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Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies (SPLAS) is a lively and dynamic section within the School of Modern Languages.

In the School of Modern Languages, we're committed to helping you develop your language and academic skills. We'll guide you as you explore the diverse cultures and societies of Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

Undergraduate studies

Language learning in Spanish and/or Portuguese makes up a significant part of your studies. You'll achieve high proficiency in either or both languages.

Our Programmes

Find out more about our undergraduate programmes on the School of Modern Languages website

Wide range of optional modules

There's so much more to studying languages at university than just learning a language. Optional modules related to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America enrich your language learning experience. They include:

  • history
  • politics
  • cultural studies
  • film studies
  • anthropology
  • linguistics
  • sociolinguistics
  • literature
Your year abroad

One of the attractions of studying languages at university is the opportunity to spend a year abroad. Immerse yourself in the culture, while developing your language fluency. You can choose to:

  • study at a university
  • work as an English language assistant in a school
  • work as a volunteer teaching assistant in Peru or Argentina
  • undertake a work placement

Find out more about the year abroad

The Real Translation Project

In your final year, the Real Translation Project gives you the opportunity to translate diverse documents. You'll practice your translation and language skills in a professional context. Past students have translated:

  • tourism brochures
  • human rights reports
  • captions for art and photo exhibits
  • subtitled for a documentary

Masters' degrees

Take your language study further. If you enjoy translating, you can apply to study our Translation and Localisation MA.

Postgraduate Research

We offer a one-year MLitt research degree that allows you to focus on your language specialism: 

We also offer research degrees in Translation Studies and Film Studies

Our MPhil and PhD research programmes allow you to specialise in your chosen language area. You can also specialise in translating and interpreting.

 

We offer three MPhil and PhD programmes:

Extracurricular activities

There are lots of activities to get involved in in Newcastle to reinforce your language studies.

Our teachers of Portuguese organise engaging and lively activities sponsored by the Instituto Camões.

The School of Modern Languages has a long-established partnership with the Institut Ramón Llull. We take part in activities for the promotion of the Catalan Language. We arrange study trips to Catalan-speaking regions in Spain.

Each academic year we offer a vibrant set of public activities. We've organised:

  • film screenings
  • art exhibits
  • workshops
  • talks by exciting speakers from the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America

Important cultural institutions in the North-East region offer a wide array of activities related to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. Cinemas around Newcastle frequently show films from these regions and hold language cafes afterwards. These include:

  • Tyneside Cinema
  • The Star and Shadow
  • Side Cinema and Gallery
Market Stall Owner

The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and other venues also bring Iberian and Latin American acts to the city.