There are many reasons to learn Portuguese:
- Close to 250 million people speak Portuguese. Brazil alone has a population of 205 million.
- Portuguese is the sixth-most widely spoken language in the world, before German (10th), French (11th) and Italian (15th).
- Portuguese is spoken in 11 countries on four continents. Portuguese is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor, and is also widely spoken in Equatorial Guinea, Macau (China), and Goa (India).
- Portuguese is a working or official language of important international organizations, such as the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the European Union, Mercosul, the Organization of American States, and the Organization of Ibero-American States.
- An estimated 1.3 million native Portuguese speakers live in the United States.
- To study Portuguese is an asset in today’s global economy. For example, Brazil’s economy is among the largest in the world.
- The Portuguese novelist José Saramago won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. The music, festivities, culture, and art of the Portuguese-speaking countries are appreciated all over the world.
- Portuguese shares some grammar rules, sentence structure, and similar vocabulary words with other Romance languages. If you already speak French, Spanish or Italian, Portuguese is an easy and fun language to learn.
- Last but not least, Brazil is the only country that has won the FIFA World Soccer Cup five times.
How to Get in
| Requirements | Details |
|---|---|
| How to get in | No application required. All students who meet the requirements listed below are eligible to declare. For information on how to declare, visit Advising & Careers. |
| Courses required to get in | None |
| GPA requirements to get in | None |
| Credits required to get in | None |
| Other | None |
University General Education Requirements
All undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are required to fulfill a minimum set of common university general education requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of an undergraduate education. This core establishes a foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values, and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world. Various schools and colleges will have requirements in addition to the requirements listed below. Consult your advisor for assistance, as needed. For additional information, see the university Undergraduate General Education Requirements section of the Guide.
| General Education |
* The mortarboard symbol appears before the title of any course that fulfills one of the Communication Part A or Part B, Ethnic Studies, or Quantitative Reasoning Part A or Part B requirements. |
College of Letters & Science Degree Requirements: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Students pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in the College of Letters & Science must complete all of the requirements below. The College of Letters & Science allows this major to be paired with either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science curriculum.
Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
| Mathematics | Complete the University General Education Requirements for Quantitative Reasoning A (QR-A) and Quantitative Reasoning B (QR-B) coursework. |
| Language |
|
| L&S Breadth |
|
| Liberal Arts and Science Coursework | Complete at least 108 credits. |
| Depth of Intermediate/Advanced work | Complete at least 60 credits at the intermediate or advanced level. |
| Major | Declare and complete at least one major. |
| Total Credits | Complete at least 120 credits. |
| UW-Madison Experience |
|
| Quality of Work |
|
Non–L&S students pursuing an L&S major
Non–L&S students who have permission from their school/college to pursue an additional major within L&S only need to fulfill the major requirements. They do not need to complete the L&S Degree Requirements above.
Requirements for the Major
25 credits from PORTUG 202-699, to include:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese Literature | ||
| PORTUG 221 | Introduction to Luso-Brazilian Literatures | 4 |
| And complete one of the following: | 3 | |
| Survey of Portuguese Literature before 1825 | ||
| Brazillian Women Writers | ||
| Lusophone African Literature | ||
| Survey of Portuguese Literature since 1825 | ||
| Survey of Brazilian Literature since 1890 | ||
| Portuguese Culture/Civilization (complete one): | 3 | |
| Portuguese Civilization | ||
| Brazilian Civilization | ||
| Carmen Miranda | ||
| Topics in Luso-Brazilian Culture | ||
| Composition and Conversation (complete two): | 6 | |
| Third Year Conversation and Composition | ||
| Third Year Conversation and Composition | ||
| Fourth Year Composition and Conversation | ||
| Fourth Year Composition and Conversation | ||
| Elective Courses from PORTUG 202-699 1 | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 25 | |
Residence and Quality of Work
- 2.000 GPA in PORTUG and all major courses
- 2.000 GPA on 15 upper-level major credits in residence2
- 15 credits in PORTUG, taken at UW–Madison
Honors in the Major
Students may declare Honors in the Major in consultation with the Portuguese undergraduate advisor.
Honors in the Portuguese Major Requirements
To earn Honors in the Major, students must satisfy both the requirements for the major (above) and the following additional requirements:
- Earn a 3.300 University GPA
- Earn 3.500 GPA for all PORTUG courses at or above PORTUG 302, and any course that counts for the major
- Complete at least 16 credits, taken for Honors, with individual grades of B or better, to include:
- 10 credits from PORTUG 202 to 680, excluding PORTUG 301
- A two-semester Senior Honors Thesis in PORTUG 681 and PORTUG 682, for a total of 6 credits.
Footnotes
- 1
May not include PORTUG 301 which is the equivalent of PORTUG 101 and PORTUG 102.
- 2
PORTUG courses with the Advanced level designation are considered upper-level in the major.
University Degree Requirements
| Total Degree | To receive a bachelor's degree from UW–Madison, students must earn a minimum of 120 degree credits. The requirements for some programs may exceed 120 degree credits. Students should consult with their college or department advisor for information on specific credit requirements. |
| Residency | Degree candidates are required to earn a minimum of 30 credits in residence at UW–Madison. "In residence" means on the UW–Madison campus with an undergraduate degree classification. “In residence” credit also includes UW–Madison courses offered in distance or online formats and credits earned in UW–Madison Study Abroad/Study Away programs. |
| Quality of Work | Undergraduate students must maintain the minimum grade point average specified by the school, college, or academic program to remain in good academic standing. Students whose academic performance drops below these minimum thresholds will be placed on academic probation. |
Learning Outcomes
- Develop communication skills in Portuguese and integrate these skills to exchange and assess ideas effectively and with level-appropriate accuracy in written and spoken Portuguese.
- Demonstrate understanding of linguistic, pragmatic, sociolinguistic, and stylistic features of written and spoken Portuguese, understand how they influence meaning, and apply these features in level-appropriate ways in writing and speech.
- Demonstrate knowledge of Lusophone cultures across historical epochs, including awareness of the social, cultural, and linguistic diversity that characterizes the Portuguese-speaking world.
- Demonstrate familiarity with and apply basic methods of literary and/or linguistic analysis, which for literary analysis includes interpretation of written texts and other forms of artistic/cultural creation, both in and of themselves and in the context of the particular social, cultural, and historical milieus in which they were created.
Four-Year Plan
This Four-Year Plan is only one way a student may complete an L&S degree with this major. Many factors can affect student degree planning, including placement scores, credit for transferred courses, credits earned by examination, and individual scholarly interests. In addition, many students have commitments (e.g., athletics, honors, research, student organizations, study abroad, work and volunteer experiences) that necessitate they adjust their plans accordingly. Informed students engage in their own unique Wisconsin Experience by consulting their academic advisors, Guide, DARS, and Course Search & Enroll for assistance making and adjusting their plan.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PORTUG 101 | 4 | PORTUG 102 | 4 |
| Communication A | 3 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Quantitative Reasoning A | 3 | Biological Science Breadth | 3 |
| Social Science Breadth | 3 | Social Science Breadth | 3 |
| Elective | 2 | Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PORTUG 201 | 4 | PORTUG 202 | 4 |
| First Semester of Another Romance Language | 4 | Second Semester of Another Romance Language | 4 |
| Communication B (LITTRANS 226, a Communication-B course, often meets with PORTUG 221.) | 3-4 | Physical Science Breadth | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Social Science Breadth | 3 |
| INTER-LS 210 | 1 | ||
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PORTUG 225 | 3 | PORTUG 226 | 3 |
| Quantatative Reasoning B / Intermediate/Advanced COMP SCI/MATH/STAT (if needed for BS) | 3 | PORTUG 221 | 4 |
| Social Science Breadth | 3 | Intermediate/Advanced COMP SCI/MATH/STAT (if needed for BS) | 3 |
| Electives | 6 | Electives | 6 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Portuguese Culture/Civilization | 3 | Additional Portuguese Literature | 3 |
| Portuguese Elective | 3 | Portuguese Elective | 3 |
| Science Breadth | 3 | Science Breadth | 3 |
| Electives | 6 | Electives | 5 |
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Total Credits 120 | |||
Advising and Careers
Declare or Cancel This Major
Please follow the process described on the Spanish & Portuguese website.
Advising
Karen Francis (karen.francis@wisc.edu)
Careers
International Directions Advisor
languages.wisc.edu/make-an-appointment
SuccessWorks
SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science helps you turn the academic skills learned in your classes into a fulfilling life, guiding you every step of the way to securing jobs, internships, or admission to graduate school.
Through one-on-one career advising, events, and resources, you can explore career options, build valuable internship and research experience, and connect with supportive alumni and employers who open doors of opportunity.
- What you can do with your major (Major Skills & Outcomes Sheets)
- Make a career advising appointment
- Learn about internships and internship funding
- Try “Jobs, Internships, & How to Get Them,” an interactive guide in Canvas for enrolled UW–Madison students