an interest in the language. The Pitt department of Hispanic languages and literature recently proposed adding a Spanish minor to the list of 30 current Arts and Sciences minors available to students. ‘Everything is in the proposal stage,’ said Gonzalo Lamana, director of undergraduate studies for the department. ‘There is nothing official, and there won’t be anything official for a while.’ Pitt boasts one of the leading Spanish departments in the nation, he said, but it is in the minority of schools that do not presently offer a minor program.’ Lamana said that there are close to 150 students majoring in Spanish. As a 38-credit commitment, it is the most demanding language major at Pitt. The department also has an estimated 1,000 non-major undergraduates who are currently enrolled in Spanish courses, but can’t commit to the full credit load of the major. ‘Simply by looking at our enrollment … [the department felt that] we could more closely respond to students’ interests with a minor,’ said Lamana. He said that with increasing interest in the language, both Spanish students and advisers have long requested the minor. Business and science majors, whose strict academic schedules don’t provide enough time for the major, are especially interested in the minor’s implementation. While plans for the potential Spanish minor are in the works, two of Pitt’s branch campuses ‘mdash; Bradford and Greensburg ‘mdash; have offered the program for years. Carys Evans-Corrales, director of languages at the Bradford campus, said she helped implement the Spanish minor 12 years ago. The 15-credit program requires language, literature and cultural courses, she said, and study abroad is strongly encouraged. ‘I find that it’s very beneficial to students,’ she said, adding that as commerce with Latin American countries rises, the minor highlights students’ Spanish abilities. Although Bradford offers the Spanish minor, it does not have a major program. With a student enrollment of about 1,500 undergraduates, there hasn’t been enough student interest in Spanish to implement a major at Bradford, said Evans-Corrales. Lamana said that Pitt and its branch campuses run separate academic courses, so some programs might not be available at all locations. ‘Academically speaking, they [the branch campuses] have nothing to do with us,’ he said. The proposed Spanish minor ‘mdash; like any proposed major, minor, program or academic school ‘mdash; must undergo strict review from the Provost’s office before it can be adopted. Lamana said that the minor is still under review, and the tentative implementation date is to be determined.