Spanish MA Exam and Thesis Guidelines

The basis for the MA comprehensive examination is coursework and the Spanish MA Reading List. All students must complete and submit to the Graduate Liaison a General Candidacy Form the semester before taking the exams.

Non-Thesis students take examinations in each of the following fields:

• Spanish Peninsular Literature

1. Medieval
2. Golden Age
3. Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Century

• Spanish-American Literature

1. Colonial
2. Nineteenth Century
3. Twentieth Century

The exams will be in take-home format and the student will have two weeks to complete the exams. Answers for each of the exams should be between six to eight double-spaced pages including bibliography.

The finished product is to be sent electronically to the Graduate Liaison, who will forward it to all committee members on the last day of the two-week exam period. 

At the discretion of the Spanish faculty, students may be asked to take an oral exam within one week of the written exam in case some areas are found to be deficient.

The student may be asked to repeat the examination or be granted a passing grade with the recommendation not to continue graduate study towards the PhD. Students who fail the examination in whole or in part may repeat it (or the failed portion) only once at the discretion of the faculty.

The Graduate Liaison notifies candidates and the Graduate College of the examination results.

Students in the thesis degree program should choose an area of specialization for the thesis as early as possible. After a thesis topic is chosen, students, with the approval of the Graduate Liaison, select three members of the graduate faculty in the major field to serve as the thesis committee. A member of the graduate faculty specializing in the student's major area acts as the thesis director and chair of the committee. The topic and thesis title are reported to the Graduate College on the Application For Approval Of The Master's Thesis Topic And Committee Membership.

A maximum of three thesis hours (5980) is allowed toward the MA degree. After initial enrollment in thesis credit, students must maintain continuous enrollment during each subsequent regular semester (summers excepted) in at least two thesis hours (5980) until the degree is completed or the candidacy discontinued. Exceptions will be made for military service. Enrollment in 5980 is mandatory in any summer session during which the student is actually doing thesis work, regardless of the number of other hours of enrollment. An oral defense of the thesis is required.

Students must comply with departmental and Graduate College regulations concerning thesis preparation and submission of the reading copy to the Graduate College. After completion of the thesis, the student must file the report of the final examination with the Graduate College and submit copies of the thesis to the library.

Students are responsible for complying with Graduate College regulations concerning applications for graduation and payment of fees.