Studying Spanish at Royal Holloway

Spanish is truly a world language for the 21st century. It is spoken as a first language by some 332 million people across the globe and has now even become the de facto second language of the United States. The range of opportunities available to Spanish speakers for travel, education and business is growing all the time. Meanwhile, the cultural wealth of the Spanish-speaking world, with all its vibrancy and diversity, is increasingly acknowledged for the unique and fascinating contribution it has made to our civilization.

Hispanic Studies at Royal Holloway offers a wide range of degree programmes giving students maximum choice within the London University degree structure. These include Spanish as a Single Subject, as a Major or Minor Subject, as a Joint Degree, Spanish in European Studies and in Multilingual Studies, Spanish and Comparative Literature and Culture, and Spanish with Film Studies.

Our courses cover an array of topics relating to the Hispanic world, including language and translation, literature, film, historiography, visual arts, and popular culture. We also offer excellent opportunities for study abroad, with an increasing number of links to foreign Universities in Spain or Latin America. Last but not least, we benefit from state-of-the art, purpose-built facilities, located in the award-winning International Building at the heart of the Egham campus.

You will find that we are strongly committed to excellence in both research and teaching. Indeed we believe the two are inextricably linked. As specialists in our fields actively engaged in world-leading research, we are able to bring to our teaching the latest and most exciting ideas, while as teachers we value and encourage active student participation in the learning process. In the nationally conducted 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, Hispanic Studies at Royal Holloway was rated best in the country for its 4* 'world-leading' research publications. Studying with us means that you will enjoy the many benefits of being taught at first hand by scholars whose work is at the exciting cutting edge of research in their discipline. 

Our approach to the study of the culture of the Hispanic world combines what is an essentially seminar-based, participative approach, in which students are asked to consider and prepare certain topics in advance, with elements of the more traditional university lecture. Spanish is small enough to permit the kind of friendly and supportive atmosphere which we as staff value so highly and which we regard as absolutely essential in order for you to derive the maximum benefit and enjoyment from your time with us.