The Department engages in the complexities of cultural production in both the Iberian Peninsula and the Americas, including other communities that have been historically connected to those areas.  Although literary studies remain at the core of the program's curriculum, the Department also provides a wide range of theoretical and analytical approaches. Since the Department's inception, we have been offering an impressive array of undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on Spanish literature, Portuguese and Brazilian literatures, Latin American literatures, U.S. Latino literatures and Linguistics.

Our various academic programs are paradigmatic and rigorous in their approach and treatment, thanks in great part to an outstanding, committed and internationally recognized faculty whose teaching and research involve the following areas: Iberian Middle Ages and Renaissance (both Spanish and Portuguese); Colonial and Modern Latin America (both Spanish-America and Brazil); Modern Spain; Modern Portugal; Brazilian, Spanish and Latin American Film and Music; U.S. Latino literatures and Applied Linguistics.

The Department has built an international reputation for excellence in research and teaching in these areas of specialization, while often times counting on a high ranking nationally.  The Department's central purpose is to ensure that students receive the best quality education in these fields.  We attain this goal by continually refining and building on the strengths of our academic programs. While maintaining both graduate and undergraduate courses from small to moderate sized.

Students are able to work with distinguished faculty and to take advantage of the extensive resources on the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world through library holdings or the University of California inter-library system.  Students in the Portuguese and Brazilian areas can also benefit from the resources and library at the Center for Portuguese Studies Center, which also offers fellowships to students who specialize in any area related to the Portuguese-speaking world. In addition, the Department is also unique for the place and representation of non-Castilian languages and cultures through its diverse attention to, and focus on, other groups, such as Basques, Galicians and Catalans.

Our general program contributes to students' education in the study of languages and cultures by playing a fundamental role in helping students to develop an informed appreciation for Spanish, Hispanic, Portuguese, Brazilian, U.S. Latino literatures and cultures, and linguistics. A direct benefit of such a program is by instilling in students the acquisition of basic skills in critical thinking, effective writing, and oral communication in Spanish and Portuguese.  Each year our Department helps prepare approximately 400 majors in Spanish and Portuguese for careers that range from the private to the public sectors, such as international business, education, public service and various areas of government.  A significant number of our majors and minors benefit from the University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP) and spend at least one semester in Spain, Spanish-America or Brazil, an experience that has proven to be decisive for their language and cultural skills.

The Department also extends its resources beyond the immediate university community by maintaining exchanges with a number of European, North and South American universities by publishing scholarly journals and by organizing a varied program of cultural events and outside speakers. Through collaboration with the Latin American Iberian Studies Program (LAIS) and the Center for Portuguese Studies (CPS), the Department sponsors Spanish, Latin American, Portuguese, Brazilian, and U.S. Latino writers and artists, which bring added exchanges and visibility to the Department.

If you have any comments or questions, please contact Chair Prof. Francisco A. Lomelí at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Business Officer/MSO David Camarillo at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it