Admission Requirements
We require a B.A. in Hispanic Studies or a related area, demonstrated fluency in Spanish and English, strong letters of reference and a representative research essay from the candidate’s prior academic work. Graduate Record Examination scores are required for admission. Foreign students must pass the TOEFL with the minimum required score of 550 on the paper version of the exam, 213 on the computer version, or 79 on the Internet/IBT version. Supervised teaching experience within the department is a requirement for both the M.A. and Doctoral degrees.
Degree Requirements
54 credit hours (18 courses) of which four courses are required: successful completion of SPA 553 TEACHING OF SPANISH , SPA 600 INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH LINGUISTICS , SPA 606 INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THEORY AND CULTURAL STUDIES and SPA 770 INTRODUCTION TO HISPANIC STUDIES . Of the remaining 15 courses, 5 must be in the major field of concentration (with two of these at the 700 level). 4 courses must be in the allied fields, and 2 in a minor field (outside the department). Additionally, the student must demonstrate reading knowledge of one language other than Spanish and English. The successful candidate will defend a dissertation prospectus, successfully complete Parts A and B of the Doctoral Qualifying Exam, and defend a dissertation.
Candidates are expected to devise a program of study and research around the major area of specialization. Two minor areas (in Hispanic literature and culture or Linguistics) and one allied field (related to the dissertation work) must be selected as support divisions for the major area. Minimum graduate credit expectations are 24 credit hours in the combined Major and Minor areas and 12 credit hours in the Allied Fields; 6 graduate credits in each of the two remaining areas not chosen as Major, Minor, or Allied Fields. Two seminars (one in the major field) are required.
Specialization by area:
1) Medieval Spanish Studies;
2) Renaissance and Early Modern Spanish Studies;
3) Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Spanish Studies;
4) Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Spanish Studies;
5) Colonial and Nineteenth Century Spanish American Studies;
6) Twentieth and Twenty First Century Spanish American Studies.
7) U.S. Latino Studies
The dissertation focus may combine Hispanic literature and film, Hispanic literature and Fine Arts, Hispanic literature with a second literature, literature and popular culture, or literature and theory. Students are encouraged to explore topics in Transatlantic Studies, and to make use of the programs in Social Theory, Gender and Women’s Studies, Latin American Studies, Environmental Studies and Appalachian Studies in considering transdisciplinary possibilities for their doctoral theses.
The Doctoral Qualifying Examination consists of two parts. Part A is a written exam and a two hour oral exam based on the reading list and the prospectus the student has created under the supervision of the dissertation committee. The written exam is structured as follows: a take-home exam in the areas of the dissertation and the extra-disciplinary Minor Field, and an additional ten hours to test the student’s knowledge in his/her area of general specialization, and the additional three areas (Major and Allied Fields) on which the student has chosen to concentrate. In order to take this exam, the student needs to have submitted a written prospectus and a reading list to the dissertation committee at least two months before scheduling the exam.
Part B of the qualifying examination will take place during the semester following Part A. The student will present either a fully written introduction or a sample dissertation chapter to the dissertation committee. Acceptable Progress towards the Dissertation: The ABD student is required to establish and maintain an acceptable timeline for completing the dissertation. The Department expects that the student complete at least one dissertation chapter per semester until the dissertation is completed. It is hoped that the student will complete the dissertation within two years after the qualifying exams.
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