Romance Languages

About the Department

The Department of Romance Languages at Hunter College offers language, culture and literature courses in French, Italian, Spanish, as well as literature and culture courses in English. Our degrees include the undergraduate major and master’s degrees in French, Italian and Spanish. We also offer a Romance Languages major that combines knowledge and understanding of two Romance literatures and cultures. Besides these offerings, the department has recently added a major concentration in Spanish-English/English-Spanish Translation and Interpretation, an expansion of its vision of providing professional training within the context of traditional liberal arts. 

In addition, the department is committed to equipping students for professional life: it has continued Hunter’s tradition in teacher preparation, and, in conjunction with the School of Education it sponsors TOP (Teacher Opportunity Program), a selective scholarship-cum-practicum program leading to an MA in Spanish/Education.

Most students majoring in one or two Romance languages pursue careers in education. Others enter careers in the fields of commerce, tourism, interpretation and translation and international affairs, among others.

Foreign Language Requirement

The college foreign language requirement may be fulfilled by completion of French, Italian or Spanish 202, 203 or 208 or by demonstrating equivalent proficiency through a departmental examination. Students with prior knowledge of one of the languages should take a placement examination before registering for courses. Students who have a high school diploma in a language other than English or who have studied a foreign language in high school for four years have fulfilled the language requirement. Students should consult a departmental adviser to resolve all matters regarding placement, registration and course offerings.

1. Students pursuing a new language will fulfill the language requirement in four college semesters by completing one of the following sequences:
   
   
   1. French: FREN 10100 -FREN 10200  or FREN 10300  and FREN 20100 -FREN 20200 , or FREN 20300 ;                       
       
   2. Italian: ITAL 10100 -ITAL 10200 , or ITAL 10300  and ITAL 20100 -ITAL 20200 , or ITAL 20300 ;
       
   3. Spanish: SPAN 10100 -SPAN 10200 , or SPAN 10300 , or SPAN 10500 -SPAN 10600  and SPAN 20100 -SPAN 20200 , or SPAN 20300 , or SPAN 20700  and SPAN 20800 .
       
2. Students continuing a language studied for one year in high school need three additional college semesters:
   
   
   1. French: FREN 10200 , FREN 20100  and FREN 20200  or FREN 10200  and FREN 20300 ;
       
   2. Italian: ITAL 10200 , ITAL 20100  and ITAL 20200 ; ITAL 10200  and ITAL 20300 ;
       
   3. Spanish: SPAN 10200 , SPAN 20100  and SPAN 20200 ; SPAN 10200  and SPAN 20300 ; SPAN 10600 , SPAN 20700  and SPAN 20800 .
       
3. Students continuing a language studied for two years in high school need two additional college semesters:
   
   
   1. French: FREN 20100  and FREN 20200  or FREN 20300 ;
       
   2. Italian: ITAL 20100  and ITAL 20200  or ITAL 20300 ;
       
   3. Spanish: SPAN 20100  and SPAN 20200  or SPAN 20300  or SPAN 20700  and SPAN 20800 .
       
4. Students continuing a language studied for three years in high school need one additional college semester:
   
   
   1. French: FREN 20200  or FREN 20800 ;
       
   2. Italian: ITAL 20200 ;
       
   3. Spanish: SPAN 20200  or SPAN 20800 

Programs and Courses

 Programs and Courses in Romance Languages 

Administration and Faculty

Department Office:

1341 West
(212) 772-5093/5108
Web site: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/~romlang/

Chair:

Giuseppe Di Scipio
1309 West
(212) 772-5109
gdiscipi@hunter.cuny.edu

Faculty

Romance Languages Faculty 

HEGIS Code: 1102 (French); 1104 (Italian); 1105 (Spanish); 1101 (Romance Languages)