Spanish, Practical and Business

This program helps you become more proficient in spoken and written Spanish, and understand and appreciate Spanish and Latin cultures in a variety of countries.

By the end of this program, you’ll be able to:

• talk in detail about familiar topics
• understand how to use correct protocols, grammar and verb tenses
• understand the nuances of colloquial and formal Spanish language
• interact comfortably with native Spanish speakers
• read contemporary Spanish texts
• write clearly on a range of subjects.

After you have completed the required courses, you will complete a personalized final project to learn specialized Spanish vocabulary related to your professional expertise or organization, or to an area of personal interest. You work on your final project over nine weeks, and then present and discuss it before a small committee.

This program is designed for professionals who want to communicate in Spanish fluently and comfortably, and understand Spanish and Latin cultures and customs for work and travel.

Before applying to this program, we recommend you have a basic command of spoken and written Spanish. Conversation courses start at the lower intermediate level. Our reading and writing courses require that you have a lower intermediate level of Spanish before you enrol. Read an overview of our conversational language course levels to determine your level, or contact us if you need guidance.

Each language course (including course materials) is $405−$600. The cost for the personalized final project is $660. You can pay for one course at a time.

The cost to complete the program is approximately $3,130−$3,280, which includes a $175 non-refundable application fee and depends on how many courses you complete.

All fees are in Canadian dollars and subject to change. Fees are subject to GST where applicable. Fees may be paid by Visa®, Visa® Debit, Mastercard®, American Express®, money order or certified cheque.

For details on UBC’s payment policies, please see Refunds, Cancellations and Transfers.

The program consists of a minimum of five courses of nine weeks each, followed by a final project. You have the option to take four conversational courses and one reading and writing or Latin American culture course, or three conversational courses and two reading and writing or Latin American culture courses.

You work on your final project over nine weeks, and then present and discuss it before a small committee.

If you’ve taken an eligible Spanish course with UBC Extended Learning in the past year, you can ask to have it applied retroactively to the certificate. Note that only one Spanish course can be applied retroactively.

Required Course

Elective Courses

The UBC Certificate in Practical and Business Spanish is a part-time program with options for online and/or in-person study that consists of a minimum of five courses and a final project.

Conversation courses are instructor supported, with either in-person classes or real-time online classes. Outside of class time, you can access handouts and other materials online. You might be doing readings or watching videos to prepare for your next class or practising the material you have learned in a previous class. Your instructor provides you with feedback during class.

Latin American Culture courses and Reading and Writing courses are 100% online and instructor supported. Modules are released weekly, and you can work on them on your own time. They might include materials such as class notes, readings, links to articles, videos and practice exercises. Your instructor provides feedback on your work and guides online forum discussions. Some may hold virtual office hours.

For the final project, you work one-on-one with an instructor for nine weeks. Under their guidance, you select a topic relevant to your professional or personal interest, and write an essay in Spanish of a minimum of 3,000 words. You also prepare an oral presentation about your essay that you present before a small committee of instructors. Every week, your instructor provides you feedback and support on your progress.

Expected effort

Expect to spend two to three hours on your course per week, including time spent in class sessions, and completing homework and course materials.

Technology requirements

To take these courses, you need access to:

• an email account
• a computer, laptop or tablet using Windows or macOS
• the latest version of a web browser (or previous major version release)
• a reliable internet connection
• a video camera and microphone (to access real-time classes and/or virtual office hours)

Assessment

These are non-credit courses without letter or numerical grades. In conversational courses, you receive verbal feedback on your conversation and grammar skills from your instructor during class. Written homework is typically corrected in class. In self-paced writing courses, lessons may include auto-corrected quizzes, exercises for which you’ll receive written feedback and occasional forum posts from your instructor.

Obtaining your certificate

Once you’ve completed your final presentation and received confirmation of graduation, your certificate will be mailed to your personal mailing address.

The admissions process helps to ensure that the needs, intentions and expectations of participants are adequately matched to the program's objectives and capabilities.

Before you apply

Before applying to this program, we recommend you have a basic command of spoken and written Spanish. Conversation courses start at the lower intermediate level. Our reading and writing courses require that you have a lower intermediate level of Spanish before you enrol. Read an overview of our conversational language course levels to determine your level, or contact us if you need guidance.

Application steps

Complete the following steps to submit your application:

1. Complete the online application form. You should include personal and/or career goals, interests and program expectations.
2. You will be directed to pay the $175 non-refundable application fee online.
3. Once you have been accepted into the certificate program, you can begin registering for courses.