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The Master's Degree Program in Spanish

Deadlines to apply for Fall Admission, February 1, for Spring Admission, October 1.

To be considered for admission to the M.A. program in Spanish a student must:

  • Hold a Bachelor's degree in Spanish Literature(s), or equivalent is strongly recommended.
  • Have a 3.0 grade point average in the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work.
  • Have excellent proficiency in spoken and written Spanish.

Applicants who hold a B.A. in Spanish but do not have the requisite 3.0 grade point average may be admitted on probation for one semester, provided they have at least a 2.75 grade point average.

Course work in fields other than Spanish literature (for example, Master's or doctoral work in education) will not be applied to the graduate degree in Spanish

Admission in all cases will be determined by the Spanish faculty

Requirements for the MA in Spanish

Students who entered the MA program before the fall of 2017 have the option to stay with the requirements in place then or to move to the new requirements if they wish. If they move to the new ones, they need to fill out a new Program of Study form. This is an easy task. Please contact the Graduate Studies Liaison.

Non-Thesis

Students in the non-thesis program must complete thirty-two hours of acceptable graduate-level course work (including the courses specifically required) and receive a passing grade on the final comprehensive examination.

Thesis

Requirements for the thesis program are thirty hours, which include twenty-four hours of acceptable graduate-level course work (including the courses specifically required) and 6 hours of thesis credits (maximum), a thesis, and a passing grade on a final comprehensive examination that consists of two separate exams. 

A total, not to exceed six hours on the 4000-level, is allowed as part of the MA major as long as the courses are preceded by a "G" in the General Course Catalog.

  • Spanish 5713, History of the Spanish Language (offered Fall semester only)
  • MLLL 5073, Contemporary Literary Criticism (offered Spring semester only
  • Electives: 18 hours for thesis students, 26 hours for non-thesis students. A total not to exceed 6 graduate hours at the G4000 level is allowed as part of the major.
  • Thesis Research: 6 hours SPAN 5980 required for thesis students.
  • Students must demonstrate reading competency in a second language. In order to do so, they may take the departmental Graduate Reading Exam (pdf), or complete two semesters or ten hours in another language.
  • All Graduate Teaching Assistants are required during their first year to enroll in MLLL 5813, Teaching Foreign Languages. GTAs who have already had this course or one similar to it may be exempted.
  • Graduate Teaching Assistants are required to maintain enrollment in a minimum of five credit hours.
  • A comprehensive examination is required for the thesis and the non-thesis programs. The examination is administered during the twelfth and thirteenth week of each semester. It is based on courses taken by the student and on the reading list.
  • Program of Study (for students admitted in Spring 2017 or earlier; these students can change to the new requirements if they wish)

Requirements for students starting the program in Fall 2017 or later

Non-thesis

Students in the non-thesis program must complete thirty-three hours of acceptable graduate-level course work (including the courses specifically required) and receive a passing grade on the final comprehensive examination.

Thesis

Requirements for the thesis program are thirty hours, which include twenty-seven hours of acceptable graduate-level course work (including the courses specifically required) and 3 hours of thesis credits (maximum), a thesis, and a passing grade on a final comprehensive examination that consists of two separate exams.

  • At least three seminars (9 credit hours) in Spanish Peninsular Literature and three seminars (9 credit hours) in Spanish-American Literature. 
  • The remaining SPAN hours for both the thesis (9 credit hours) and non-thesis options (15 credit hours) are chosen by the students, depending on their needs and wants.The graduate liaison approves each case, but flexibility is essential.
  • Note:  A  total  not  to exceed  6  graduate  hours  at  the  MLLL  level, specifically  for  the  following  two courses:  1)  MLLL  5063  Early  Literary Criticism and 2) MLLL 5073 Contemporary Literary Criticism is allowed as part of the major.
  • All Graduate Teaching Assistants are required during their first year to enroll in MLLL 5813, Teaching Foreign Languages. GTAs who have already had this course or one similar to it may be exempted.
  • Graduate Teaching Assistants are required to maintain enrollment in a minimum of five credit hours.
  • A comprehensive examination is required for the thesis and the non-thesis programs. The examination is administered during the twelfth and thirteenth week of each semester. It is based on courses taken by the student and on the reading list.
  • Program of Study (for students admitted in Fall 2017 or later)