The University of Sheffield
Department of Hispanic Studies

Catalan Studies in BA programmes

(Details of all the course modules referred to with the prefix HSS can be consulted in the current University Calendar and in separate booklets issued by the Department.)

1. As a Level 1 (first year) subject

Any suitably qualified student in the Faculty of Arts may take Catalan at Level 1 over two semesters (HSS 190 and HSS 191, Catalan Beginners' Language and Culture I & II).

2. In the Single school of Hispanic Studies (Course R400)

Catalan is an alternative to Portuguese, at Level 2 and Level 3, for all Single Honours students of Hispanic Studies.

If Catalan has not been taken as a first-year subject it can be taken up at Level 2 (HSS 290 & HSS 291).

Single Honours students continuing Catalan from Level 1 have language instruction in Modules HSS 290 and HSS 291 at the appropriate level, and are encouraged to enrol for HSS 293 (Language and Culture in the Balearic Islands).

Catalan can thus be studied for three or four sessions, including the Year Abroad, the whole of which may be spent in a Catalan-speaking area.

A specialised, final-year dissertation option is also available for students of Catalan.

3. In any of the Dual schools with Spanish

Students taking Spanish as a component of the Dual Honours Schools (as listed in the departmental brochure) may take Catalan modules HSS 290/HSS 291 at Level 2 and HSS 390/HSS 391 at Level 3, to the value of 10 or 20 credits from the 60 required for Spanish in each of Years 2 and 4.

Dual students with a non-language second subject spend the whole of the Year Abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, while two-language Dual students spend half a session in each country: in either case residence in a Catalan-speaking area is advised (but not obligatory) for those studying Catalan.

4. As a component of the BA in Modern Languages degree course (Course T900)

Here Catalan can be taken as the 'Minor' language studied together with two 'Major' ones.

Catalan may be started in Year 1 or Year 2 of the four-year degree course: if in the first case, modules HSS 190 & HSS 191 will be followed by HSS 290 & HSS 291; in the second case Catalan is taken up at beginners' level in HSS 290 & HSS 291.

A period of residence in a Catalan-speaking area is not a formal requirement. However, most students of Catalan on this course will be taking Spanish as a Major language and it is possible in every case to arrange for the Year Abroad to include first-hand experience of Catalan.