Debrecen4U January 30, 2025

The University of Debrecen is launching a Spanish Department

he Department of Spanish under the auspices of the Mediterranean Languages ​​and Cultures Institute of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen will begin operating in September. 

There has been a demand and opportunity for learning Spanish at the university, both through various courses offered at the Foreign Language Center of Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen and through the Mediterranean Neo-Latin specialisation launched within the Institute of Mediterranean Languages ​​and Cultures. The latter provided complete beginners with the opportunity to learn French, Italian and Spanish.

Building on the specialisation training, the Spanish translation and interpretation training program was also launched as a master’s program.

The popularity of Spanish education has been unwavering in recent years, so the question of launching a bachelor’s program rightly arose, and finally, following the preparatory work, the Department of Spanish was established on  the 1st of August, 2024.

“The fortunate combination of will, intention and demand created the opportunity for the previously existing French and Italian Department to be supplemented with the Spanish Department as a third within the Institute of Mediterranean Languages ​​and Cultures, which allows us to almost completely cover most of the modern Latin, neo-Latin languages ​​and cultures in our education,” Professor László Pete told hirek.unideb.hu.

The demand for Spanish training arose not only among students, but also among high school students studying Spanish in the city and the region.

“In Debrecen, bilingual education is provided at the Fazekas Mihály Grammar School, but Spanish can be studies at the Ady, Kossuth and Tóth Árpád Grammar Schools, and at the regional level in Eger, Miskolc and Nyíregyháza. For the undergraduate program starting in September, we welcome applicants from all over the country, but as the leading higher education institution in Eastern and Northeastern Hungary, primarily from the region”  the Director of the Institute informed.

Associate Professor Dóra Bakucz, who holds a degree in Hungarian language and literature and Spanish language and literature, and then a doctorate, has been invited to head the Spanish Department. She first taught in a bilingual grammar school, and has been teaching in higher education institutions for a decade and a half, and is also active as a translator of works in Spanish and Catalan.

The Department began its operation in September last year with the participation of Dóra Bakucz, the renowned translator Ádám András Kürthy, who played a significant role in preparing the accreditation, and Miguel García Viñolo, a native speaker and Spanish teacher.

“The team has become accustomed to each other during our previous joint work, thanks to which the launch of the department and education in Debrecen will be smooth, and we will all be able to utilize our many years of teaching experience gained at Hungarian and Spanish universities at the University of Debrecen,”  Dóra Bakucz  emphasised.

The Department’s staff has compiled a three-year training plan, which includes, among other things, language development, Spanish linguistics, Spanish-language literature, contemporary Spain and Spanish America, and Spanish civilisation as curriculum materials, from which practical and exam grades must be obtained to meet the requirements.

In addition to teaching hours, prospective students will also have the opportunity to acquire various cultural knowledge and build relationships with Spanish students studying in the English-language program at the university.

Although education will only begin in the 2025/26 academic year, the institute and department management are already working on expanding the training offer, so the Spanish teacher program is expected to be available from September 2026. The long-term goal is to launch a disciplinary Spanish master’s program.

Applications for the basic training, which starts this September, can be submitted until 15 February on felvi.hu.

Source and photo credit: dehir.hu