Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi perfil en el portal muestra qué asignaturas tengo aprobadas. - My profile on the portal shows which courses I have passed.

qué (with accent) is an interrogative word: “what/which”.
Here it introduces an indirect question:
muestra qué asignaturas tengo aprobadas = “shows which subjects I have passed”.
que (without accent) is typically a conjunction or a relative pronoun: “that/which/who”.
Without the accent, this sentence would be incorrect:
✗ muestra que asignaturas tengo aprobadas (wrong)

So you need qué with an accent because you’re embedding a question:
(¿Qué asignaturas tengo aprobadas?) → muestra qué asignaturas tengo aprobadas.

Is qué here more like “what” or “which” in English?

Functionally, it’s closer to “which” in English, because you’re choosing from a specific set: the list of possible subjects on your degree.

muestra qué asignaturas tengo aprobadas ≈ “shows which subjects I have passed”

However, in many real contexts, native speakers of English might say “what subjects I’ve passed”, so both translations are possible, but the idea is “which ones (from a known group)”.

Why is it asignaturas and not something like clases or materias?

In Spain, the most standard word in an academic context is asignatura:

asignatura = a subject or course on your degree plan (e.g. Mathematics, History)
clase = can mean a class session (the lesson itself) or the group of students
materia = also “subject”, but in Spain sounds a bit more technical or used in specific contexts (e.g. materias troncales, “core subjects”)

In many parts of Latin America, materia is more common than asignatura.
But since you’re learning Spanish from Spain, asignaturas is the natural choice here.

Why is it tengo aprobadas and not something like he aprobado?

Both are possible, but they focus on slightly different things:

tengo aprobadas
- Literally: “I have them passed.”
- tengo = “I have” (possessive / state)
- aprobadas = past participle used like an adjective (“passed”).
- Focus: the current state of those subjects: they are passed and count as passed right now.
- Very common when talking about your academic record:
  - ¿Cuántas asignaturas tienes aprobadas? – “How many subjects do you have passed?”
he aprobado
- he aprobado = “I have passed (them)” (present perfect tense)
- Focus: the action of having passed them at some point.
- You could say:
  - Mi perfil en el portal muestra qué asignaturas he aprobado.
    This is also correct and natural. It feels a bit more like listing past results.

In the original sentence, tengo aprobadas emphasizes that, according to the system, these subjects are currently credited as passed.

Why is aprobadas feminine and plural?

Because it agrees with asignaturas, which is:

feminine (la asignatura)
plural (las asignaturas)

The structure is:

qué asignaturas → feminine plural noun phrase
tengo aprobadas → past participle aprobadas must match that noun:

asignaturas aprobadas (passed subjects)

If the noun were masculine singular, you’d see that change:

examen aprobado (passed exam)
créditos aprobados (passed/earned credits)

Why is the past participle aprobadas placed after tengo and not before, like in English?

Spanish word order in this structure is:

tener + participio + (complement)

So:

tengo aprobadas (estas asignaturas) – “I have these subjects passed”

You cannot say:

✗ aprobadas tengo (ungrammatical in this context)

The normal pattern is:

Tengo hechas las tareas. – I have the homework done.
Tengo comprados los billetes. – I have the tickets bought.
Tengo estudiadas tres unidades. – I have three units studied.

In all of these, the participle (hechas, comprados, estudiadas) follows tener.

Could you say “Mi perfil en el portal muestra las asignaturas que tengo aprobadas” instead? Is it different?

Yes, that is also correct, and the meaning is very close. Differences:

Original:

muestra qué asignaturas tengo aprobadas
- Emphasizes the question-like idea: “Which subjects do I have passed? Here they are.”

Alternative:

muestra las asignaturas que tengo aprobadas
- Just states: “It shows the subjects that I have passed.”

Both are natural. The original uses an indirect question with qué asignaturas; the alternative uses a relative clause with las asignaturas que.

What exactly is the subject of muestra? Why is it singular and not plural?

The subject is mi perfil en el portal:

mi perfil en el portal muestra…
→ “My profile on the portal shows…”

Perfil is singular, so the verb is also singular: muestra (3rd person singular).

If you changed the subject to plural, the verb would change:

Los perfiles de los estudiantes muestran… – “The students’ profiles show…”
Here you’d need muestran (plural).

Why is it en el portal and not just en el sitio web or en la web?

Portal in Spanish often means a web portal, especially for institutions:

portal del estudiante = student portal
portal de empleo = job portal

In this context, el portal suggests a specific platform (like your university’s online platform), not just any website.

You could say, more generically:

Mi perfil en la web muestra… – My profile on the website shows…
Mi perfil en la página web muestra…

But in academic contexts in Spain, portal is very common.

Why is it mi perfil and not el mi perfil? And what’s the difference between mi and mío?

Spanish does not use an article before possessive adjectives like mi/tu/su:

mi perfil – my profile
✗ el mi perfil – incorrect in standard modern Spanish

mi is a possessive adjective and goes before the noun:

mi perfil, mi casa, mi coche

mío is a possessive pronoun and usually goes after the noun or stands alone:

el perfil mío – (literally) “the profile of mine”
el mío – mine
- Este perfil es el mío. – This profile is mine.

In this sentence, you need the version that goes before the noun: mi perfil.

Is tengo aprobadas using the indicative mood? Could it ever be subjunctive here?

Yes, it is indicative:

tengo = present indicative of tener

You cannot use the subjunctive here:

✗ muestra qué asignaturas tenga aprobadas – wrong

The portal is showing a fact (which subjects you have passed), not something hypothetical, doubtful, or wished for. So the indicative is required.

Could I add a direct object pronoun and say “qué asignaturas las tengo aprobadas”?

No. That would be incorrect or at least very ungrammatical in standard Spanish.

You already mention asignaturas, so you don’t normally repeat it with a pronoun las in this structure.
Correct:
- muestra qué asignaturas tengo aprobadas
Incorrect:
- ✗ muestra qué asignaturas las tengo aprobadas

You could use a pronoun if you don’t repeat the noun:

Mi perfil en el portal muestra cuáles las tengo aprobadas.
→ still sounds off; more natural would be:
- Mi perfil en el portal muestra cuáles tengo aprobadas.

So: in the original sentence, do not add las.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Is it typical in Spain?

The sentence is neutral and completely typical in Spain, especially in academic or administrative contexts.

Vocabulary like perfil, portal, asignaturas, tengo aprobadas is standard and appropriate in emails, official information, or everyday conversation about studies.
It is neither particularly formal nor informal; it fits almost any context where you’re talking about your academic record.