Spanish

According to 2020 census estimates, one of every eight U.S. residents speaks Spanish in the home. Wake Forest’s Spanish major delivers that fluency, but it doesn’t stop there. The program infuses and enriches communication with culture, literature and history.

• The major offers concentrations in Spanish Translation and Localization; Spanish Interpreting; Spanish for Business; and Spanish for Health Professions.
• Spanish is by far the most popular second major at Wake Forest. Over the past 21 years, Spanish has accounted for one of every seven declarations of a second major.
• Spanish offers opportunities for travel, exploration and research. In 2024-25, one student worked on a project to geolocate the use of different words describing the same concept. The soda-vs.-pop divide. Only mapped and in Spain.

The Spanish degree is offered as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and a minor.

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Our model and curriculum educate the whole person and often help students discover interests they had never previously discovered. Students generally take 100-200 level courses during their first year of college, while registering for higher level courses as upperclassmen.

Sample courses that you may take as an Economics student include:

* Courses listed above are offered during the current academic year. Course availability and offerings can change at any time. Refer to the Academic Bulletin to view all major requirements.

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Majoring in a foreign language provides you with many of the skills in which employers are interested, although securing a job that uses your foreign language skills can be challenging. With the exception of positions in translating, interpreting or teaching, in most cases at the entry level your language fluency is seen as a secondary skill, an asset.

One option many foreign language students pursue is taking a semester to study abroad in a foreign speaking country. This will give you not only a better handle of the language, but if you are intentional with your time abroad a number of future job connections.

Other possibilities to get your feet wet are available with international volunteer organizations that require translators in the field. On the local level, Wake Forest has connections with volunteer clinics and community centers in need of interpreters.

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Joining a club or organization is a great way to get involved and do more with your major. Our Spanish program students participate in the following programs:

• Organization of Latin American Students
• Students for Honduras
• Center for Global Programs and Studies

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Careers that often interest Spanish majors, and fields our graduates work in, include:

• Editor/Proofreader
• Educator
• Foreign Service Officer
• Interpreter
• Journalist
• Language Engineer
• Lexicographer
• Librarian
• Linguist
• Missionary
• Social worker
• Technical writer
• Translator

Recent graduates have worked in large numbers in the law; health care; finance; education; and several other fields.