Spanish, Graduate Certificate
Graduate Certificate in Spanish

University of Nebraska at Omaha
Overview
Admissions and Requirements
Courses You’ll Take
Tuition & Fees
Program Overview
The online Graduate Certificate in Spanish provides students with the opportunity to earn a certificate degree upon completion of language proficiency training in Spanish.
Students choose the online Spanish, Graduate Certificate to learn about:
- Hispanic cultures and literature
- Linguistics
- Language teaching pedagogy
The Graduate Certificate in Spanish presents a rigorous language program that seeks to serve these student populations:
- High school faculty interested in teaching dual enrollment classes and who are required to have 18 graduate credit hours in their discipline to be eligible.
- Bilingual instructors who support dual language programs and world language programs.
- Individuals in various fields (e.g., law enforcement, social work, psychological services, healthcare) who work with Spanish-speaking individuals.
The Graduate Certificate in Spanish can be completed completely online, but students also have the opportunity to participate in face-to-face or remote learning (synchronous virtual learning).
Admissions and Requirements
To be accepted to this program, you must have:
A Bachelor's degree
3 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale
A written personal statement
A statement of purpose (700-900 words, double space), written in Spanish.
2 letters of recommendation
Official transcripts from all previous schools
Competence in Spanish with at least an intermediate-high (based on ACTFL guidelines) as assessed during an oral interview and through a statement of purpose written in the language of interest.
Courses You’ll Take
Core Courses
Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
---|---|---|
SPAN 8036 | Advanced Spanish Conversation | 3 |
This course targets the development of oral skills in Spanish through the incorporation of complex and sophisticated conversational structures and nuanced lexicon. In particular, the course focuses on presentational (i.e., expressing or exposing ideas or opinions) and interpersonal speaking (i.e., engaging in conversation where learners narrate and describe in the major time frames of past, present, and future in paragraph-length discourse with control of aspect). | ||
Choose 1 of the following: | 3 | |
SPAN 8156 Literature/Culture: Central America and the Caribbean 1898-2000 | SPAN 8956 Pro-Seminar: Literature and/or Film | SPAN 8146 Introduction to Latin American Film | SPAN 8176 Introduction to Latin American Literatures | ||
Choose 1 of the following: | 3 | |
SPAN 8026 Language Enhancement Through Vocabulary Learning | SPAN 8066 Introduction to Translation and Interpretation | SPAN 8076 Hispanic Bilingualism | SPAN 8086 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics | SPAN 8226 The Structure of Spanish | SPAN 8976 Pro-Seminar: Linguistics and Language for the Professions |
Elective Courses
Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
---|---|---|
SPAN 8066 | Introduction to Translation and Interpretation | 3 |
This course offers an introduction to the translation and interpretation field. Course objectives include (a) understanding translation theory; (b) comprehending the role of communication in translation and interpretation; (c) targeting common grammatical and pragmatic errors; (d) increasing vocabulary knowledge in a variety of fields; and (e) gaining an increased awareness of the rigor and demands innate to the translation and interpretation fields. | ||
SPAN 8076 | Hispanic Bilingualism | 3 |
This course explores bilingualism among Spanish speaking populations. Topics include societal bilingualism, the history of Spanish and language policy in Spain, Latin America and the U.S., psychological aspects of bilingualism, monolingual vs. bilingual acquisition, first vs second language acquisition and Spanish as a heritage language in the U.S. | ||
SPAN 8086 | Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics | 3 |
This course introduces students to the field of linguistics by exploring the following areas: phonetics and phonology (sound systems), morphology (word formation), historical linguistics (language development over time) and sociolinguistics and pragmatics (language in society and context), among others, as framed within the study of the Spanish language. | ||
SPAN 8156 | Literature/Culture: Central American and the Caribbean 1898-2000 | 3 |
"Literature/ Culture: Central America and the Caribbean 1898- 2000" studies major historical and socio-cultural events in Latin American history in the 20th century, through their articulation in literary texts, film and other cultural expressions from Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean. | ||
SPAN 8226 | The Structure of Spanish | 3 |
This course introduces students to the structure of the Spanish language with a focus on its morphology and syntax as seen in the study of constituents of a sentence, lexical categories, content and function words, the pronominal system, the structure of simple and complex sentences and the verbal system, among others. It reviews frequent syntactical errors in Spanish L2 and Heritage learners with the purpose of advancing their linguistic competence. | ||
SPAN 8440 | Seminar - Spanish Composition | 3 |
This course provides opportunities for students to refine their composition skills in Spanish through extensive writing workshops and peer editing. Computer applications to composition will be employed. | ||
SPAN 8900 | Spanish Independent Study: Graduate Only | 3 |
Specifically planned projects and readings in a well-defined field of literature or linguistics carried out under the supervision of a member of the foreign languages faculty holding graduate faculty status. | ||
SPAN 8956 | Pro-Seminar: Literature and/or Film | 3 |
This course is dedicated to the study of a narrower field of the literature and/or cinema of the Spanish-speaking world. | ||
SPAN 8976 | Pro-Seminar: Linguistics and Language for the Professions | 3 |
This course will address a narrow field of study of linguistics, translation/interpretation or the professional language of the Spanish-speaking world. |
Tuition & Fees
Nebraska Residents
Per Credit Hour
- Tuition
- $375.00
- Fees
- $53.75
- Total
- $428.75
3 Credit Hours
- Tuition
- $1125.00
- Fees
- $161.25
- Total
- $1286.25
Out of State Residents
Per Credit Hour
- Tuition
- $617.00
- Fees
- $53.75
- Total
- $670.75
3 Credit Hours
- Tuition
- $1851.00
- Fees
- $161.25
- Total
- $2012.25
Cecilia Tocaimaza-Hatch, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Cecilia Tocaimaza-Hatch’s research interests include Experiential Learning, Heritage Language Learners and Second Language Acquisition. She serves as the Master of Arts in Language Teaching (MALT) Graduate Program Chair.
Application Deadlines
Rolling admissions. Application review will begin upon receipt of all required application materials.