Spanish for the Health Professions Program at ISU

Degree Requirements for Bachelor of Arts in Spanish for the Health Professions (120 credits)

All students wishing to graduate in the Spanish for the Health Professions must take the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). Please see your advisor for information regarding this exam.

A. Linguistic Core (33 credits)

HCA/HE 2210, Medical Terminology and Communication (2 credits)

SPAN 2201 & SPAN 2202, Intermediate Spanish I and II (or equivalent; 8 credits)

(note: either course satisfies General Education Objevtice 9)

OR SPAN 2265, Accelerated Intermediate Spanish (or equivalent)

SPAN 2210, Spanish for Health Care I (3 credits)

SPAN 2211, Spanish for Health Care II (3 credits)

SPAN 3300, Intensive Conversation (3 credits)

SPAN 3301 OR SPAN 3302, Spanish Conversation and Composition I or II (3 credits)

SPAN 4400, Spanish Advanced Grammar (3 credits)

SPAN 4460, Spanish Translation and Interpretation, I and II (8 credits)

B. Health Professions Core (9 credits minimum)

Select 9 credits minimum; 3 must be upper division:

COUN 3300, Interpersonal Skills in Health Professions (2 credits)

HCA 1110, Introduction to the Allied Health Professions (3 credits)

HCA 1115, US Health System (3 credits)

HCA 3350, Organizational Behavior in Healthcare (3 credits)

HCA 4450, Special Topics in Healthcare (1-3 credits)

HCA 4475, Health Law and Bioethics (3 credits)

NURS 3100, Professional Nursing (2 credits)

PAS 4489, Independent Problems in Physician Assistant Studies (1-3 credits)

PHIL 2230, Medical Ethics (3 credits)

Approved Health Science Course (1-3 credits)

C. Culture Core (9 credits minimum)

Select 9 credits minimum; 3 must be upper division:

ANTH 2239, Latino Peoples and Cultures (Satisfies General Education Objective 9; 3 credits)

ANTH 4407, Anthropology of Global Health (3 credits)

ANTH 4430, Human Evolution (3 credits)

CMLT 2208, Cultures of the Spanish Speaking World (Satisfies General Education Objective 9; 3 credits)

COUN 2200, Multicultural Development (1 credit)

COUN 3300, Interpersonal Skills in Health Professions (2 credits)

HIST 2251, Latin America (Satisfies General Education Objective 9; 3 credits)

HIST 4479, History of Disease, Medicine, and Society (3 credits)

SOC 2248, Critical Analysis of Social Diversity (Satisfies General Education Objective 7; 3 credits)

SPAN 3305, Study Abroad (1-6 credits)

SPAN 3341, Survey of Spanish Literature and Civilization (3 credits)

SPAN 3342, Survey of Latin American Literature and Civilization (3 credits)

SPAN 3381, Hispanic Current Affairs (3 credits)

SPAN 4493, Spanish Internship (1-3 credits)

SPAN 4494, Topics in Language and Culture for the Professions I (1-3 credits)

SPAN 4495, Topics in Language and Culture for the Professions II (1-3 credits)

Electives (23-31 credits)-A minimum of 13 elective credits must be upper division

After completing the 38 to 46 General Education Requirements and the 51 core area credits, the remaining 23-31 credits (at least 13 upper division) may be fulfilled by the students' completion of major requirements in one of the following programs or another approved, related field of study. All students need a minimum of 120 credits to graduate:

Addiction and Dependency

Anthropology

Associate Degree Registered Nursing

Biology

Biochemistry

Counseling

CSD

Deaf Education

Dental Hygiene

Dietetics

Health Care Administration

Health Care Info Systems Management

Health Education

Health Physics

Nursing

Occupational Therapy

Pharmacy

Physical Education

Physical Therapy

Psychology

Radiographic Science

Respiratory Therapy

Sign Language Studies

Sociology

Spanish

Requirements for a Graduate Certificate in Spanish for Health Professions

Admission Requirements

For admission into the Spanish for Health Professions (SPHP) Certificate Prgoram, applicants must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Admission to the Graduate School
2. Applicants whose language is not English need to meet the following:

1. TOEFL Requirements: (1) Internet-based test (IBT): a total score of 80 with a score of at least 20 on each Section of the IBT;
2. or minimum rating of Intermediate High on the ACTFL English OPI.

1. It is highly recommended that students complete SPAN 1101-1102 or equivalent.

Language Core Courses

Students complete a minimum of 9 credits from the following or other approved electives. Please speak to an advisor about appropriate placement and verify pre-requisites in the Catalog. Many of these courses are offered online or in a hybrid format.

SPAN 5500, Spanish Advanced Grammar (3 credits)

SPAN 5510, Spanish for the Health Professions (1-2 credits)

SPAN 5560, Interpretation and Translation I, II (4-8 credits)

SPAN 5594, Topics in Language and Culture for the Professions I (1-3 credits)

SPAN 5595, Topics in Language and Culture for Professions II (1-3 credits)

Approved graduate level elective taught in the Spanish language (3 credits)

Culture Electives

Students complete a minimum of 6 credits from the following or other approved electives from an approved program of studies. Please speak to an advisor about appropriate coursework. Many of these courses are offered online or in a hybrid format.

ANTH 5530, Human Evolution (3 credits)

ANTH 5507, Anthropology of Global Health (3 credits)

ANTH 5508, Topics in Medical Anthropology (3 credits)

ENGL 5588, Introduction to Sociolinguistics (3 credits)

HIST 5579, Disease and US Public Health (3 credits)

MPH 6604, Social and Cultural Perspectives in Public Health (3 credits)

MPH 6607, US and Global Health Systems (3 credits)

SPAN 5505, Study Abroad (1-3 credits)

SPAN 5593, Spanish Internship (1-3 credits)

SPAN 5575, Topics in Culture and Literature (3 credits)

Approved graduate level elective (3 credits)

*For more information please visit the Global Studies and Language section of the Course Catalog.*

ACTFL Oral Proficiency Certification Exam Registration & Instructions

All Spanish for Health Professions majors must take this exam to graduate and to receive an OPI certified score. Your score does NOT determine if you graduate, but the exam must be completed in order to earn the degree. The ACTFL OPI must be completed in your second-to-last semester to ensure processing for graduation. For example, if you wish to graduate in May, you need to have your score in hand to the Spanish for Health Professions advisor by December 31st, the last day of the preceding fall semester. Please allow 6-8 weeks to complete the process, so the earlier in the semester you schedule, the better. ACTFL OPI INFORMATION: https://www.languagetesting.com

What is the ACTFL OPI?

The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, or ACTFL OPI as it is often called, is a standardized procedure for the global assessment of functional speaking ability. The ACTFL OPI takes the form of a carefully structured conversation between a trained and certified interviewer and the person whose speaking proficiency is being assessed. It is a telephonic interview between a certified ACTFL tester and an examinee that determines how well a person speaks a language by comparing his or her performance of specific communication tasks with the criteria for each of ten proficiency levels described in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012 – Speaking. - See more at: http://www.actfl.org/professional-development/certified-proficiency-testing-program/testing-proficiency#sthash.Y1AJ1s5h.dpuf.

The interview is interactive and continuously adapts to the speaking abilities of the individual being tested. The topics that are discussed during the interview are based on the interests and experiences of the test candidate. Through a series of personalized questions, the interviewer elicits from the test candidate examples of his or her ability to handle the communication tasks specified for each level of proficiency in order to establish a clear 'floor' and 'ceiling' of consistent functional ability. Often candidates are asked to take part in a role-play. This task provides the opportunity for linguistic functions not easily elicited through the conversational format. ACTFL OPIs are conducted and rated by ACTFL certified proficiency testers. Each interview is tape recorded and rated by one or more certified testers. Official ACTFL OPI ratings are assigned to those OPIs conducted under the supervision of the ACTFL Testing Office. Each Official OPI is blindly rated by a second certified tester. When a final rating is assigned, and ACTFL OPI Certificate is issued.

What does the OPI do for me?

The ACTFL OPI is currently used worldwide by academic institutions, government agencies, and private corporations for purposes such as: academic placement, student assessment, program evaluation, professional certification, hiring and promotional qualification. The ACTFL OPI is recognized by the American Council on Education (ACE) for the awarding of college credit. The OPI ensures that future employers or admission boards understand how well you speak. All students who wish to graduate from the Spanish for Health Professions program must take the OPI and provide a copy of the score to his/her SHP advisor. For majors in SHP, a minimum score of Intermediate High means that you do not have to take SPAN 3300 Advanced Conversation. Your advisor will note in your file that the department accepts the OPI score in lieu of this course. It does not give you a grade, nor credits, but does save you time by allowing you to go more quickly through the required program elements program.

How and When Do I Register?

Start the process at least 6-8 weeks before you need the score. Ideally, if you wish to graduate in May, you should set up your OPI in the first weeks of the preceding semester (August or September). The exam currently costs $105.00 payable to LTI upon registration by credit card or Paypal.. ISU does not receive any part of the fee and has no control over LTI pricing. 

The ACTFL OPI Testing Program is administered by Language Testing International (LTI). Follow these steps:

1. Go to the LTI page at (https://www.languagetesting.com).
2. Select: Take a Test.
3. Select: Test for a school, teaching license and/or any other licensure programs.
4. Select: New User.
5. Select: I can't find my institution or I'm an independent candidate.
6. Select: language.
7. Select: Spanish.
8. Select: ACTFL OPIC (the "computer" exam)
9. Complete your registration as directed
10. Take the exam as directed.
11. Send a copy of your score to your Spanish advisor and to Rachael Johnston in the department main office at glbstdy@isu.edu.