Advising

Check in with our advisor

Academic advisors are experts concerning the internal systems of both their home department and IU. It helps to have an ally who can guide you through the tasks you’ll undertake to complete your major or minor in Spanish and Portuguese. Our advisor can help you stay on track while taking advantage of the many resources and opportunities available to you.

Our academic advisor, Natalie Techentin, is available at various times each weekday to see majors and minors in our department and help them talk through academic goals and planning. While each student is ultimately responsible for being knowledgeable about their own degree requirements, our advisor can help you think through your degree strategically, make plans to add other majors and minors, and guide you as you incorporate experiential, service-based, and overseas study learning experiences into your time at IU.

To make an appointment with our advisor, use the Student Appointment Scheduler (SAS) in one.iu.edu. Search by keyword or by Techentin to find Natalie’s schedule and make an appointment. Only IU students have access to the Scheduler. If you are not a current student, please contact Natalie via email at ndwittma@indiana.edu.

Advising frequently asked questions

A: In most cases, you do not need to make an appointment to add a Spanish minor. However, some schools, like the School of Education, may require physical paperwork to add a minor. If you are not in the College of Arts and Sciences, please refer to your current academic advisor for appropriate procedure for adding a minor. Otherwise, email Natalie at ndwittma@indiana.edu if you would like to add a minor.

A: Your first step is to consult the Office of Overseas Study website and/or the study abroad office for your school. This will help you narrow down your options according to region/country/eligibility. Once you have chosen a few options, work with your advisor to make sure the program you’ve chosen is a viable option that will help you make progress towards your degree.

A: Courses taught in Spanish or Portuguese related to Spanish/Portuguese grammar/language, linguistics, literature, cinema, art, or culture may potentially qualify for credit in our department. To have this credit evaluated before you go to another university or abroad, you will need to submit a complete syllabus for the course in question. Once you have that, schedule an appointment to have the courses reviewed (see the information below). Please note: our department will provide only a tentative approval for a course before it has been completed. Final confirmation of any course equivalency we determine is subject to an additional review, once you can provide all course materials.

To have a course reviewed after you have already completed the course, gather all course materials that you have (syllabi, exams, papers, assignments, etc.) and schedule an appointment to have the courses reviewed.

For review of the basic-language coursework or upper-level Spanish coursework, please contact Karla Allgood at kallgood@indiana.edu or 812-855-8612 to schedule an appointment with our Director of our Basic Language Program or the Director of Undergraduate Studies. For Portuguese credit, contact Dr. Estela Vieira at evieira@indiana.edu.