Department of Hispanic Studies
Head of the Department of Hispanic Studies
Assoc. Prof. Donka Mangacheva, PhD
e-mail: mangacheva@uni-sofia.bg
Office: 125A , Phone: (+359 2) 9308 334
Reception hours: Tuesday, 16.00 - 17.30 (by prior arrangement)
Inspector:
Maria Petrova-Reyes
e-mail: mnpetrova1@uni-sofia.bg; ispanistika61@gmail.com
Office: 125A, Rectorate
Phone: (+359 2) 9308 334
Department of Hispanic Studies
The department was founded in 1961 by Toma Tomov, the prominent professor of Romance languages, and Emilia Tsenkova, his аssistant who started teaching Spanish at Sofia University – together with their students and followers they founded the degree program in Hispanic Philology. Launching the degree program in Portuguese Philology in 1992, the department grew into “Ibero-Romance Philology” and at a later stage - into “Hispanic and Lusophone Studies”. Further to the detachment of Portuguese Philology in 2021, the division was renamed Department of Hispanic Studies.
The department offers training in three educational degrees: BA, MA and PhD.
The entry requirements for the BA in Hispanic Philology do not comprise specific Spanish language proficiency, as during the first year beginners have more intensive training, while advanced learners stabilize and improve their initial knowledge.
The curriculum of the program is extensive and flexible. It includes a variety of optional specialization modules and two optional professional qualification profiles: “Teacher of Spanish Language and Literature” and “Translator/Interpreter”. All courses’ schedules meet the criteria of world-famous higher education institutions and the academic diplomas receive international recognition.
The department maintains cooperation and exchange agreements in educational and research activities with numerous foreign universities. Under the Erasmus program, students can spend abroad one or two semesters, at a Spanish or another European university.
Graduates of the BA in Hispanic Philology may find a career path not only as researchers, translators/interpreters, lecturers and primary/secondary teachers (including free, private schools and centres), but also as referents in state institutions, experts in diplomatic missions, trade representations, editorial boards, information agencies and platforms, media, publishing houses, etc.
The MA in Applied Linguistics and the MA in Semiotics, Language and Advertising (in English) admit continuously applicants with a philology or non-philology (BA/BSc) degree.
In line with its research span, the Department of Hispanic Studies announces annually PhD places open for admission to the accredited programs at the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology.
In the Rectorate building, the department has its own scientific, educational and creative base – the Spanish Language Centre and the Spanish Language Library named after the renowned linguist Eugenio Coseriu, with a reading room and a virtual classroom. The control-accessed premises are fitted with up-to-date multimedia equipment and, according to their regulated purpose, serve as home exclusively for academic activities concerning the promotion and the dissemination of Spanish language and culture, at the discretion of the Department of Hispanic Studies such as: specialized classes of/in Spanish, educational lectures and practices; conferences, seminars, round tables, discussion forums, research projects and scientific events; workshops, film sessions, events, celebrations, etc.
Since 2018, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" has a contract with the Instituto Cervantes - Sofia, by virtue of which the Department of Hispanic Studies is acknowledged as an accredited centre for registration and examination for obtaining a DELE diploma, an official title certifying the competence and mastery of Spanish as a foreign language, and the department staff members take full part in the examination committees.
Spanish Language Centre and "Eugenio Coseriu" Spanish Language Library at Sofia University
MA Program in Applied Linguistics
MA Program in Semiotics, Language and Advertising (in English)