As of 2010 it is estimated that the combined total number of Spanish speakers is between 470 and 500 million, making it the third most spoken language in the world and the second most-widely spoken in terms of native speakers. Spanish is the second most common language in the US, spoken by well over 12% of the population. Los Angeles ranks 5th in the world in the number of Spanish speakers after Mexico City, Madrid, Guadalajara and Barcelona. The US census projects that 25% of the population will speak Spanish by the year 2050. Spanish language cultural influence is strongly felt in Florida, where 17% of the population is of Hispanic origin.

The Spanish Discipline at Eckerd College is part of the Collegium of Comparative Cultures, which comprises languages, international business and anthropology. Our discipline offers students an excellent opportunity to become linguistically and culturally proficient through focused and interactive study in small classes. The department encourages students to spend a winter term, a semester or a year studying in a Spanish-speaking country, either with our faculty or through the study abroad programs available. Eckerd students can also complete a semester of study at the Latin American Study Center in Puebla, Mexico. It is not uncommon to hear Spanish spoken on the Eckerd campus since students from Latin America and Spain come to Eckerd to seek a degree or to study English at the ELS Center.

A degree in Spanish from Eckerd provides excellent preparation for graduate study, while also making students more employable and ready to participate in our increasingly global society. Many of our majors typically combine their language and culture studies with another major discipline such as, but not limited to, Anthropology, International Business, International Studies, International Relations and Global Affairs, Creative Writing, Environmental Studies and Marine Science. The importance of being linguistically and culturally fluent in Spanish is evident in the diverse career paths chosen by our majors and minors who have gone on to work in government, law, business, international affairs, education, social work, journalism, medicine, and the arts, among others.