New Spanish language certificate opens the door for other language programs

Professors hope a new Spanish certificate will boost enrolment in language courses that have faced “a lot of pressure” from Dalhousie University.

On Dec. 10, the university announced a new certificate in Spanish language and culture. It’s specifically designed to be accessible for students in any program, according to Magali Dam-Mazzi, the certificate’s coordinator and a teaching fellow in the Spanish and Latin American studies department.

She wants to have a similar certificate available in all of Dalhousie’s language programs for the upcoming fall semester.

“We are finishing German … and then we hope in the future we will do Chinese, Italian and Arabic, so you become a part of this community of language programs together,” she says. “In 2026-27, we [aim to] be a united force with five language departments.”

Following a projected $18 million deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year, the university implemented a hiring freeze on Sept. 4, 2024 and suspended its Russian studies program in winter 2025. Dalhousie’s German, Italian and Chinese departments, which primarily employ temporary and limited-term faculty and staff, have previously expressed concern about the impacts of the hiring freeze.

Dam-Mazzi says the new certificate creates hope for a “stronger” future for all of Dalhousie’s language programs.

“We have not been expanding, we have been contracting, but still our spirit is up,” says Dam-Mazzi.

The certificate is not only designed for current students, there is also the option for non-degree students or members of the community to enroll in the Spanish language and culture certificate.

“We wanted to give the students more flexibility to finish school with another degree in a way that would make it easier for them,” says Dam-Mazzi.

Brigid Garvey is the acting co-chair of the Spanish and Latin American, German, Italian and Chinese programs at Dalhousie. She says the language departments have been under continued pressure from the university.

“The higher level classes are very small … in the current fiscal environment, they’re really coming down on small enrollment classes.” 

Credits from first-year courses will count toward the completion of the certificate. Garvey hopes this will result in students wanting to go further into the university’s language programs. 

“This will be really good for our retention in the language programs,” says Garvey. “It’s really exciting if we can get more people to go a little further with the [programs] than just the first year language requirement … that momentum will be good for each of the language programs.”