Spanish

Key information
About the course
What you will study
Entry requirements
How to apply
Fees and funding
Your future career

Spanish
NFQ Level 8 major Award Honours Bachelor Degree

Entry Route: Bachelor of Arts - LM002

Apply now for September

Course code:

LM002 - Arts (Common Entry)

Duration:

4 Years

Fees: See what fees may apply to students
Subject area: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Course leader:

Dr James Carr

Email:

arts@ul.ie

Tel:

00 353 61 213578

Admissions:
Tel: 00 353 61 202015
Queries: www.ul.ie/admissions-askus

Work experience Studying abroad Electives Scholarships

Download our prospectus

Spanish can be taken as part of the UL Arts Degree as a joint honours combination. Review the subjects you can study with Spanish by looking on the BA Arts course page.

About You

You are someone who enjoys learning about other cultures, who is interested in languages and who would either like to continue with Spanish because you liked it in school. Or you may want to pick it up as a beginner who is happy at last to get a chance to start learning Spanish. Perhaps you are someone who wants to benefit from the excellent job prospects for anyone with a good knowledge of other EU languages and of Spanish in particular. And you know that Spanish is now one of the 4 most used languages in the world.

Why study Spanish?

There are over 570 million speakers of Spanish (out of which 480m are native speakers)
Spanish is one of the three most widely used languages in the world (alongside English and Mandarin).
Spanish is the official language of Spain and most countries in Latin America.
Spanish is the second language in the USA (by 2027 there will be more Spanish speakers in the US than in Spain).
Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union and many other international bodies. It plays a vital role in international business, international relations, audio-visual media, and other areas.
Spanish is the key to the fascinating cultural heritage of Latin America and Spain.
The University of Limerick offers Spanish at both beginner and advanced levels.

Return to top

Read about our students experiences

What you will study

You will learn about Spanish and Latin American societies, cultures, and literatures, as well as improve your language skills at all levels and develop your intercultural awareness.

Note: Spanish is available at beginners and post leaving certificate level. Students require a minimum H4 grade in Spanish to study post leaving certificate level Spanish. Students require a minimum H4 grade in a language other than English to study beginners Spanish.

Spanish Joint Honours Pathway

Modules are subject to change.

Year 1	Semester 1		Semester 2
SP4131	Spanish for Beginners 1	SP4132	Spanish for Beginners 2
SP4141	Spanish Language and Society 1 (post leaving certificate)	SP4142	Spanish Language and Society 2 (post leaving certificate)
Year 2	Semester 3		Semester 4
SP4003	Socio-Political Issues in the Contemporary Hispanic World: Society, Culture and Representation		Cooperative Education Placement
SP4133	Spanish for Beginners 3
SP4143	Spanish Language, Culture and Society 3 (post leaving certificate)
Year 3	Semester 5		Semester 6
	Off-Campus Academic Placement	SP4146	Modern and Contemporary Spain
		SP4622	Indigenismo and Negrismo in Latin American Literature
Year 4	Semester 7		Semester 8
SP4147	Spain, Europe and Beyond	SP4148	Media and Current Issues in the Spanish-Speaking World
SP4007	Modern Trends in Hispanic Culture and the Arts	SP4628	Women's Narratives of Resistance in the Hispanic World

Return to top

Entry requirements

Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the established Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with a minimum of six subjects which must include: Two H5 (Higher level) grades and Four O6 (Ordinary level) grades or four H7 (Higher Level) grades. Subjects must include Mathematics, Irish or another language, and English.

Note: Grade F6 in Foundation Mathematics also satisfies the minimum entry requirements. Foundation mathematics is not reckonable for scoring purposes.

In addition, students wishing to study a Language must hold a minimum H4 grade in that language, with the exception of beginners German or beginners Spanish where a H4 grade in a language other than English is required. Specialist requirement in Mathematics also for those studying Economics or Mathematics.

For certain subjects, additional special qualifications specific to individual subjects or disciplines may be determined by the respective departments in accordance with Academic Council regulations.

Applications are especially welcome from Mature Students. Mature applicants must apply through the Central applications Office (CAO) by 1 February.

QQI Entry

Certain QQI Awards are acceptable in fulfilling admission requirements for this programme. go to the UL Admissions QQI page for a full list of modules.

Return to top

Fees & funding

Student course fees are broken into three components - Student contribution, Student Centre Levy and Tuition Fees.

A number of illustrative examples of fees for this course based on the current fee levels have been set out in the tables below.

An explanation of the components, how to determine status and the criteria involved is provided below the examples as is a list of possible scholarships and funding available.

EU Students with Free fees status in receipt of a SUSI grant

HEA pays	Tuition Fees	€2,558
SUSI pays	Student contribution	€3,000
Student pays	Student Centre Levy	€92
		€5,650

EU Students with Free fees status not in receipt of a grant

HEA pays	Tuition Fees	€2,558
Student pays	Student contribution	€3,000
Student pays	Student Centre Levy	€92
		€5,650

Students with EU fee status not in receipt of a grant

Student pays	Tuition Fees	€2,558
Student pays	Student contribution	€3,000
Student pays	Student Centre Levy	€92
		€5,650

Non-EU Students

Student pays	Tuition Fees	€12,178
Student pays	Student Centre Levy	€92
		€12,270

Student course fees are comprised of three components:

Student Contribution

Annual charge set by the government for all full-time third level students. All students are liable unless they have been approved for a grant by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please refer to https://www.studentfinance.ie to determine your eligibility for a grant and for instructions on how to apply. The curent student contribution is set at €3000.

Student Centre Levy

All students are liable to pay the Student Centre Levy of €90. Please note the Student Centre Levy is not covered by the SUSI Grant.

Tuition Fees

These are based on Residency, Citizenship, Course requirements.

Review the three groups of criteria to determine your fee status as follows

Residency
- You must have been living in an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course
Citizenship
- You must be a citizen of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland or have official refugee status
Course Requirements (all must be met)
- You must be a first time full-time undergraduate (Exceptions are provided for students who hold a Level 6 or Level 7 qualification and are progressing to a Level 8 course in the same general area of study).
- You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 year’s duration
- You cannot be undertaking a repeat year of study at the same level unless evidence of exceptional circumstances eg serious illness is provided (in which case this condition may be waived)

Depending on how you meet these criteria your status will be one of the following -

Free Fee Status: You satisfy all three categories (1, 2 and 3) and therefore are eligible for the Higher Education Authority’s Free Fees scheme.
EU Fee Status: You satisfy the citizenship and/or residency criteria but fail to satisfy the course requirements and are liable to EU fees
Non EU Fee Status: You do not meet either the citizenship or residency criteria and are therefore liable to Non EU fees.

More information about fees can be found on the Finance website

These scholarships are available for this course

Title	Award	Scholarships available
The Noel Ryan Scholarship	€2,000 per year for 4 years	1 per year

These scholarships are available for all courses

Title	Award	Scholarships available
Johnson and Johnson WiSTEM2D Programme	Individual Award - a bursary to the value of €2000. Team Project Grant - €1750	1 of each
Plassey Campus Centre Scholarship Programme
All Ireland Scholarships - sponsored by J.P. McManus	€6,750	125
Higher Education Grants & VEC Grants
Financial Aid Fund
Elaine Fagan Scholarship	€5,000	5
Stuart Mangan Scholarship
Provincial GAA Bursaries Scheme	€750
The Michael Hillery and Jacinta O’Brien Athletics Scholarship	Various benefits equating to over €7,000 in value
Paddy Dooley Rowing Scholarship	€2,500
UL Sports Scholarships	Varies depending on level of Scholarship	Multiple
Cooperative Education Award		1 award per faculty
UL 40 Entrance Scholarship	€2,000	40

Return to top

Your future career

Language graduates have the potential to get good jobs as, by studying Spanish, you acquire a whole range of skills that can be applied to a great variety of professions. In particular, you will have very good communication skills, which are highly valued by employers. Learning a language gives you another way of looking at, analysing and interpreting the world, so you are automatically more attractive to potential employers. As a result, language graduates can explore a variety of careers and professions, for example:

Teaching (Professional Masters of Education required)
Public Service (because you have shown language learning potential you may be recruited to learn another language)
Media
International Business (Marketing, Finance, Personnel)
Translating
Localising and Interpreting
Tourism

Follow-On Study:

Return to top