Does anybody here have experience with being a Spanish Major at U of I? If so, could he or she tell me about their experience with it and about whether or not U of I is the right pick for a Spanish Major? Did you feel like you were challenged? Did you learn a lot? Did you graduate feeling almost if not completely fluent? Also, how is the Study Abroad program at U of I? I would like to study in Madrid, if possible, as I have a friend there. Right now I am stuck between IWU and U of I and whichever one has the best Spanish program is probably the one I’ll go to. Thanks in advance!
I haven’t personally taken any Spanish at UIUC, but I have a friend that is a French major at, and she’s talked with several people in the language departments that have said the UIUC Spanish major is very rigorous, and that many people don’t even make it through it. She was considering a Spanish minor, but after hearing consistently how difficult it is, she’s considering doing a Latin minor instead.
Speaking generally, UIUC has a very good study abroad program. I just did a quick search, and it looks like they have several established study abroad programs in Spain.
https://app.studyabroad.illinois.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.MapSearch