Back to Graduate Degrees

General Information
The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures offers a graduate program leading to the degree of PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures (Spanish). Students may choose a concentration in either literature/cultural studies or language/linguistics. The program strives to achieve balance and depth. A minor is optional; it may be another Romance language or in a different field related to the student's major. In recent years students have had minors in Anthropology, Education, English, History, Latin American Studies, Philosophy, Portuguese/Brazilian Literature, and Women's Studies and Gender Research.

PhD students determine their program of study in close consultation with their individual Supervisory Committee, which also prepares and administers the Qualifying Examination. Courses should be chosen to develop adequate background for teaching in the field as well as to prepare for more focused work in the area of the dissertation. In the literature/cultural studies track, all candidates must take two courses in literary theory, which will help them to achieve methodological coherence in their dissertations. In the language/linguistics track, students pursue course work in Spanish linguistics, including phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, and historical linguistics (e.g. History of the Spanish Language). They complement these courses with work in the Program in Linguistics. The Qualifying Examination normally covers the core areas listed above, the area of the anticipated dissertation, and any minor field.

Description of PhD Program in Spanish
A range of specializations is available both in language and literature, with possibilities of minors in several related fields. All beginning graduate students are expected to obtain the MA (thesis option) before going on to the PhD. Students may be admitted to the PhD program without completing the requirements for the MA, at the discretion of the Spanish faculty:

(1) At admission, if the student has a superior undergraduate preparation in the area of the proposed PhD degree; or

(2) After completion of two semesters of course work in the department with a grade of B+ or better in all courses taken (recommendation by graduate professors on the basis of course work is necessary).

Course Requirements: The Graduate School requires that doctoral candidates complete at least 90 hours above the baccalaureate degree. A maximum of 30 credits is awarded for a transfer MA. Certain requirements for a period of concentrated study also apply. Doctoral students in the Department may choose to specialize either in the study of Spanish-language literature ("Literature Track") or in the study of the Spanish linguistics ("Linguistics Track").

Graduate credit for work in and outside the major field: Graduate credit is awarded for courses numbered 5000 and above. The work in the major field must be in courses numbered 5000 or above.

Registration: During pre-registration, students discuss their selection of courses for the following term with their main advisor. They must clear these courses with the main advisor before actually registering; new students usually discuss first term registration with the Graduate Coordinator. After completing the consultation, students must fill out a Semester Registration Record and return it to the secretary for the Graduate Coordinator. Pre-registration dates for the Summer and Fall terms are usually in March-April; for the Spring term, in November.

Language Competence: All entering graduate students must demonstrate competence in oral and written Spanish. With the application to the graduate program, an applicant will submit a taped sample of spoken Spanish and a paper written in Spanish for a previous course. When available, the MA thesis or other such document should also be submitted. A candidate who is judged by the Graduate Faculty to have an inadequate command of Spanish will be asked to do remedial work (such as SPN 6315 and/or other suitable courses). International students are required by state law to demonstrate competence in English by satisfactory performance on both the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and, if they wish to be appointed as a Teaching Assistant, the Test of Spoken English (TSE, or Speak Test).

Additional Foreign Languages: Before admission to the Qualifying Examination, candidates must demonstrate functional knowledge of a second Romance language or of another foreign language deemed appropriate to their scholarly specialization and approved by their supervisory committees. Functional knowledge may be demonstrated by completion (with a grade of B or better) of a third-year course (3000-level number) approved by the Graduate Coordinator, or by passing a proficiency test at that level. The supervisory committee may require reading knowledge of a third foreign language if such knowledge is judged appropriate for the candidate's research. The third foreign language requirement can be satisfied in the same way, though proficiency will be expected only in reading.

Teaching: At some time during the student's candidacy, s/he will be given the opportunity to gain teaching experience through a teaching assistantship. Renewal of the assistantship is dependent upon satisfactory performance as a teaching assistant and as a graduate student and availability of funds.

Minor: A minor approved by the student's supervisory committee and consisting of 12 to 24 hours of course work is strongly recommended at the 5000 level or higher.

Residence and Study Abroad: It is strongly urged that the PhD candidate spend some time in residence in a Spanish-speaking country. Up to six credit hours of graduate-level work done abroad in an approved program may be applied toward the credit requirement. Consult the Graduate Coordinator and/or the main advisor for details.

Transfer Students from other Institutions or Programs:
1. Early in the first term of residence, students admitted to the PhD program with an MA from another institution will be interviewed by the graduate faculty to evaluate their preparation. On the basis of the interview, recommendations will be made as to which courses should be included in their doctoral studies.

2. In consultation with the Chair of the Supervisory Committee, students with an M.A. in a subject other than Spanish may choose to take the MA Comprehensive Examination (as described in the "Graduate Study in Spanish--MA Program" and in "Spanish Master of Arts Comprehensive Examination " sections) in either their second or fourth semester of doctoral study."

3. Transfer students must submit a Master's thesis or other research paper at the time of application. If the submitted writing sample was not a thesis or of equivalent length to a thesis (40 to 50 pages), they will be required to turn in by the semester previous to the Qualifying Exams a research project equal to a Master's thesis (40 to 50 pages),

Evaluation: Students' work and teaching will be evaluated annually by the graduate faculty. A summary of the annual evaluation will be sent to the student before April 30 of each year, indicating, if applicable, whether a reappointment as Graduate Teaching Assistant will be proposed. Any student whose average falls below B (3.0) for two consecutive terms will be dropped from the program. Grades of "I" (incomplete) will be given only for compelling reasons.

Supervisory Committee: All students are required to compose a Supervisory Committee by the end of the second semester. The Committee comprises at least four members, all of whom must be on the graduate faculty, and one of whom must be from another academic discipline, i.e., from outside the Department of Romance Languages. In addition, one committee member must represent the area of the student's minor, if any. Subject to certain Graduate School and Departmental requirements, it is the student's Supervisory Committee which has the final authority to determine the curriculum to be followed by the student, and to compose and administer the Qualifying Examination, through which the student is advanced to candidacy and charged with writing a dissertation.

Back to Graduate Degrees