2025-2026 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Spanish for Healthcare Professionals, Undergraduate Certificate
CERTIFICATE IN SPANISH FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
The GVSU certificate in Spanish for Health Care Professionals prepares students to be culturally and linguistically competent to better serve patients from Spanish speaking communities and backgrounds.
Why study Spanish for Health Care Professionals at Grand Valley?
- Develop language proficiency with an emphasis on health and medical contexts.
- Learn and use specialized vocabulary and terminology relevant to the medical field.
- Know the health needs of Spanish-speaking communities by understanding the linguistic and cultural diversity of Spanish-speaking communities in the region.
- Engage with Spanish-speaking patients by going beyond mere verbal communication to providing care grounded in cultural understanding.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Two years of college Spanish or placement in SPA 202 or SPA 300-level are required for admission. Anyone admitted to GVSU as a degree-seeking student may complete this certificate. To complete the certificate, students must select a total of 15 credits. Enrollment in the Spanish major or the minor is not required to complete the certificate, but students may pursue the certificate in Spanish for Health Professionals concurrently with the major or minor. Any course that satisfies both requirements will be counted towards the certificate and the major or minor.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CERTIFICATE
In order to complete the certificate, students must complete a total of 15 credits. Students must take four required courses to fulfill a total of 12 credits. SPA 202 - Intermediate Spanish II: Language and Culture is one of the required courses. However, if students test at the 300-level, they must substitute SPA 202 with an elective at the 300-level to fulfill the 15 credits. The other required courses are SPA 300 - Reading and Telling Stories OR SPA 301 - Advanced Communication Through Cultural Topics, SPA 304 - Spanish for Health Professionals, and SPA 307 - Death and Dying in Hispanic Literature OR SPA 313 - U.S. Latino/a Civilization and Culture. Heritage speakers of Spanish can substitute SPA 300 or SPA 301 with SPA 302 - Advanced Communication for Spanish Heritage Speakers. Students select one course at the 300-level as an elective to fulfill the 15 credits.
Required courses - 12 credits
- SPA 202 - Intermediate Spanish II: Language and Culture (3 credits)
- Students who test into the 300-level must replace the 202 requirement with a second elective at the 300-level.
- SPA 300 - Reading and Telling Stories (3 credits) OR SPA 301 - Advanced Communication Through Cultural Topics (3 credits) OR SPA 302 - Advanced Communication for Spanish Heritage Speakers (3 credits)
- SPA 304 - Spanish for Health Professionals (3 credits)
- SPA 307 - Death and Dying in Hispanic Literature (3 credits) OR SPA 313 - U.S. Latino/a Civilization and Culture (3 credits)
Elective courses - 3 credits
If not taken as required courses
- SPA 300 - Reading and Telling Stories (3 credits)
- SPA 301 - Advanced Communication Through Cultural Topics (3 credits)
- SPA 302 - Advanced Communication for Spanish Heritage Speakers (3 credits)
- SPA 307 - Death and Dying in Hispanic Literature (3 credits)
- SPA 313 - U.S. Latino/a Civilization and Culture (3 credits)
Other electives
- SPA 308 - Spanish Phonetics (3 credits)
- SPA 310 - Spanish Civilization and Culture (3 credits)
- SPA 311 - Latin American Civilization and Culture I (3 credits)
- SPA 312 - Latin American Civilization and Culture II (3 credits)
- SPA 329 - Sociolinguistics of Spanish (3 credits)
- SPA 350 - Spanish Laboratory Theatre (3 credits)
- SPA 360 - Perspectives on Hispanic Culture and Society (3 credits)
- SPA 361 - Spanish/Latin American Culture Through Film (3 credits)
- SPA 380 - Special Topics in Spanish (3 credits)