Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages (Spanish)
About This Program
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages (Spanish) with a concentration in Localization and Translation combines language, culture, and technology to prepare students for work in the language services industry. Localization translates and adapts language, texts, products, software, and websites to a target culture. Students work with an international software partner to build machine translation (MT) engines and test their engines against international translation products. Students learn in a collaborative work environment with hands-on training in computer-assisted translation, focusing on concepts of "big language data" collection and processing, as well as MT engine tuning across multiple languages and domains. Students also build AI models using these same language data for natural language understanding. The substantive program provides training in key skills for future employment tasks, for ultimate career preparedness.
Competencies
- Upon graduation, students will demonstrate integrative thinking about translation theory and practice as applied to the localization field.
- Upon graduation, students will successfully conduct cultural analyses of localized products and services.
- Upon graduation, students will gain skills with tools commonly used in the language services industry, with a focus on emerging AI/ML approaches and large language models.
- Upon graduation, students will demonstrate preparation for careers in the localization industry.
Admissions Criteria
In addition to satisfying the entrance requirements for the College of Liberal Arts, prospective majors in the Department of Modern Languages must meet the following criteria:
- A 3.0 GPA is required in the 1441-2314 Modern Language sequence, or an equivalent score on the Modern Language testing instrument, or approval of the departmental advisor.
- After admission to the Modern Language major, students must maintain a 2.00 GPA in major classes.
Curriculum
| Foundations | ||
| General Core Requirements | 42 | |
| Modern Languages Foundations | ||
| UNIV 1131 | STUDENT SUCCESS | 1 |
| or UNIV 1101 | CAREER PREPARATION AND STUDENT SUCCESS | |
| GLOBAL 2301 | INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL ISSUES | 3 |
| ENGL 2338 | TECHNICAL WRITING | 3 |
| ENGL 3379 | GRANT AND PROPOSAL WRITING | 3 |
| or BCOM 3360 | EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION | |
| MODL 3346 | BUSINESS OF LOCALIZATION AND TRANSLATION | 3 |
| GLOBAL 4312 | INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE FOR GLOBAL COMMUNICATION | 3 |
| Spanish | ||
| SPAN 1441 | BEGINNING SPANISH I | 4 |
| SPAN 1442 | BEGINNING SPANISH II | 4 |
| SPAN 2313 | INTERMEDIATE SPANISH I | 3 |
| or SPAN 2312 | SPANISH FOR NATIVE/HERITAGE SPEAKERS I | |
| SPAN 2314 | INTERMEDIATE SPANISH II | 3 |
| or SPAN 2315 | SPANISH FOR NATIVE/HERITAGE SPEAKERS II | |
| SPAN 3314 | ADVANCED SPANISH FOR SECOND-LANGUAGE LEARNERS | 3 |
| or SPAN 3305 | ADVANCED SPANISH FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS | |
| SPAN 3310 | SPANISH LOCALIZATION AND TRANSLATION I | 3 |
| SPAN 3321 | SPANISH LOCALIZATION AND TRANSLATION II | 3 |
| SPAN 3345 | INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRANSLATION | 3 |
| Select one 4000-level SPAN course | 3 | |
| Select two 4000-level MODL courses from the following: | 6 | |
| RESEARCH IN LOCALIZATION AND TRANSLATION | ||
| NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING AND UNDERSTANDING | ||
| MACHINE TRANSLATION AND EMERGING LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGIES | ||
| Minor and Electives | ||
| Select minor and elective courses sufficient to complete 120 hours with at least 36 at the 3000/4000 level | 27 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
SUGGESTED PLAN OF STUDY
All majors will design an individual plan of upper-level study in consultation with their advisor.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| SPAN 1441 | 4 | SPAN 1442 | 4 |
| COMMUNICATION | 3 | COMMUNICATION | 3 |
| MATHEMATICS | 3 | COMPONENT AREA OPTION | 3 |
| U.S. HISTORY (PART 1) | 3 | U.S. HISTORY (PART 2) | 3 |
| CREATIVE ARTS | 3 | LANGUAGE, PHILOSOPHY, AND CULTURE | 3 |
| UNIV-LA 1131 or UNIV 1101 | 1 | ||
| 17 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| SPAN 2313 or 2312 | 3 | SPAN 2314 or 2315 | 3 |
| GOVERNMENT/POLITICAL SCIENCE | 3 | GOVERNMENT/POLITICAL SCIENCE | 3 |
| LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE | 3 | LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE | 3 |
| COMPONENT AREA OPTION | 3 | SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE | 3 |
| GLOBAL 2301 | 3 | ENGL 2338 | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ENGL 3379 or BCOM 3360 | 3 | GLOBAL 4312 | 3 |
| SPAN 3314 or 3305 | 3 | SPAN 3321 | 3 |
| SPAN 3310 | 3 | SPAN 3345 | 3 |
| MINOR | 3 | MODL 3346 | 3 |
| MINOR | 3 | MINOR | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ADVANCED SPAN 4000 | 3 | ADVANCED MODL 4000 | 3 |
| ADVANCED MODL 4000 | 3 | MINOR | 3 |
| MINOR | 3 | MINOR | 3 |
| GENERAL ELECTIVE ADVANCED | 3 | GENERAL ELECTIVE ADVANCED | 3 |
| GENERAL ELECTIVE ADVANCED | 3 | ||
| 15 | 12 | ||
| Total Hours: 120 | |||
Advising Resources
First time in college students will be advised by the AUEC.
New transfer students should email modladvisor@uta.edu before enrolling in classes at UTA.
Students with previous experience in one of the languages offered at UTA, must take a Placement Test. For more information, contact MODL Testing at modltesting@uta.edu or call 817-272-4605.
Location:
230 Hammond Hall
Email:
modladvisor@uta.edu
Phone:
817-272-3161