Starting in fall 2015, students will be able to minor in Spanish at Kansas University.

KU announced the approval of the highly anticipated Spanish minor on Tuesday, calling it a “new pathway for students to complement their degrees with skills in foreign language.”

Students minoring in Spanish will be required to take a combination of language, culture and literature courses, plus a newly developed Spanish 101 course. The course, required for Spanish majors and minors, is designed to overview expectations and opportunities that come with the degree.

Spanish is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, and KU houses the top program in the region, according to the university. It is hoped that studying the language and its literature will expand job opportunities for graduates.

“We are thrilled to widen access to our curriculum to more students,” Robert Bayliss, director of undergraduate studies in the department of Spanish and Portuguese, said in a news release. “We’ve seen graduates with a Spanish major go on to build careers in Spanish-speaking industries, communities and countries all over the world. We’re eager to see how future graduates will utilize the knowledge they gain through the minor.”

The new offering comes in response to student demand, KU said. The department receives 60 to 80 inquiries a year about a Spanish minor, and student senators passed a resolution in 2012 supporting it.