Excelsior College allows you to complete a "depth area" (12 semester-hours in a subject, including 3 upper-level), an "area of focus" (21 semester-hours in a subject, including 6 upper-level), or a "major" (formerly called a "concentration": 30 semester-hours in a subject, including 15 upper-level). http://www.excelsior.edu/pdf/Liberal_Arts_Catalog.pdf How would you translate these terms into Spanish? Rosie tells me that área de profundidad and área profundizada sound very bad. Terms like especialización and mención would not allow one to reconstruct the English.
Mark, I'd say area de profundización, which would make it understandable in an academic context. I agree: area de profundidad is meaningless. Especialización in Spanish (like in English) refers to a more complete area of knowledge (not just 12 credits or 4 courses). Since Spanish education systems both in South America and Spain don't follow the Anglo Saxon one, the terminology is as well completely different. In Spanish there aren't majors, concentrations, areas of focus, etc,... One gets a degree in Engineering, Biology, Philosophy, etc,... (Licenciado en...). Period. I am not sure it helped but I tried....