Drew has many options for students to explore Spanish culture and language más allá del aula—beyond the classroom.
Study Abroad
Immerse yourself! Improve your language skills and enhance your cultural knowledge by studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country.
Using your Spanish when visiting a Spanish-speaking country transforms your passive observation into active participation. You engage more directly with the host culture, garner a greater appreciation for how others see the world, and rethink familiar assumptions from a deeper global context.
The Department of Spanish, through the Drew Center for Global Education, offers a wide range of study-abroad opportunities for students of Spanish:
shortTRECs
Short-term international experiences, designed and led by Drew faculty members, are where language and research skills meet real-world experience.
Upcoming shortTRECs:
longTRECs
Semester- or year-long immersion experiences abroad in affiliation with Drew’s Global Partner Programs—educational programs providers selected by Drew based on their high academic and administrative quality—provide opportunities for study around the world. These Global Partners Programs have been approved by the faculty for transfer credit for your Drew degree.
Our Global Partner Programs are located across the Spanish-speaking world, including Spain, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
Students of Spanish can spend a semester or more in a program that best meets their academic interests and goals–often complementing their language and cultural studies with classes in other disciplines, or with internships and service learning opportunities.
Internships
Gain practical experience through hands-on learning that allows you to enrich your classroom learning and apply you Spanish in real-world settings. An internship offers an ideal opportunity for career development.
Earn Drew credit by completing an academic internship close to campus, in New York City, across the country or abroad.
Students can work in a range of areas where they can use Spanish to complement their other academic interests. Recent internships completed by Spanish majors include nonprofit organizations, financial planning firms, public schools, talent and literary agencies, health care providers and community development agencies.
Academic Internships are offered through Drew’s Center for Internships and Career Development.
Sigma Delta Pi (Honor Society)
Sigma Delta Pi is a nationally renowned honor society that recognizes academic excellence in the study of the Spanish language, culture and history. This society was established on November 14, 1919, by Ruth Barnes at the University of California in Berkeley. Over the past 90 years, the society has grown in both size and prestige; there are currently over 500 universities that belong to this organization. Being selected for induction is not an easy feat, and each and every member, both current and new, should be proud of his or her achievement.
Requirements for induction into Drew’s Omicron Gamma Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi:
- You must be at least a second semester sophomore
- You must have at least a 3.40 GPA in Spanish
- You have reached the level of:
- SPAN 310 at Drew or an equivalent course elsewhere (this course must be in literature or culture)
OR - A course taken at Drew or elsewhere (this course must be in literature or culture) that is above Drew’s level of SPAN 310
- SPAN 310 at Drew or an equivalent course elsewhere (this course must be in literature or culture)
Note: You may count the course in which you are currently enrolled at the time you are applying for induction.
For more information, please contact the Chapter Adviser:
Raúl Rosales
Brothers College 212
[email protected]
973-408-3751
Department Events
Día de los Muertos
Every fall semester, professors and students come together to celebrate the Day of the Dead, the traditional Mexican holiday that has been acknowledged internationally in several other countries and cultures. As part of this cultural event, an altar is created to remember and honor the dead. The department celebrates with food, traditional music and skull decorating. 
Student sugar skull art from the Spanish Department’s 2020 Virtual Día de los Muertos Event:
En Voz Alta
The Spanish Department’s annual poetry competition is now in its third decade! Every spring semester, students from all language levels compete for prizes and put their language skills and creativity on public display by reciting their favorite poem in Spanish or reading an original poem.
Virtual En Voz Alta celebration Spring 2020
Sigma Delta Pi Induction Ceremony
Every April, the Spanish Department celebrates the achievement of our students inducted into Drew’s Omicron Gamma chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the national Hispanic Honor Society. The induction ceremony is attended by faculty, friends and family who come together to celebrate our department’s top students.
2021 Virtual Sigma Delta Pi Induction Ceremony
Sigma Delta Pi 2022 Induction Ceremony
Hispanic Studies Colloquium
At the end of every semester, Spanish majors deliver their capstone presentations publicly and share their research with Spanish department faculty and fellow students.
Senior Dinner
At the end of every academic year, all graduating Spanish majors are invited to dine with the Spanish department in celebration of their achievements and all that is ahead after leaving the Forest.
Global Seal of Biliteracy
The Spanish Department has recently partnered with the Global Seal of Biliteracy to offer Seal of Biliteracy certificates for our Spanish students. The Global Seal of Biliteracy is an international credential that conveys proficiency with language skills in two or more languages for our qualifying candidates. This credential offers a competitive advantage for bilingual individuals by helping them earn scholarships, higher pay, advanced placement, increased study abroad opportunities and so much more.
For more information, contact Prof. Mónica Cantero-Exojo or visit https://theglobalseal.com/