phd in spanish education

• Hispanic Studies
• College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Ph.D. in Spanish with a Concentration in Linguistics or Literature (FACE-TO-FACE)

Department of Hispanic Studies University of Houston 3553 Cullen Boulevard, Room 416 Houston, TX 77204-3062 713.743.3007 Contact Us

The Department of Hispanic Studies is at the forefront of research and teaching of Hispanic literature and Spanish linguistics. Our offering in Hispanic literature and Hispanic linguistics now encompasses the literatures written throughout the Americas and Spain. Given Houston’s location, as well as Arte Público Press and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Project at UH, our Ph.D. program offers an optimal environment in which to achieve excellence.

For more information about the course work, expectations and the progression of the PhD program please see the PhD Students Handbook.

General Requirements

Minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the ph.d. in spanish.

• A completed M.A. degree in Spanish,or its equivalent
• Hispanic literature of the United States
• Latin American literature through Modernism
• Latin American literature since Modernism
• Peninsular literature through the XVII century
• Peninsular literature, centuries XVIII through XX
• Formal linguistics
• Applied linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Completed online application through CollegeNet   [all required documents are to be directly uploaded to your account during the application process. Please prepare them beforehand. Official individual mark sheets in certain countries, transcripts, and degree certificates must be sent directly to the Graduate school and to the Graduate Admissions Advisor in Hispanic Studies at the addresses included below]
• A statement of research in Spanish (between 1000 and 1500 words) explaining your academic interests and projects (see this link to find the guidelines you must follow for writing your  statement ).
• Three letters of recommendation from the applicant’s professors detailing the potential of the applicant at the Ph.D. level (sent directly by recommenders via CollegeNet)
• Writing sample (Graded)
• Transcripts that are not in English must be sent along with an official translation made by a certified interpreter .
• Please see the Graduate School guidelines for transcripts and diploma verification

Additional Requirements for International Students

• Certified copy of diploma: besides official transcripts and their translation, international students must send a copy of their graduation diploma. If the document is not in English, an official translation made by a certified interpreter must be attached. The diploma must be sent to the University of Houston Graduate School (102 E. Cullen Building Houston, Texas 77204-2012).
• TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language: A score of at least 79 on the (international students only, unless they have earned a college degree from an American university)
• Duolingo English Test for English proficiency exams. The exam costs $49 (USD) and may be taken from any computer that has a camera, audio and reliable internet. The exam portion of the Duolingo English Test contains a series of speaking, reading, writing and listening exercises. Following the exam, there will be an interview portion that will ask you to respond to various prompts in 30 to 90 seconds. The exam will take about 45 minutes to complete and you will need either a passport, driver license, or national or state ID to show the camera. The score results are generally received within a few days of exam completion. A minimum score of 105 is required.

For information on the TOEFL visit the Educational Testing Service web site . (UH Code: 6870)

IMPORTANT: ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETE BY JANUARY 15th (INCLUDING TRANSCRIPTS AND EXAM RESULTS TOEFL) IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR FUNDING. INCOMPLETE DOSSIERS WILL NOT COMPETE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS . Click here to download the Spanish PhD application checklist

Once admitted to the program

• No course in which a grade below B- (2.67) is received may count towards Ph.D. degree.
• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) for all graduate courses attempted is required for a graduate degree; failure to maintain this average will result in a warning, probation, or suspension.
• Qualifying written and oral examinations are required to obtain admission to candidacy
• The student must develop a dissertation on a topic in literature which can be considered to be original and of significance to scholarship.
• Four college semesters at the undergraduate level (or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated by testing) in another Romance language.
• Reading knowledge of Latin or any other approved language, as demonstrated either by satisfactory scores on the Educational Testing Service examinations for that language, or the completion of two semesters of graduate reading courses in the language chosen with a grade of B- or higher.

Application Fees

Fees payable by check, money order or online (Credit Card) with application

• Total cost, $50
• Payable to University of Houston
• Total cost, $80
• The Spanish PhD Program only has admissions for the Fall semester.
• All documents and information must be uploaded through CollegeNet and/or sent to the University of Houston by January 15 th

For applications and advisement, please write, call, or e-mail:

Dr. Paola Arboleda-Ríos, Interim Graduate Director, at [email protected]

* Phone interviews will be conducted after application file is reviewed.

Spanish Language and Literature Ph.D.

The Ph.D. is primarily a research and specialization degree, culminating in the writing of a dissertation.

Quick Links

• Spanish Program Home
• Spanish Graduate Programs
• Spanish Ph.D. Dissertation Abstracts
• Spanish Language and Literature M.A.
• Hispanic Applied Linguistics M.A. 
• Spanish Program Graduate Funding

Our graduate programs include a Ph. D degree with specializations in both Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture. Our Ph.D. students are mentored by our faculty, engage in substantive research projects, and benefit from rigorous teaching training. We offer courses that cover most geographical areas and time periods and guide students through relevant theoretical and methodological developments. Courses are complemented with lecture series and events that enrich our students’ intellectual and life experiences.

To be considered for admission applicants must:

• Have earned an M.A. degree or have equivalent training;
• Submit a paper in Spanish produced at the M.A. level;
• Submit a statement of purpose;
• Submit three letters of recommendation from academic references;

In addition, non-native speakers of English are required to take the TOEFL examination prior to admittance. Candidates must meet the minimum TOEFL standards established by the University of Maryland Graduate School (score of 100). For information students should contact the SLLC graduate coordinator.

Students on the "short list" may be interviewed by the graduate director in person or by phone.

Prior to admission to candidacy the student must demonstrate/fulfill the following:

• A thorough knowledge of the literary and cultural production in the main area of study;
• An in-depth knowledge of research tendencies in the field of specialization;
• At least two courses in the secondary area;
• A graduate course in the History of the Spanish Language;
• A minimum of one course in literary theory and/or criticism;
• A total of 30 credits of coursework (in very exceptional cases, fewer);
• Reading proficiency in a third language other than Spanish or English, appropriate to the student's field of study.

What do I need to apply?

To be considered for admission applicants must submit:

• Online application
• Application fee $75 -> Information about fee waiver
• Official transcripts of an M.A. degree or equivalent training.
• A paper in Spanish produced at the M.A. level.
• A statement of purpose.
• Three letters of recommendation from academic references.
• Non-native speakers of English are required to take the TOEFL examination prior to admittance. Candidates must meet the minimum TOEFL standards established by the University of Maryland Graduate School (score of 100). For information students should contact the SLLC graduate coordinator. Apply here Step-by-Step Guide to Applying English Language Proficiency Requirements for International Students **Due to deferrals, graduation delays during pandemic and reductions in available funding, admissions to our graduate programs will be more competitive for Fall 2021. Applicants should note that we are an affirmative action department and that we remain especially interested in recruiting strong African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students to our Ph.D. and M.A. programs. 

Qualifying Examination: Procedures and Evaluation

Students who obtained their M.A. at another institution must take a qualifying examination after their first semester in the Ph.D. program. The goal of the exam is to ensure that students have both the specific field knowledge and the theoretical and/or critical background to continue in the program.

A student must declare her/his intention to take the qualifying examination in writing to the director of graduate Studies at least 60 days prior to the examination date, and at this time s/he should select the areas or fields and faculty advisor with whom s/he wants to work in preparation for the qualifying. The exam will be given every January, before the beginning of the spring semester. A committee consisting of two department faculty members (including the advisor) will meet to evaluate the examination and discuss the student's overall progress in the Ph.D. program. Written notification of the results will be sent to the student within one month of completing the exam. In the event that the student does not pass the exam, her/his advisor and the director of graduate studies may recommend that the student retake the examination in May. If a student does not pass the retake exam, s/he will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.

The examination is based on a list of 10 primary texts in the fields of Latin American and/or Spanish literature chosen by the student in consultation with her/his faculty advisor. The list of 10 books should focus on the student’s specific area of interest, as the purpose of the exam is to evaluate a student’s reading and writing skills as s/he continues to pursue a doctoral degree. The director of graduate studies must receive and approve the list of 10 texts as soon as the decision is made. Once the list is approved by the DGS, the student will have a maximum of 10 business days to select five (5) books from the list of 10 primary texts to prepare for the exam and inform the DGS and her/his faculty advisor of her/his decision. The DGS will then, in consultation with the student, establish the exact date of the examination in January (or May in the event of a retake).

The examination will be formulated by the faculty advisor and will include the following: (a) a close reading of a passage of no more than 500 words from one (1) book from the student’s list of five, which would lead to (b) an extrapolation to a wider set of ideas pertaining to the whole book and/or to the five (5) books selected. The student will receive the examination question by hand at the time of the exam and will have 4 hours to answer it in a room on a computer provided by the department with no internet access. The exam will be written in Spanish, with the exception of English for students who are specialized in U.S. Latina/o Studies. No notes or bibliography may be consulted, although a bilingual dictionary may be used.

The exam will be proctored by the Director of Graduate Studies or the SLLC Graduate Coordinator.

Route to Ph.D. Candidacy

After Ph.D. coursework has been completed, students proceed through a pre-candidacy stage consisting of three components: the comprehensive examination, the language reading (or “translation”) exam and the dissertation proposal and defense. Following successful completion of these three elements, students are advanced to candidacy and are considered “ABD” (all but dissertation). 

Comprehensive Examination  The comprehensive examination consists of three essays written over a span of three weeks. The essays are based on the courses a student has taken and on reading lists tailored to his or her sub-fields of focus (two in the main area and one in the secondary area). The three reading lists are created in consultation with faculty specialists in the areas of examination.

The comprehensive examination is offered three times per year, in January, May and August. On three consecutive Mondays, the student will receive a question to be answered in essay form, each related to a particular sub-field. These essays will be due by 3:00 p.m. on the Thursday of each respective week.

Sixty days prior to the desired examination start date, the candidate must inform the director of graduate studies as well as the professor assigned to administer the exam of his/her intention to sit for the examination. This notification should be submitted in writing, outlining the areas and sub-fields in which the student will be examined.

Exams will be evaluated by a committee consisting of two faculty members per subfield.  Where appropriate, and in only one instance per student, the same faculty member may be called upon to evaluate two of the essays.

In the case of an unsuccessful examination, the student’s Ph.D. advisor and the director of graduate studies may recommend that the student sit a second time for the comprehensive examination. Continuation in the Ph.D. program depends on the successful outcome of any second attempt.

Language Reading (“Translation”) Examination                                                         This examination consists of a “for sense” translation from a third language into English or Spanish. The topic of the text will be related to the student's field of specialization. The choice of the language will be determined by its usefulness as a tool for the student's dissertation research. This exam may be repeated once. The student will choose a book or a long article together with a professor qualified to evaluate the third language (the examiner) and then notify the DGS of when the exam is to take place. The examiner will select a passage from the book or long article, which must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words. The examiner must submit the passage to the DGS for review at least two weeks prior to the exam. The student will have three hours to complete the exam, which will take place on campus and be proctored. Please note that only a printed dictionary (not an electronic source) is allowed to assist with the translation exam. For your information, please note that professors Igel and Lima are authorized to conduct examinations in Portuguese; and professors Naharro and Benito-Vessels are authorized to conduct examinations in French. Any questions about who is qualified to conduct the exam should be directed to the DGS. Please note also that dissertation advisors are not allowed to administer exams to their advisees. The examiner evaluates the exam and communicates the result directly to the DGS, who will then advise the student. The reading exam can be taken at any point prior to advancement to candidacy. 

Dissertation Proposal and Defense The final stage of the pre-candidacy period is focused on preparation for the writing of the dissertation. In consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the dissertation director and three members of the faculty, the student will write a dissertation proposal that aims to give a clear sense of the intended corpus of study, intellectual aims and methodology. The proposal should include a review of the literature, an outline of projected chapters and a selected bibliography. Proposals should be about 25-30 pages in length and are expected to be completed within four months to one year after the comprehensive examination.

The advisory committee and the candidate will then convene for the defense of the proposal. All faculty in the department are welcome to attend the defense.

The Dissertation

As stated previously, the Ph.D. is essentially a research degree. This means that coursework taken for the Ph.D. is intended as a preparation for the dissertation. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the student identify his/her field of interest as soon as possible. Early in the first semester, students should consult with one or more professors and explore the research possibilities in the field, period, genre, author(s) of his/her particular interest and select an academic advisor accordingly.

Dissertation Defense

When the candidate has completed the dissertation, the director of graduate studies notifies the Graduate School of its completion. The dean of the Graduate School, upon the recommendation of the director of graduate studies, appoints an examining committee for the candidate. This examining committee will include four members of the department and one member from another academic unit who acts as the graduate dean's representative. The committee will be chaired by the dissertation director.

All members of the examining committee will read the dissertation in its final form and take part in an oral examination in which the candidate defends his/her findings. Copies of the dissertation must be given to members of the examining committee at least 10 days before the date set for the oral examination. The Graduate School has established procedures for the dissertation examination. For details on these and all other aspects regarding the dissertation, please see the Thesis and Dissertation Forms and Guidelines. In addition, the student must provide the department with one copy of the final version of his/her dissertation.

Students are expected to defend the dissertation within 4 years of advancing to candidacy.  The director of graduate studies may approve an extension of up to one year in cases of extenuating circumstances.

Application for Graduation

Students must apply for a graduate diploma early in the semester in which they intend to receive their degree. Deadlines are published in the Schedule of Classes.

Note: Once students are done they MUST file an EXIT form with the Graduate School and, if applicable, an address change form.

Graduate Student Handbook

The purpose of the Graduate Student Handbook is to aid you in understanding the context of graduate education at UMD. The goal is to provide you with resources, information, practices, and policies that will help you in navigating the graduate experience. 

Teaching Handbook

The  Teaching Handbook is intended to familiarize graduate students with the procedures, policies, and expectations in teaching, research and administrative environments as an integral part of their education. 

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The Ph.D. in Spanish

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• PHD PROGRAM

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers a Ph.D. degree in Spanish with a focus in Spanish, Spanish-American, or Chicano/Latino literatures and cultures. The program integrates period and genre studies with work in literary and critical theory, linguistics, sociohistorical studies, and cultural studies. The Department seeks to professionalize its Ph.D. candidates not as narrow specialists but rather as scholars and critics acquainted with a range of fields that relate to and enhance their discipline. For this reason, Ph.D. students are encouraged to take  courses outside of the Department. Graduate emphases in Comparative Literature, Critical Theory, and Women’s Studies are available; other areas of study (for example, film, history) may be designed with approval from the student’s Ph.D. guidance committee. The Department has traditionally been committed to excellence in teaching, both in its own practice and in the formation of its graduates.

Upon acceptance to the doctoral program and in consultation with the Graduate Director, the Ph.D. student is assigned a primary Advisor and an alternate Advisor (in case the primary advisor is temporarily absent). The Ph.D. Advisor will head the Ph.D. Guidance Committee and presumably direct the dissertation. The Ph.D. Advisor in conjunction with the Guidance Committee guides the student in preparing for the qualifying exams, informs the student of departmental and university requirements, signs and approves the Academic Planning Guide each quarter, and serves as faculty mentor for the student. In addition, the Ph.D. Advisor informs the Graduate Director about the qualifying exam (dates, committee membership, outcome). If necessary, the Ph.D. Advisor may convoke a meeting of professors with whom the student has studied to evaluate academic progress and performance. All students are required to meet bi-annually with their Advisors during the second week of instruction in the Fall and, once again, during the second week of Spring quarter. The purpose of these meetings is to advise students in their courses of graduate study and monitor their progress towards the timely completion of the Ph.D. degree. The student may petition the Chair or Graduate Director for a change of advisor or committee (except between the qualifying exam and any retake); any change must be approved by the Graduate Director. The Ph.D. Advisor chairs the Exam Committee and organizes and coordinates the qualifying exam.

• REQUIRED COURSEWORK

The doctoral program comprises a minimum of 16 courses, that is, 8 courses beyond the 8 courses required for the M.A. degree. As part of the 8 courses required for the Ph.D., all students must take the following:

• one graduate course in Linguistics (diachronic or synchronic)
• one graduate course in Luso-Brazilian literature and culture
• Spanish 265A & B (Spanish Teaching Methodology), unless this course was taken as part of the MA coursework at UCI. Equivalent courses from other institutions may satisfy the requirement.

The remaining elective courses will be selected by the student in consultation with the Ph.D. Advisor and the Ph.D. Guidance Committee. A student may pursue the Ph.D. with an emphasis in Comparative Literature by taking a minimum of five courses in the Comparative Literature program.

Directed Reading

Students preparing to take the Ph.D. qualifying examination may enroll in a maximum of two Directed Readings (SPAN 291). All requests for Directed Readings must be formally petitioned no later than the first week of classes. Formal petitions comprise of:

• A detailed rationale for taking the course
• Reading list
• Course objective
• Evaluation components

Note that Directed Readings are taken on a S/U basis and do not count towards coursework.

Individual Study

Doctoral students are expected to enroll in regularly scheduled graduate seminars. However, whenever a topic is not available, either in whole or in part, in a graduate seminar offered in our department or in another department at UCI, students can enroll in a maximum of two Individual Studies (SPAN 290). Individual Study courses are for the purpose of expanding an existing paper or a longer project. The following rules are to be strictly observed:

•  It is recommended that students complete the required minimum coursework towards the Ph.D. before taking an Individual Studies.
•  Individual Studies MUST NOT be taken for the purposes of preparing readings for the Ph.D. qualifying examination (see Directed Reading above).

All requests for an Individual Study course must be formally petitioned no later than the first week of classes. Formal petitions comprise:

• A detailed rationale for taking the Individual Study with appropriate documentation of eligibility (i.e. completion of all required minimum coursework for the Ph.D.)
• A course description and complete reading list for the course
• Evaluation components, which must include a research paper
• An endorsement from the Ph.D. advisor

After considering the petition, the Graduate Director submits it to the Chair of the Department for final approval. Any petition for an exception to the maximum number of 2 Individual Studies and 2 Directed Readings allowed per doctoral student will only be considered in special circumstances, which must be officially documented and properly endorsed in writing by the student’s Ph.D. advisor.

Students who received an Incomplete have up to one quarter to complete and hand-in the required course assignment. The Instructor has the right to require an earlier due date on Incompletes. Should the Incomplete occur in the spring quarter, the student has until date of notification from Graduate Dean’s office in mid August to complete all required coursework. Students must file with the Graduate Program Coordinator a “Contract” appropriately completed and signed by both the student and professor. This contract should be honored no later than the ninth week of the quarter following the request for an Incomplete, so as to allow the professor enough time to evaluate the work and document the change of grade.  

A student who transfers into the doctoral program from elsewhere must take 8 graduate courses at UCI, of which 6 must be in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. A student may petition to obtain credit for the required Linguistics or Luso- Brazilian Literature course, if such courses have been taken elsewhere

In addition to Spanish and English, all doctoral candidates must take a Graduate Seminar in Luso-Brazilian Literature and culture or equivalent. A student may take an upper-division undergraduate course taught in Portuguese for which a doctoral student may register under Port. 290 following the procedure outlined above (see Individual Study, p.9). An additional foreign language (with proficiency equivalent to the 2C level) is required; this requirement may be satisfied by examination or by taking one course numbered 97 (example: Fundamentals French). The selection of the foreign language must be approved by the student's guidance committee and should be based on the specific research interests and field of study of the candidate.  

The Department recognizes its responsibility to train all Ph.D. candidates as teachers and requires that all doctoral students with no prior teaching experience complete a minimum of 3 quarters of language teaching (Spanish 399, University Teaching). For incoming students who have not taken a graduate level foreign language teaching methodology course, the seminar course (HUMAN 398A-HUMAN 398B) is required. HUMAN 398A-HUMAN 398B will be completed over the course of two quarters; HUMAN 398A will be completed during the spring quarter of the first year, and HUMAN 398B in the fall quarter of the second year. HUMAN 398A-HUMAN 398B will not be part of the 16 required courses beyond the B.A. or eight beyond the M.A. Note that these requirements may include course work completed in the master’s program; the remaining elective courses are selected with the approval of the student’s guidance committee to prepare for the doctoral examination and the dissertation. Students are encouraged to take more than the minimum number of required courses. Moreover, all doctoral students are encouraged to complete a teaching practicum by co-teaching an upper-division course with a professor and enrolling in SPANISH 292, which is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only (maximum of 2 which must be taken prior to advancement). The purpose of this course is to gain professional training in teaching literature and culture. Prior to the quarter, the professor and student will meet to design the syllabus and objectives of the course; in addition to attending class sessions, the student will also teach a minimum of three, maximum of five, class hours under the supervision of the professor. It is recommended that the student prepare a class plan for discussion with the professor prior to teaching a class. The student may also hold office hours, conduct review sessions, give exams, and help in the grading of papers and exams. 

• PH.D. QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

Upon completion of course work, the Ph.D. student advances to candidacy by passing the written and oral qualifying examinations by unanimous decision. The exam is administered by the Ph.D. Exam Committee appointed by the Department on behalf of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council. The Ph.D. Exam Committee comprises five members. Of these five members, one must be regular-rank faculty from another department at UCI. This committee is chaired by the candidate's Ph.D. Advisor. Ph.D. exams must be completed within two quarters after finishing coursework. Failure to do so will result in termination of Teaching Assistantship. The student must submit the Ph.D. Exam Reading List (with the rationale for the two topics explained on page 13) for approval of all members of the Committee at least one quarter before the intended exam date. After the Reading List has been approved, it is considered final. The final version of the Reading List must be submitted to the graduate coordinator; he/she will date the final version and place a copy in the student’s file.

There are several faculty Ph.D. committees which should be distinguished to avoid confusion. Remember that the student has the right to petition changes in advisor, director, and committee membership so the configuration of any given committee may change considerably over the course of time. The Ph.D. Guidance Committee is the initial committee of three faculty members selected by the student and approved by the Graduate Director. Students who have completed the Masters program at UCI will participate in the selection of the committee members. Those students entering the doctoral program after attaining their Masters elsewhere, in consultation with the Graduate Director will be assigned a temporary Guidance Committee in accordance with the student's stated interests on the application for admission. The Ph.D. Guidance Committee will evaluate the transcripts of transfer students to determine how many courses will apply toward coursework requirements for the Ph.D. For all beginning Ph.D. students, the Guidance Committee convened by the Ph.D. Advisor will help the student map out an appropriate course of studies that will prepare the student for the qualifying exams and the writing of the doctoral thesis. As the date of the qualifying exams approaches, the Ph.D. Guidance Committee will form the core of the Ph.D. Exam Committee. The Exam Committee comprises five faculty members, including a professor from another department at UCI. The committee, chaired by the Ph.D. Advisor, will read the student's written exams and participate in the oral exam. The Exam Committee, by unanimous vote, will determine if the student passes the qualifying exam. After successful completion of the qualifying exams, the three core members of the Exam Committee may comprise the Ph.D. Dissertation Committee, chaired by and including the Ph.D. Dissertation Director. The main functions of this committee are to participate in the dissertation proposal, read drafts of the dissertation distributed by the Dissertation Director or the student, propose changes or comments, and participate in the dissertation defense. Upon successful completion of the defense the committee will accept the finished dissertation by signing on the title page.

The Ph.D. Qualifying Examination is an important part of a graduate education. It requires that students demonstrate an appropriate level of scholarly competence in their chosen fields, independently of knowledge acquired through coursework and of their specific interests for doctoral dissertations. It is designed to help students develop the following professional skills:

• The ability to work independently, to gather information and process it critically.
• The transmission of knowledge acquired in the form of written responses, as well as the ability to expand upon these in an intellectual dialogue with professors during the oral part of the exam.

Students’ competency in their fields of expertise must be proven at four basic levels in the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination:

• Knowledge of texts, authors and literary movements.
• Familiarity with historical contexts and intellectual currents relevant to the above
• Ability to draw from and critically engage major secondary texts relevant to the chosen fields of study
• Capacity for theoretical discussion of themes, topics or problems recurrent in those fields.

Any student unable to demonstrate adequate capacity in any of the four areas outlined above and/or unable to comment or discuss texts included on the Ph.D. Examination Reading List will be subject to failure in the exam, and be required to repeat it either in whole or in part. The Ph.D. Examination or any part thereof can only be repeated once. Please note that performance in coursework is independent of and will be evaluated apart from performance in the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. After successfully passing the Comprehensive examination, students will be required to meet with their Dissertation Committee and present a Dissertation Prospectus. This meeting should occur the quarter immediately following the PhD examination. The Committee will make comments and provide guidance to the student.

Advancement to candidacy must occur at least one quarter before the final quarter of enrollment.

The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination will consist of the following three major components: 1. Part One: A written examination in the Major Field to be studied. The student is required to propose a critical problem or topic in the form of a rationale of about two pages followed by a complete bibliography of both primary and secondary sources. The critical problem must have a historical (diachronical) perspective that will cover one of the representative fields in the profession, such as Modern and Contemporary Latin American literature, Medieval Spanish literature, Modern and Contemporary Spanish literature, and the like. The student will develop the problem in close consultation with the main advisor and the members of the PhD Exam Committee. Initial versions of the draft will circulate among members of the committee so that all will provide input. Later on, the members of the committee will draft a number of questions that the student must answer in the form of an essay in a period of 24 hours. This part of the exam is designed to provide students with an extended knowledge of their chosen field of study.

2. Part Two: A written examination in a Topic or critical problem, which may cover a specific research interest within the student's major field. Students will be required to write a two-page rationale for the topic accompanied by pertinent bibliography. The student will develop the topic in close consultation with the main advisor and the members of the PhD Exam Committee. Initial versions of the draft will circulate among members of the committee so that all will provide input. Later on, the members of the committee will draft a number of questions that the student must answer in the form of an essay in a period of 24 hours. This part of the exam is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop a more specific topic that should form part of their future dissertation project. Students will be encouraged to approach the topic from theoretical and/or interdisciplinary perspectives.

3. Oral Examination: The oral exam is approximately 2 hours long and includes discussion of the written exams. Students will also be asked to respond to other questions based on their reading lists. At the conclusion of the oral exam, the committee will issue an oral evaluation on the exams and inform the student if (s)he has been advanced to candidacy or if one or more parts of the exam must be retaken.

Procedures:  The Ph.D. Advisor chairs the Exam Committee and organizes and supervises the qualifying exams. The written exams must be taken within the same week (i.e., Sunday - Saturday, but not Tuesday - Tuesday, etc.) and the oral exam is scheduled within 2 weeks of the written exams. Two or three questions shall be given on each of the written sections. The Graduate Division stipulates that a student can only take the Qualifying Exam twice. “If the student does not pass the written examination, the student may not proceed with the second part of the exam, i.e., the oral portion. Once the student has taken the written exams, the membership of the Exam Committee cannot be altered. The student must retake any part(s) of the exam within 2 quarters of the first exam. The student will be provided with a copy of the exam to prepare for the oral; this copy is for the private use of the student and must not be circulated for commentary.

Upon the successful completion of the qualifying exam, a Ph.D. student must choose a Dissertation Director. Normally, that Director is the same individual as the Ph.D. Advisor, but students —if they so desire— have the option of choosing a different faculty member as their Dissertation Director. The Dissertation Director, in consultation with the Dissertation Committee, helps the student choose a topic, prepare a dissertation proposal for committee feedback and approval, coordinates and chairs the dissertation defense, and oversees the preparation and completion of the doctoral dissertation. The director acts as liaison between the student and other faculty members of the committee and also informs the Department of the plans and progress of the student.

• PHD DISSERTATION

A dissertation topic will be chosen by the candidate in consultation with her/his Dissertation Director and Dissertation Committee and will normally fall within the major field covered by the qualifying exams. Three faculty members are chosen by the student and appointed by the Department Chair, on behalf of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council, to constitute the Dissertation Committee that supervises the preparation and completion of the doctoral dissertation. The Dissertation Committee assumes the academic direction of the thesis, and the Dissertation Director wields the administrative responsibility for supervising the thesis and for informing the Department of the plans and progress of the student.  

Procedure: In an initial meeting between the committee and the student, the candidate presents a formal dissertation proposal to the committee, who will evaluate and approve it. The proposal should be 4-7 pages, single-spaced, not including bibliography. The meeting must take place during the quarter following the successful completion of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. A copy of the proposal will be kept in the student’s file. The student will then submit drafts of chapters or sections of the thesis to the Dissertation Director who will evaluate and correct the drafts. When the Dissertation Director approves the draft, the student will circulate the draft to the other members of the Dissertation Committee who will submit their commentary and suggestions to the student with a copy to the Dissertation Director. While writing the dissertation, the student enrolls in Spanish 299.

Dissertation Length: The dissertation must be at least 170 pages, not including bibliography. It must be written in 12-point font (Times New Roman or equivalent), and follow the UCI Theses and Dissertations Manual 

Dissertation Defense: In order to be able to meet the deadlines for graduation, the dissertation defense must take place one week prior to the quarter deadlines established by the Office of Graduate Studies (see webpage for guidelines and deadlines at - http://www.rgs.uci.edu/grad/students/thesis.htm) during the residency of the candidate. For example, if a student plans to graduate in the spring, the filing deadline for all documents is usually during the first week of June. The student must turn in a complete draft of the dissertation to his/her committee at least five weeks before the planned defense date. At that time, a copy must also be turned in to the Graduate Program Coordinator, who must confirm by email to the respective committee the completion of the draft of the dissertation, so that the exact defense date can be established. The defense of the dissertation will occur upon its completion during the residency of the candidate.  

The committee certifies the acceptance of a completed final dissertation with the signatures of the individual members on the title page. The finished dissertation is then forwarded to the Graduate Division.  

Contact Spanish and Portuguese

322 Humanities Hall Irvine, CA 92697-5275

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Spanish Linguistics, PHD

On this page:, at a glance: program details.

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Spanish Linguistics

The PhD program in Spanish linguistics offers advanced interdisciplinary graduate training that combines key areas in second language acquisition and teaching, applied linguistics, heritage language research and pedagogy, sociolinguistics and bilingualism. With the supportive guidance from their advisor, students are well prepared for a productive career in the discipline of Hispanic studies.

Focus Areas

Spanish heritage studies and sociolinguistics:  Advanced interdisciplinary graduate training that combines key areas in Spanish heritage language research and pedagogy, bilingualism and Spanish sociolinguistics

Second language acquisition and teaching: Advanced interdisciplinary graduate training that combines key areas in second language acquisition and teaching, applied linguistics, heritage language pedagogy and language program administration.

Courses and Electives

The coursework for each student is individualized and based upon the student's previous training, research goals and mentor and committee consensus. Our research-heavy program requires students to complete a written comprehensive exam, prospectus and dissertation.

Meet the faculty

The 84-hour program of study includes a written comprehensive exam, a prospectus, and a dissertation. Prospective doctoral candidates should have a passion and interest in Spanish linguistics.

Under-represented minorities

Students in phd programs, international students, degree requirements, curriculum plan options.

• 84 credit hours, a foreign language exam, a written comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (3 credit hours) SPA 543 Structure of Spanish (3)

Track (9 credit hours)

Electives or Research (41 credit hours)

Other Requirements (19 credit hours) COE 502 Introduction to Data Analysis (3) GRD 791 Seminar: Preparing Future Faculty and Scholars (PFx) (1) SPA 544 Spanish Phonology (3) SPA 546 Heritage Language Pedagogy (3) SPA 598 Topic: Research Methods for Linguists (3) SPA 598 Topic: Sociolinguistics (3) SPA 598 Topic: Spanish Second Language Acquisition (3)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) SPA 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information Students choose from two available tracks: Spanish heritage studies and sociolinguistics, or second language acquisition and teaching. Students should see the academic unit for the approved course list for each track.

Each candidate is expected to demonstrate a reading knowledge of one language other than English and Spanish. This language requirement must be satisfied before the candidate is eligible to take the comprehensive examination.

Other requirement courses may be substituted with approval of the academic unit.

When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used toward this degree. If students do not have a previously awarded master's degree, the 30 credit hours of coursework is made up of electives or research to reach the required 84 credit hours.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in Spanish or a related field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

Applicants are required to submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• two letters of recommendation
• written statement
• professional resume
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, career opportunities.

The doctoral program in Spanish linguistics prepares students for entrance into an academic profession (teacher, scholar) as well as for a profession outside of academia. Professionals with the valued skills developed through this degree program can confidently move into business, diplomatic, government and international fields.

Career examples include:

• foreign language and linguistics teachers and professors
• instructional design coordinators
• interpreters and translators
• reporters and correspondents
• social and community service managers
• teachers and professors of area, ethnic and cultural studies

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-6281

Application fee waiver

Applicants facing financial hardship may request a waiver for their application fee. Please complete the online application up to the fee payment page. Please send both Ashley Lawless ([email protected]) and Xiaoqiao Ling ([email protected]) a brief essay (about 150 words) describing why paying the application fee is difficult in your situation, along with your application ID number. If your request is accepted, we will let you know that you can submit your application without paying the fee. The School of International Letters and Cultures has established a limited budget for these waivers. Requests will be considered as they are received until the budget is spent.

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Spanish and Portuguese, PhD

The Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese, a five-year Ph.D. program within the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, offers a rigorous professional formation in academic research, writing, and pedagogy. The program prepares students in a range of critical and methodological approaches to the study of literature, culture, and theory in Spain and Latin America. Students may complement their areas of specialization with course work in a second Romance language or in other disciplines such as Comparative Literature, English, History, and Philosophy.

Interdisciplinary study is also invited through participation in the many lectures and colloquia sponsored by the various Graduate Groups and affiliated research institutes and centers at Penn. All graduate students teach undergraduate courses in Spanish language and Hispanic culture, for which they attend extensive teacher training seminars and workshops. Faculty members are committed to enhancing graduate students' preparation for professional life through annual seminars on professional concerns and through comprehensive job placement support. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese publishes The Hispanic Review, and graduate students in Spanish and Portuguese may serve as editorial assistants to the journal.

For more information: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/hispanic-portuguese-studies/graduate

The Ph.D. program in Spanish and Portuguese is planned as a five-year sequence. Requirements for the Ph.D. include:

A total of twenty (20) graduate courses , including:

A course in Literary Theory

SPAN 6060 Pedagogy Across the Spanish Curriculum

SPAN 8000 Field Exam (Comprehensive Exam preparation)

A Qualifying Evaluation —In order to be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, students must pass successfully a qualifying evaluation. At the beginning of a student's second year, the faculty will evaluate all aspects of the student's performance during his or her first year in the program.

Foreign Language Requirements —translation exams in two (2) foreign languages appropriate to the student's prospective field of specialization.

Comprehensive Exams —an oral exam in the fall of the second year and a written exam in the fall semester of the third year.

Dissertation Proposal —following successful fulfillment of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examinations, the candidate will shape a dissertation project and writing schedule by June 1 st  of their fourth year.

• Dissertation —the presentation of a dissertation is the final requirement for the Ph.D.  

Dissertation Defense —a public, oral presentation of the dissertation will take place during the semester in which the student will graduate.

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2024 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

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Doctorate (PhD) in Spanish

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers a comprehensive and innovative graduate program in the literature and cultures of the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian world. We offer courses that cover a range of chronological, geographical, and generic categories, including Peninsular and Latin American literature and visual culture from the pre-modern period to the present day, as well as courses in literary, aesthetic, and political theory. Our program is distinguished by cross-unit collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches. Our faculty is dynamic, professionally active, and committed to working closely with students to prepare them for careers in university teaching and research.

The PhD in Spanish prepares students for careers in university teaching and research through an integrated program of advanced course work and the preparation of a doctoral dissertation. Each program is flexible enough to provide for comprehensive coverage in the student's primary area while assuring ample coverage of the broad field of Hispanic literatures and cultures.

Recent Publications by Faculty in Literature & Cultural Studies

2022  Fraser, B. Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz . New York: Oxford University Press.

  2022  Fraser, B. Barcelona, City of Comics: Urbanism, Architecture and Design in Postdictatorial Spain . Foreword featuring original comic by Pere Joan. Albany: SUNY Press.

  2022  Fraser, B., Spalding, S. (eds). Transnational Railway Cultures: Trains in Music, Literature, Film and Visual Art. Series: Explorations in Mobility, vol. 6. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books.

2022 Murphy, Kaitlin and Yifat Gutman, Kerry Whigham, and Jenny Wüstenberg, et al. Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

2021 Arias, Santa, and Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, eds. The Routledge Hispanic Studies Companion to Colonial Latin America and the Caribbean (1492-1898). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

2021 Bezerra, K, Graciela Ravelli, and Teresa Barbosa. Representações do espaço público (Special volume). Revista Aletria 31.4.

2021  Fraser, B. Obsession, Urban Aesthetics and the Iberian City: The Partial Madness of Modern Urban Culture . Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.

2020 Harden, Faith. Arms and Letters: Military Life Writing in Early Modern Spain . University of Toronto Press.

2019  Fraser, B. Visible Cities, Global Comics: Urban Images and Spatial Form . Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

2019  Fraser, B. The Art of Pere Joan: Space, Landscape and Comics Form . Austin: University of Texas Press.

2018 Acosta, A. "Unsettling Coloniality: Readings and Interrogations". Special Issue edited by Abraham Acosta. Journal of Commonwealth and Postscolonial Studies.

2018  Fraser, B. Cognitive Disability Aesthetics: Visual Culture, Disability Representations, and the (In)Visibility of Cognitive Difference . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 

2018 Murphy, Kaitlin M. Mapping Memory: Visuality, Affect, and Embodied Politics in the Americas. Fordham Univ Press.

2017 Morales, Mónica. Reading Inebriation in Early Colonial Peru . (1st edition Ashgate 2012; 1st reprint edition Routledge 2017)

CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES :

2023 Arias, S. “La reinvención de la Isla San Juan de Puerto Rico bajo la Ilustración: desfronterización e imperialidad.” Cuadernos de Literatura en el Caribe Hispánico e Hispanoamérica . Special Issue: Colonialismo y Colonialidad en el Caribe. Forthcoming.

2023  Fraser, B. “La trisomia 21, la discapacitat intel·lectual i l’escriptura de la vida a Barcelona.” Catalan Review , pp. forthcoming.

  2023  Fraser, B. “‘Fraught with Background’: Narration, Monstration and Style in the Biblical Adaptations of R. Crumb and Chester Brown.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics , pp. preprint published online in 2021.

2022 Bezerra, K. “O sol se põe em São Paulo; Noções de pertencimento num mundo globalizado.” Revista ANPOLL (forthcoming).

2022 Bezerra, K. “Yde Blumenschein.” Memorial do Memoricídio . Vol.2. Ed. Constância Lima Duarte. (forthcoming 2022)

2022 Fitch, M. "The Latin American Novel and New Technologies". Oxford Handbook of the Latin American Novel . Ignacio López-Calvo and Juan E. de Castro, eds. Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, pp. 542-554.

2022  Fraser, B. “The Poetry of Snails: The Shown, the Intervened, and the Signified in Duelo de caracoles (2010) by Sonia Pulido and Pere Joan.” European Comic Art 15.2, forthcoming.

2022 Harden, Faith. “Estebanillo González.” A Companion to the Spanish Picaresque Novel . Edited by Edward H Friedman. London: Tamesis, pp. 135-146.

2022 Murphy, Kaitlin. “Memory Mapping as Activist Intervention.” In The Memory Activism Handbook, edited by Yifat Gutman, Jenny Wüstenberg, et al. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

  2022  Murphy, Kaitlin and Kerry Whigham. “Introduction to Memory Activism Practices.” In The Memory Activism Handbook, edited by Yifat Gutman, Jenny Wüstenberg, et al. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

2022 Bezerra, K. “Afterword.” Contemporary Brazilian Cities, Culture, and Resistance . Ed. Sophia Beal and Gustavo Prieto. Hispanic Issues On Line 28, pp.248-257.

2021 Arias, Santa, and Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel . “Between Colonialism and Coloniality: Colonial Latin American and Caribbean Studies Today.” The Routledge Hispanic Studies Companion to Colonial Latin America and the Caribbean (1492-1898). Edited by Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel and Santa Arias. Routledge. 1-40.

2021 Bezerra, K., Teresa Barbosa, and Graciela Ravetti. “Introduction” and “Afterword” to Special Issue. Representações do espaço público (Special volume). Eds. Kátia Bezerra, Graciela Ravelli, and Teresa Barbosa. Revista Aletria 31.4, pp. 9-21.

2021 Bezerra, K. “Adriana Lisboa: revisitando a cidade a partir de um espaço de enunciação fronteiriço.” Panoramas da literatura brasileira 2020: drama, poesia, prosa e outras escrituras . Org. Rafael Climent-Espino, and Michel Mingote. São Paulo: Editora PUC-São Paulo, pp.

2021 Fitch M. “Chilean Digital Literature” in The Cambridge History of Chilean Literature . Ed. Ignacio López-Calvo. Cambridge University Press. 612-626.

2021 Fitch, M. "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Hispanic Studies, New Technology and the Future of the Profession"  Language, Image, Power: Luso-Hispanic Cultural Studies. Susan Larson, ed. New York: Routledge. 171-190.

2021 Fitch, M. “In memoriam, David William Foster. The Conversation We Never Had” Chasqui: Revista de literatura latinoamericana 50.2. 

2021  Fraser, B. “The Sonic Force of the Machine Ensemble: Transnational Objectification in Steve Reich’s Different Trains (1988).” In Transnational Railway Cultures: Trains in Music, Literature, Film and Visual Art. Edited by B. Fraser, S. Spalding. Series: Explorations in Mobility, vol. 6. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books, pp. 46-63.

  2021  Fraser, B. “Down Syndrome Ensembles, Autonomy and Disability Rights in The Grown-Ups (2016) by Maite Alberdi.” Chasqui 50.2, pp. 233-52.

  2021  Fraser, B. “‘A Sort of Enchanted Place’: Town and Country Mysticism and the Architectural Façade in Seth’s Clyde Fans .” ImageText: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies 13.1

. https://imagetextjournal.com/a-sort-of-enchanted-place-town-and-country-mysticism-and-the-architectural-facade-in-seths-clyde-fans/ .

  2021  Fraser, B. “Tactile Comics, Disability Studies and the Mind’s Eye: On ‘A Boat Tour’ in Venice with Max.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 12.5, pp. 737-49.

  2021  Fraser, B. “Forging the Iberian Comic in Post-Dictatorial Barcelona: Space, Place and Nonplace in Pere Joan’s Passatger en trànsit (1984).” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 22.3, pp. 367-86.

  2021  Fraser, B. “El ingenio visual de Miguel Noguera: el noveno arte vs la literatura en el cómic ‘Camilo José Cela’ (2010).” Bulletin of Spanish Visual Studies 5.1, pp. 111-33.

  2021  Fraser, B. “Architecture, Urbanistic Ideology, and the Poetic-Analytic Documentary Mode in Mercado de futuros (2011) by Mercedes Álvarez.” In Architecture and the Urban in Spanish Film . Edited by Susan Larson. Bristol: Intellect. pp. 22-37.

2021 Geyer, Charlie. “Abject Failure and Utopian Longing in the Lower East Side: The Poetry and Performance of Miguel Piñero.” Centro Journal , 33(2), 4-35.

2021 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Fear and Loathing in Monuments: Rethinking the Politics and Practices of Monumentality and Monumentalization.” Memory Studies 14.6, pp. 1143-1158.

2021 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Art as Atrocity Prevention: The Auschwitz Institute, Artivism, and the 2019 Venice Biennale,” Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal 15.1, pp. 68–96.

  2020 Bezerra, K. “JR’s Morro da Providência Exhibit: A Politics of Cultural Intervention.” Luso-Brazilian Review 57.1, pp. 58-76.

2020 Fitch, M. “Los estudiantes huelen sinceridad” in Garate, Alberto Rivera, El profesorado frente a la pandemia: Relatos desde el curso del desastre . CETYS Universidad. Barcelona: Ediciones Octaedro, 2020. 69-76.

2020  Fraser, B. “Paco Roca’s graphic novel La casa (2015) as Architectural Elegy.” In Spanish Comics: Historical and Cultural Perspectives . Ed. Anne Magnussen. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books. pp. 182-201. [Reprint of 2018 journal article from European Comic Art ]

  2020  Fraser, B. “Tete Montoliu, Blindness and Barcelona in the Key of Modern Jazz.” Catalan Review 34, pp. 1-17.

  2020  Fraser, B. “Trains, Time and Technology: Teaching ‘Mecanópolis’ through Mobility and Science Fiction Studies.” Teaching the Works of Miguel de Unamuno . Ed. Luis Álvarez-Castro. New York: MLA. pp. 112-18.

2020 Morales, Mónica. "Se puede hablar de solidaridad y defensa en la narrativa de Guamán Poma sobre los Indios en Buen gobierno?" Letras . 91.133, pp. 211-232.

2020 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Braiding Borders”: Performance as Care and Resistance on the US-Mexico Border.” TDR: The Drama Review 64.4, pp. 72-83.

2020 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Witnessing the Past and the Present: Photography and Guatemala’s Fight for Historical Dialogue.” In Historical Dialogue and the Prevention of Mass Atrocities , edited by Elazar Barkan, Constantin Goschler, and James Waller, 235-252. London: Routledge Press.

2019   Arias, Santa.  “Raza, colonialidad e Ilustración: Caminando la Ciudad de los Reyes.” Bibliographica Americana: Revista Interdisciplinaria de Estudios Coloniales 15 (2019): 5-20. 

2019 Bezerra, K. “ A casa Cai: Unveiling Geographies of Exclusion and Violence.” Revista Diadorim 19, pp. 99-108.

2019 Bezerra, K. “Milton Hatoum: Redesenhando fronteiras em uma cidade em transição.” De Oriente a Ocidente: Estudos da Associação Internacional de Lusofonistas. vol. IV, pp. 205-218.

2019  Fraser, B. “On Polysemiotic Interactions, Visual Paratexts, and Image-Specific Translation: The Case of Rodolfo Santullo and Matías Bergara’s Dengue (2012/2015).” Studies in Comics 10.2, pp. 279-95.

  2019  Fraser, B. “Joaquim Jordà and Nuria Villazán’s Mones com la Becky [Monkeys Like Becky] (1999) and the New Global Disability Documentary Cinema.” Disability Studies Quarterly 39.2, no pag.

  2019  Fraser, B. “Obsessively Writing the Modern City: The Partial Madness of Urban Planning Culture and the Case of Arturo Soria y Mata in Madrid, Spain.” Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies 13.1, pp. 21-37.

2019 Geyer, Charlie. “Creolizing the Canon: Manuel Puig, Junot Díaz, and the Latino Poetics of Relation.” The Comparatist , 43 , 173–193.

2019 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Against Precarious Abstraction: Bearing Witness to Migration Through Moysés Zúñiga Santiago’s “La Bestia” Photographs.” Journal of Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture 1.1, pp. 7-22.

2018 Acosta, A. “Crisis and Migration in Posthegemonic Times: Primitive Accumulation and Labor in La Bestia.” Dialectical Imaginaries: Materialist Approaches to U.S. Latino/a Literature in the Age of Neoliberalism . Marcial Gonzalez and Carlos Gallego editors. University of Michigan Press. Pages 241-262.

2018 Acosta, A. “The Posthegemonic Turn.” New Approaches to Latin American Studies: Culture and Power . Juan Poblete, editor. New York; London: Routledge. Pages 255-271.

2018  Acosta, A. Introduction to Special Issue, "Unsettling Coloniality: Readings and Interrogations". Edited by Abraham Acosta. Journal of Commonwealth and Postscolonial Studies . 6.1: 3-16.

2018 Bezerra, K. “Urban Space in the Lusophone World: Contesting Inequality and Constructing Citizenship.” Edited in collaboration with Leila Lehnen and Jeremy Lehnen. [Special section] Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies ..

2018  Fraser, B. “El lenguaje visual innovador de Pere Joan: el pictograma analógico frente a la cultura digital en el cómic español contemporáneo.” Romance Studies 36.4, pp. 180-95.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Urban Difference ‘On the Move’: Disabling Mobility in the Spanish Film El cochecito (Marco Ferreri, 1960).” Freakish Encounters . Ed. Sara Muñoz-Muriana and Analola Santana . Hispanic Issues Online , vol. 20, pp. 234-51.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Miguel Brieva, quincemayista : Art, Politics and Comics Form in the 15-M Graphic Novel Lo que (me) está pasando (2015).” Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World 8.1, pp. 42-62.

  2018  Fraser, B., A. Masterson-Algar and S. L. Vilaseca. “Cultural Studies, Behind the Scenes: Notes on the Craft of Interdisciplinary Scholarship.” Journal of Urban Cultural Studies 5.1, pp. 3-14.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Paco Roca’s graphic novel La casa (2015) as Architectural Elegy.” European Comic Art 11.1, pp. 87-106.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Visual/Geo-Spatial Knowledge and the Digital Library: On the ‘Mutaciones’ Section of Agustín Fernández Mallo’s  El hacedor (de Borges), Remake (2011).” Hispanic Studies Review 3.1, pp. 63-77.

  2018  Fraser, B. “The Public Animal in Barcelona: Urban Form, the Natural World and Socio-Spatial Transgression in the Comic “Un cocodril a l’Eixample” (1987) by Pere Joan and Emilio Manzano.” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 19.1, pp. 89-110.

2018 Geyer, Charlie. “Rethinking Todorov.” Chasqui , 47(2), 176-189.

2018 Harden, Faith. "Hacia una historia de la autobiografía militar del siglo XVII: el militar perfecto y las «vidas» de soldados." Aspectos actuales del hispanismo mundial . De Gruyter, pp. 317-324.

  EDITORS-IN-CHIEF OF ACADEMIC JOURNALS IN LITERATURE AND CULTURAL STUDIES

Arias, S. Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies Fitch, M. Studies in Latin American Popular Culture (University of Texas Press) Fraser, B. Hispania (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) Fraser, B. Journal of Urban Cultural Studies

BOOK SERIES EDITORS/DIRECTORS

Fitch, M. Co-director, Studies in Latin American Culture and Literature Series, Anthem Press.  Fraser, B. Founding Co-editor, Hispanic Urban Studies Book Series. Palgrave McMillan.

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Department of Romance Languages & Literatures

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Spanish and Latin American

The Ph.D. Program in Spanish and Latin American Literatures draws on the talents of a diverse faculty whose research interests span Spain and the Americas, from Medieval and colonial multiculturalism to postmodern currents. Our specialties include Renaissance humanism, the transatlantic Baroque, nineteenth-century nation building, and contemporary negotiations between culture and politics, including gender studies and Latino studies. Language is the core of literary analysis, and our faculty teaches texts in the original, primarily in Spanish and Portuguese, but often including other languages (Arabic, Catalan, French, Galician, Hebrew, Mapuche, Quechua, etc.). At the doctoral level, our classes are small seminars and discussion groups, some with specialized foci and others with a panoramic approach.

The graduate student at RLL can expect a vibrant intellectual life, which promotes originality and rigor in students, encouraging them to explore new close and contextual readings in our own field, and also interdisciplinary paths across the university. Some students develop clusters of courses in other sections of the Department, which allows them to pursue comparative studies in Romance languages, while other students develop links to allied disciplines, such as philosophy, film studies, government, women's studies, African and African American Studies.

The collaboration among faculty members and our graduate students in a range of intellectual projects had grown steadily and encourages our future colleagues to gain experience in the administration of conferences, the design of courses, and the edition and translation of books and manuscripts. Currently, our faculty sponsors conferences and lecture series on Hispanic Cultures, Gay and Lesbian Studies, Cultural Agents, at the Center for the Humanities, as well as research seminar sessions in the Houghton Rare Books Library, and events at the Real Colegio Complutense and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). A new initiative on Cultural Agents, housed at the Center for Government and International Studies, promotes the social contributions to be made through humanist scholarship.

Our current distinguished program in Hispanic Literatures continues an illustrious history which dates from the nineteenth century, when figures such as George Ticknor and Henry Longfellow fostered the study and dissemination of the literatures of Spain in the U.S. During the twentieth century, the program grew to include stellar Latin American figures such as Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa and other writers who have taught in our Department, together with renowned scholars including Raimundo Lida, Juan Marichal, Dámaso Alonso, Jorge Guillén, Claudio Guillén, Stephen Gilman. Yet today, our greatest source of pride are the young colleagues who have graduated from our program and who enrich the intellectual lives of many prominent universities, including Harvard.

Diana Sorensen  

To see our program requirements, see the  GSAS Policies .

Graduate Contacts

Kathy Hanley (Graduate Program Coordinator)

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Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese

T he Graduate Program in  Spanish and Portuguese , a five-year Ph.D. program within the Department of  Spanish and Portuguese,  offers a rigorous professional formation in academic research, writing, and pedagogy.   The program prepares students in a range of critical and methodological approaches to the study of literature, culture, and theory in Spain and Latin America. Students may complement their areas of specialization with course work in a second language or in other disciplines such as Comparative Literature, English, History, and Philosophy. Interdisciplinary study is also invited through participation in the many lectures and colloquia sponsored by the various Graduate Groups and affiliated research institutes and centers at Penn. All graduate students have the opportunity to teach undergraduate courses in Spanish language and Hispanic culture, for which they attend extensive teacher training seminars and workshops. Faculty members are committed to enhancing graduate students' preparation for professional life through annual seminars on professional concerns and through comprehensive job placement support. The Department of  Spanish and Portuguese  publishes The Hispanic Review , and graduate students in Hispanic Studies may serve as editorial assistants to the journal.

Spanish Literature and Culture, PhD

• Program description
• At a glance
• Degree requirements
• Admission requirements
• Tuition information
• Application deadlines
• Career opportunities
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Language, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Spanish Studies, foreign, literature, spanish

Develop an advanced knowledge of Peninsular, Latin American and Mexican American literature and cultural production. Coursework and mentoring by renowned faculty help you develop a sound knowledge of genre, periodization and scholarly research in the field.

The PhD program in Spanish literature and culture is intended to be as flexible as possible, establish broad areas of competence through an individualized program of study set with the supportive guidance of the student's advisor.

Graduate courses in literature and cultural studies focus on the production, distribution and reception of texts and their linguistics, either written or visual (e.g., photographs, films, visual narratives), and their linguistic, rhetorical and literary structure and functions, with an emphasis on literary theories and aesthetics. Many literature courses explore issues relating to gender, class, race, ethnicity, globalization, environmental humanities, disability theories, posthuman theories and digital humanities.

• College/school: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Location: Tempe
• STEM-OPT extension eligible: No

84 credit hours, a foreign language exam, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (3 credit hours) SPA 545 Concepts of Literary Criticism (3)

Literature and Culture Electives (51 credit hours)

Electives (6 credit hours)

Research (12 credit hours) SPA 792 Research (12)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) SPA 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information Coursework for the literature and culture electives must be SPA literature or culture content courses and approved by the student's supervisory committee. Students may not put SPA 596 Second Language Methodologies toward this requirement.

Each candidate is expected to demonstrate a reading knowledge of one language other than English and Spanish. This language requirement must be satisfied before the candidate is eligible to take the comprehensive examination.

The written and oral comprehensive examination, designed to ascertain the candidate's knowledge and orientation in the field of study and competency to proceed with the dissertation, is required at or near the end of coursework.

When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used for this degree.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in Spanish or equivalent from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants from other academic backgrounds with relevant coursework in Spanish language and cultural studies also may be evaluated by the admissions committee.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• writing sample
• personal statement
• three letters of recommendation
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

It is recommended but not required that students applying for admission to the program submit GRE scores; this is especially advisable for applicants for the Spanish Graduate Fellowship Award. ASU does not accept the GRE® General Test at home edition.

Candidates for the program are required to demonstrate a near-native oral proficiency in Spanish and to show that they have developed a high order of expository prose in English and Spanish by presenting a term paper or a chapter of their master's degree thesis as their writing sample.

Professionals with this degree can confidently move into the academic profession, careers in education, including in museums and libraries, and professions outside academia, such as in the publishing industry, media, nonprofits and international relations. Skills developed through this program are valued for teaching positions, translation work or career opportunities in larger sectors, such as government, diplomacy and international business.

Career examples include positions as:

• area, ethnic and cultural studies teachers and professors
• foreign language and literature teachers and professors
• instructional design coordinators
• interpreters and translators
• reporters and correspondents
• social and community service managers

School of International Letters and Cultures | DH 318 [email protected] 480-965-6281

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PhD Program in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature

The PhD program in Spanish and Portuguese combines rigorous coursework with individual research in Spanish, Latin American, and/or Luso-Brazilian language and literature. 

Students admitted to the program will have the opportunity to work with world-renowned faculty with a wide range of focus areas and research interests.  In addition, the program boasts a dynamic student body representing 12 countries and numerous academic and professional backgrounds.   

Areas of scholarly focus in the Department range in historical scope from medieval Iberia and colonial Latin America to contemporary literature, culture, and art, drawing on critical vocabularies in visual studies, performance studies, cultural studies, continental philosophy, psychoanalysis, postcolonial studies, queer studies, film studies, biopolitics, and ethics, among others.

The program consistently ranks among the best in the country and every year attracts a diverse and highly competitive applicant pool. The Department typically accepts between four and six fully-funded students annually.  

For information about the admissions process, please visit  Admissions FAQs  and GSAS Application Resource Center .  If you have questions about the admissions process that are not addressed on either of these two pages, please contact Tyler Ingram at [email protected].

Director of Graduate Studies: Professor Zeb Tortorici

PhD Student Manual

• Click here to view PhD Student Manual

College of Arts & Sciences

MS and PhD in Spanish Linguistics

Spanish linguistics.

M.S. Degree

 1. Director of Graduate Studies

Students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for Spanish Linguistics any time they have questions about the program. Students are responsible for checking with the DGS at least once per semester to make certain that they are not only taking the appropriate courses but are also following the correct sequence of courses. New students must meet with the DGS prior to the beginning of the Fall semester. Continuing students must meet with the DGS during pre-registration. All students must meet again with their DGS during add/drop period if changes to their registration are necessary, as students cannot change their course selection without prior approval from the DGS.

2. Course and Examination Requirements

The M.S. curriculum includes courses in the following five areas of specialization: Applied Linguistics, History/World Spanishes, Phonology/Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics & Pragmatics. Courses are divided into two Tiers. Students must take all courses in Tier I and four courses from Tier II. Tier I courses need to be taken before Tier II courses, except for History of the Spanish Language and World Spanishes, which can be taken in either order.

The following five courses from Tier I:

Spanish Teaching Methodology

History of the Spanish Language

Semantics & Pragmatics I (SPAN 431/531)

Phonology and Morphology I

Generative Syntax I

Any four courses from Tier II:

Instructed Second Language Acquisition

World Spanishes

Semantics & Pragmatics II

Phonology and Morphology II

Generative Syntax II

In addition to courses from Tiers I and II, students take one elective course in any field in linguistics or related area, such as philosophy, cognition, computer science, or bilingual education. In the fourth semester students wishing to write a Qualifying Paper in order to continue to the Ph.D. sign up for Continuous Registration (SPAN 999), in addition to two regular courses.

3. Qualifying  Paper

The purpose of the Qualifying Paper (QP) is to give the student an opportunity to show that he or she is able to conduct the kind of independent research that is necessary to write a doctoral dissertation. Students may consult faculty regarding the viability and originality of their proposed topics or any questions that come up along the way; faculty will not read drafts nor will they provide written feedback. The QP may be an original study or one that originated in a previous course but has not received written feedback from any member of the faculty; provision of written feedback disqualifies a paper from being considered. Documentation of the relationship between the QP and any prior paper previously submitted to fulfill a course requirement is required. In addition, if the QP is a conceptual replication of a previous study or is based in whole or in part on one of the faculty’s paradigms or databases, or even public databases (i.e., Childes), it needs to include minimally another independent variable with its pertinent review of the literature necessary to motivate its research question. The deadline for submission of the Qualifying Paper form, which includes a title, topic, reference list, and abstract is February 15th of the fourth semester of study. While it is not necessary to conduct an experiment involving IRB approval for the QP, students wishing to do so should consult the University’s Institutional Review Board web page and obtain approval before the February 15th deadline. The process of obtaining IRB approval usually requires two months. This means that students should have all procedures and materials ready for submission for IRB approval prior to the winter break.

The paper must be submitted by the end of the candidate’s fourth semester of coursework, or the last day of finals in the Spring semester. Students can apply for one extension, which must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and is only granted for medical reasons. The maximum time for an extension cannot exceed two weeks. The Qualifying Paper is evaluated by a committee made up of two Georgetown University faculty members with expertise in the subject area of the paper who, after evaluating the paper (cf. Summary Ranking attached), will provide students with written comments. Members of the committee are appointed by the Chair of the Department in consultation with the DGS; ideally both, but at least one of the members must be a member of the faculty in the Spanish and Portuguese Department. The committee’s decision is reported to the Director of Graduate Studies, who announces it to the student, the Chair, the Registrar, the faculty, and the Graduate School. Decisions are final. If the paper is satisfactory and the student has a general GPA higher than 3.5, and a GPA of 3.67 or higher in the chosen area of specialization, s/he is accepted into the Ph.D. Program. If the paper falls short of passing quality, and/or the minimum GPA has not been reached in both categories, the student is not allowed to continue to the Ph.D. program, but may be awarded a Master’s degree, provided all other requirements, including a minimum GPA of 3.0, are met. Students not wishing to continue to the Ph.D. program need not complete a Qualifying Paper. After successful completion of all requirements for the Master’s degree, students accepted into the Ph.D. program may apply to the Graduate School to obtain the degree of Master’s of Science in passing and participate in Commencement if they so wish.

4. Academic Standing

Students wishing to receive only a Master’s degree are expected to have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Students wishing to continue to the Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics should see below for prerequisites.

5. Language Requirement

All M.S. students must pass an oral proficiency exam in a language other than English or Spanish administered by a regular faculty member in one of the language departments. After the exam students should request the appropriate form from the DGS to register the result. Students typically have twenty minutes to read an article with the aid of a dictionary. The oral exam then consists of discussion of the article, which, if possible, should cover a linguistic topic or one related to language. The language requirement must be satisfied by the end of the fourth semester, but students should plan ahead and contact language departments early in the semester. Since oral proficiency in a foreign language requires considerable practice, students are advised to start preparing for this requirement from their first semester.

6. Annual Goal and Achie vement Reports

By the end of each academic year, every student must file/update a “statement” with the DGS. In the statement, the student lists achievements, including all courses taken, grades, examinations passed, publications and presentations, and services such as participation in student organizations and teaching. The student also details progress made towards the Qualifying Paper and dissertation. The information on this statement is kept on file for such purposes as writing letters of recommendation and teaching assignments and is considered by the Department’s Academic Progress Committee, which is then reported to the Department Chair. The Progress Committee meets every Spring and may recommend appropriate action.

Ph.D. degree

1.  Prerequisites

Students wishing to pursue the Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics must have successfully completed the ten courses for the M.S. They must have compiled a minimum GPA of 3.5 and 3.67 in their chosen area of specialization. They must also have successfully completed the Qualifying Paper (see 3 above for procedure). Students who hold a Master’s degree from another institution may apply for Advanced Standing and be exempted from taking a maximum of three courses from the list of courses included under A2 above, provided they can demonstrate mastery of course content. Students must supply documentation (syllabi, reading lists, research papers) to the Director of Graduate Studies and the appropriate faculty member. Students do not get credit for these courses; all students must complete 16 3-credit courses at the 400 level or above. 

2. Selection of a Graduate Adviser and a Dissertation  Director

By the end of the fourth semester in the program, the student must also select a graduate adviser. The student and the prospective graduate adviser will design a Ph.D. course plan (See B3). After completion of the 16 courses and before the student takes the Ph.D. exams, the student must also choose a dissertation director, who may or may not be the same person he or she had chosen as adviser. Every semester, students must have their coursework approved by either the DGS or by their adviser or by both the DGS and the adviser. 

3.  Courses

Students authorized to pursue the Ph.D. must complete six further content courses beyond the M.S. chosen in consultation with their graduate adviser for a total of 16 courses (48 credits) beyond the B.A. (excluding all enrollments in Thesis Research). At least three of these courses must be seminars, which are typically advanced courses in a field. Departments use different codes for seminars, as follows: for example, the term ‘Seminar’ appears in the title in Psychology and in Spanish and Portuguese, or the course requires two previous courses in the area (Syntax 3 requires Syntax 1 and 2), or the course code is in the 700s.  Students must have written approval from the DGS or their adviser.

4. Language Requirement

Prior to taking the Ph.D. Examination students must demonstrate reading proficiency in a language other than English, Spanish, and the one used to satisfy the language requirement for the Master’s degree. For protocol and additional information, please refer to 5 above.

5.  Ph. D . Examinations

By October 15th of the third semester in the Ph.D. program, the student will present the thesis director with a written proposal that comprises 1) a 350-word abstract that works as an executive summary of the thesis/topic, goals and motivation, and potential theoretical and practical implications; 2) a succinct review of the pertinent literature of selected independent variable(s) or social (external) and linguistic (internal) factors to be accounted for; 3) potential research questions; 4) a potential research design that includes the dependent variable(s) or main phenomenon to be investigated; and 5) a comprehensive reference list.  The length of the proposal should be 10 to 15 pages maximum plus references.  The thesis director uses this proposal to shape the questions for the two written exams. The first exam should be the first attempt to write Chapter 1 (the Statement of the Problem) of the dissertation and will ask the student to contextualize their research by providing a comprehensive overview of previous and current research and to identify potential future areas of research in the specific strand(s) they wish to pursue.  The second exam is the first draft of Chapters 2 and 3 of the dissertation.  This exam asks for more elaboration on the selected independent variable(s) of such future research and comprises a review of the literature, research questions, and a research design to address the independent variable(s).  Chapters 1-3 make up the Dissertation Proposal.  The two four-day take-home exams must be a maximum of 20 pages (theoretical, historical, and sociolinguistics) or 30 pages (Applied Linguistics) in length, not including references, appendices etc., and double-spaced.  The exams will be taken during the last month of the third semester in the Ph.D. program after the student has submitted the department’s “Ph.D. examination form” to the DGS. The examinations are graded by the thesis director and one other professor appointed by the Chair. To pass the Ph.D. Examination, the student must obtain a minimum grade of B+. Students are allowed one rewrite.

6. Dissertation Committee

After successful completion of the Ph.D. exams, the student chooses a dissertation committee, which must consist minimally of three faculty members: a director and two readers. Co-mentorship is also possible albeit exceptional. At least two of the three faculty members must be tenure-line Georgetown faculty, and one must be in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. The readers may be from outside the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, either from another Georgetown department or program or from outside Georgetown University. Such outside readers are recommended whenever feasible. Readers from outside the University must hold a doctoral degree. They must also either be members of the faculty of another university or hold a professional appointment in a non-academic research institution that is equivalent to the academic rank of assistant professor or above. When the student chooses the dissertation committee, he or she must file the appropriate form with the DGS. Changes to the dissertation committee require GSAS’s approval.

7. Dissertation Proposal

One semester after successful completion of the two Ph.D. exams, the student will draft a dissertation proposal to be defended publicly before the established dissertation committee. All committee members must be present, either in person, on Zoom or Skype, or on a conference call. At least one week prior to the defense of the proposal, students must submit to the DGS the “Proposal Defense Form” in addition to submitting the appropriate form, which includes a detailed abstract, to the graduate school. The proposal will be more than an overview of the topic; considerable research on the subject must be evident so that rigorous discussion may take place. For Theoretical Linguistics, the dissertation proposal comprises an Abstract, a Review of the literature, a Statement of the Problem with clearly formulated research questions, a discussion of the methodology used for data collection (if relevant), and a sketch of the proposed solution. For Applied Linguistics, the dissertation proposal comprises an Abstract, Introduction, and Statement of the Problem, Review of the Literature with research questions, and a defendable Research Design and Methodology section to address the research questions. All treatment and testing materials must be included in the appendices. Upon approval of the proposal by the dissertation committee, the student will enroll in two successive semesters of Thesis Research in the last year of study, during which period the dissertation will be written. Once a student has defended his or her dissertation proposal, the student is considered ABD.

8. Dissertation Defense

Upon completion of the dissertation, and before a dissertation defense can be scheduled, the student’s committee must certify unanimously one week before the defense date that the dissertation is ready for defense, that is, that there is a reasonable expectation both a) that the student will be able to address any questions about or shortcomings in the dissertation, and b) that only minor revisions will be required after the defense. After the committee’s unanimous decision that the dissertation is ready for defense as certified by their signatures on the Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Reviewers’ Report Form, there will be a public presentation and defense of the dissertation in order to satisfy fully the requirements for conferral of the doctorate. The Graduate School requires that the defense be publicized through its web page and that the Doctoral Dissertation Reviewers’ Report Form be filed at least one week prior to the defense. All committee members must be present, either in person, on   Zoom or   Skype, or on conference call at the defense for the entire session. The candidate will be considered to have passed the dissertation defense when the committee certifies by majority vote that the defense was “successful.” That is, the committee must certify that the candidate has satisfactorily addressed any questions about and shortcomings in the dissertation and that no major revisions are required. If a student’s dissertation has not been successfully defended and accepted by the Graduate School by the end of either the five or seven-year time limit (see Section 1.3 of the Graduate Student Handbook), the student will be terminated from the graduate program, unless an extension of time to complete the degree has been approved by the GSAS.

A student’s Ph.D. program will typically be structured as follows (after completion of the M.S. requirements):

Semester I: 3 courses Semester II: 3 courses Semester III: By October 15th: Student submits dissertation proposal for Ph.D. exams End of the semester: Ph.D. Take-Home Exam #1 Ph.D. Take-Home Exam #2 Semester IV : Student proposes Dissertation Committee Student works on Proposal Public defense of Dissertation Proposal Semester V or VI: Public defense of Doctoral Dissertation

9. Teaching  Requirement

Before graduation, all Ph.D. students are required to show proof of teaching experience. This requirement serves the purpose of furthering students’ educational and professional development. Teaching experience is defined as two semesters of instruction at an institution of higher learning. This requirement may be fulfilled prior to entering or during the Ph.D. program and can be completed at Georgetown University or at another institution. High school teaching or acting as an assistant to a professor cannot be used to fulfill the requirement. Students requiring a waiver must submit a letter to the DGS and provide appropriate documentation. GSAS fellows are required to serve the Department either as research assistants or as instructors. Usually, first-year graduate students are assigned to work with faculty as research assistants (RA) and then to teach one course per semester. Courses could be language courses or upper-level courses in linguistics depending on preparation and availability. The goal is to prepare students to be the best possible professionals within the teacher/scholar model. This means they excel as researchers and as communicators in at least two languages.

10. Deadline Extens ions and Leaves of Absence

Students may petition their graduate program and the Graduate School for an extension of the deadline to complete the Ph.D. The Graduate School will readily grant a first extension of up to one year on the recommendation of both the student’s mentor and the program’s Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Further extensions will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances, and only on the recommendation of the mentor, the DGS, and a standing committee to be appointed by the Dean to review all such requests. Once candidacy has been achieved, the Graduate School will consider requests for a personal Leave of Absence (LOA) only if the reasons for requesting the leave would prevent the student from making significant progress on the dissertation. An LOA will not be granted simply for the purpose of extending the time permitted to complete the dissertation. “Personal Leave of Absence” is defined as any LOA other than one granted for medical reasons or to perform military service.

11. Annual Goal and Achievement  Reports

By the end of each academic year, every student must file/update a “statement” or “progress report” with the DGS. A copy should also be provided to the student’s thesis director. In the statement, the student lists achievements, including all courses taken, examinations passed, publications and presentations and service such as participation in student organizations, as well as teaching responsibilities. The student also details progress made towards the Qualifying Paper and dissertation. The information on this statement is kept on file for such purposes as writing letters of recommendation and teaching assignments and is considered by the Department’s Academic Progress Committee, which is then reported to the Department Chair. This committee meets every Spring and may recommend appropriate action.

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Spanish Graduate Program

We consider it a great privilege to have the opportunity to educate the next generation of teachers, scholars, and leaders. Our PhD students collaborate with faculty to define new research directions in Spanish, Latin American, and Latinx literary and cultural studies, and to translate thier excitement for knowledge production into diverse careers. Our recent graduates have gone on to research, write, and teach for large companies in the finance and technology sectors, non-profit organizations in Latin America, and all levels of education, from research universities to small liberal arts colleges, K-12 schools and private educational consulting firms. You can read some of their stories here . Faculty who are accepting graduate students for the 2024 entering cohort are: Sam Amago  (advisor), Allison Bigelow  (advisor), Kelly Moore (committee member),  Fernando Operé  (advisor), Ricardo Padrón  (advisor), Fernando Riva  (advisor), and Fernando Valverde  (committee member). We are not able to accept students in contemporary Latin America for the 2024-5 or 2025-6 cycles.

Our program encourages interdisciplinary training that can be formalized in graduate certificates  across the humanities and social sciences, including  Africana Studies , American Studies , Digital Humanities , Environmental Humanities , Gender & Sexuality , Historic Preservation , Leadership and Public Policy ,  Premodern Cultures & Communities , and Urban Design . Additional on-campus training is available through internships, working groups, labs, and workshops in the Scholars’ Lab , Institute for Humanities and Global Cultures , Karsh Institute of Democracy's Democracy Initiative , Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation , Center for Teaching Excellence , and PhD Plus . Students can also take advantage of professional opportunities in the wider DC area, from research fellowships to museum internships. Support within the department includes pedagogical training from faculty in linguistics, course coordination and mentorship from teaching track faculty , and a community of research mentors who work with students on conference presentations, article publications, and fellowships to support pre-dissertation and dissertation work. You and your mentor can search for support for conference travel, research trips, and language learning using resources compiled by the Graduate School and the department . Students who are historically underrepresented in higher education can find additional mentorship support from the Mentoring Institute in the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs .

PhD students participate in every aspect of department and university life, from taking and teaching classes to serving on committees and organizing events. In your first year, you will be released from teaching obligations so that you can focus on coursework, finding a research community, and getting your bearings. Beginning in your second year, you will teach language classes that are supervised by experienced teaching track faculty members (called Academic General Faculty at UVA). In subsequent years, PhD students teach at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum in order to graduate with diverse teaching portfolios.

Our 20 current graduate students are diverse, talented, and deeply engaged in the department and greater community. Some students enter the program with a Master’s degree from another institution, whereas others arrive with a BA. All students who progress satisfactorily through the program receive the MA en route to the PhD, usually after the second year. Please see the sections below for more information on progress through the program.

Our competitive fellowship package supports students for 6 years, which includes: 

• an annual stipend of $30,000 ($24,000 during the academic year and $6,000 of summer funding)
• two years of teaching release (typically taken in years 1 and 5)
• a teaching load of 1 course per semester (1-1 for the year)
• full payment of tuition and fees ($75,000-$114,000 at 2023 rates)
• full payment of single-person health insurance

How to Apply

Graduate Admissions

To apply for graduate study in the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, you must submit your application and materials online to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). The Graduate School will no longer accept hard copy applications. The department does not require any materials in addition to those required by GSAS. For admissions information, including important deadlines, please visit the Graduate School's website . The evaluation rubric used by the department committee is available in the "Supporting Documents" of our governance page .

Students applying to and accepted into the graduate program must hold a BA in Spanish (or a closely related discipline) or the equivalent foreign degree. The process is the same for students who also hold an MA degree or its equivalent.

Students will follow the course of study outlined in the Graduate Record. Students with a BA will earn an MA in Spanish as they progress towards the PhD. The option of a terminal MA degree is Spanish is only open to self-funded students.

The admissions deadline for 2024-2025 is January 15, 2024.

Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Spanish

Required materials:

• Complete Online Application
• Unofficial transcripts from all past schools, submitted electronically ( Important: Please DO NOT mail your official transcripts to the Graduate School unless you have received an offer of admission and have decided to attend the University of Virginia. )
• Two (2) Letters of Recommendation from previous educational institutions, submitted electronically
• Two (2) academic writing samples, one in English and one in Spanish

International Students

In addition to the materials listed above, the Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese requires that you also submit the following:

• Official TOEFL Scores (Official scores must be sent directly to the University of Virginia by the Educational Testing Service.)
• Final Official Transcript (Transcripts from schools located in non-English-speaking countries must have the original language record and a direct translation into English)

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences requires a few additional items from international students. Please carefully read the guidelines for international students and the application process on the Graduate School Admissions page . Additional guidance for international students can be found here . If you have additional questions after reviewing these materials, please contact us at [email protected].

Overview of PhD

PhD Program in Spanish

Please note: Per university policy, "The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found at http://www.virginia.edu/registrar/."

Program Requirements

The PhD in Spanish is divided into three phases: 1) coursework; 2) comprehensive examinations; and 3) dissertation. There is also a foreign language requirement that must be met before entering the dissertation phase, known as “doctoral candidacy.” Throughout the three phases, students receive guidance from a faculty mentor chosen with the student’s stated research interests in mind. The official account of program requirements appears in the University’s Graduate Record . A full description of the program’s operation can be found in the department’s Graduate Handbook .

Coursework is ordinarily completed during the first two years of the program. Students are required to take eight graded, three-credit courses during the first year, and six graded, three-credit courses during the second year. The courses must include SPAN 7220 (History of the Language) and SPAN 8210 (Teaching Foreign Languages). They must also include a course on media, two on theoretical approaches in the humanities or the social sciences, and at least two courses offered outside the department. The department maintains a list of approved courses for this purpose, and a single course may satisfy more than one of these requirements. Students are also expected to complete two additional, one-credit courses: 1) GHSS 6050 (Introduction to Graduate Studies); and 2) GHSS 7050 (Professional Life After Graduate School). These courses can count toward any of the graduate certificates offered in the College of Arts & Sciences ,  School of Architecture , Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy , and related programs.

At the end of the first year, students submit a Statement of Research Interests, in which they chart their progress in the program and develop a plan for the second year that will lead to a fruitful experience in the comprehensive exams and a dissertation afterwards. At the end of the second year, students revise this statement and include it in their Second Year Portfolio, which also includes samples of their writing. After a positive assessment of the portfolio by the faculty, the student proceeds to the comprehensive exams.

The comprehensive exams normally take place during the third year.  Students register for 12 credits of SPAN 8900 (Comprehensive Exams) and use the time to develop a comprehensive exam portfolio, which includes three reading lists, two field papers, a statement of teaching philosophy, and a course syllabus. The contents of the lists, the subject matter of the papers, and the nature of the course are determined by the student, in consultation with their comprehensive exam committee. The structure of the exams allows for participation by faculty from other departments, and for significant training in another field or discipline. The student’s mastery of the portfolio materials is assessed through an oral examination, normally held at the end of the Fall semester.

The dissertation phase begins during the second semester of the third year, after successful completion of the oral exam. Students register for 12 credits of SPAN 8901 (Dissertation Proposal) and use the time to develop a proposal for the project that will occupy them during their final two years. They defend the proposal before their dissertation committee before the end of the semester. At that time, students are also expected to have fulfilled the departmental language requirement by demonstrating mastery of one language other than Spanish or proficiency in two languages other than Spanish.

The final two years of the program are devoted to developing and defending the dissertation, an original contribution to scholarship in the student’s field roughly the length of a standard academic monograph. The dissertation is developed in consultation with a committee that must include a member from outside the department and may in some cases include faculty from other universities. It may be written in either English or Spanish. It is usually defended at the end of the fifth year of study.

The department believes that learning to teach is an integral part of any graduate program, and that students need time, space, and mentorship to develop as teachers. All graduate students are required to teach one three-credit course per semester during the second, third, and fourth years of the program. They do not teach in their first and fifth years so that they can focus on coursework (including learning how to teach) and their dissertation research. Every effort is made to give students the opportunity to teach at various levels of instruction and in diverse subject areas in years 2, 3, 4, and 6. All students are carefully trained and supervised by the Director of the Language Program in Spanish, as well as other members of the department. Support for teaching is available through formal programs and workshops offered through the Center for Teaching Excellence and PhD Plus, as well as informal mentorship from experienced members of the teaching track and research track faculty.

Although the program is designed for students to take their teaching release in year 5, some students may prefer to take it in year 6. Please see the Graduate Handbook to learn more about the policy and timeline.

All entering graduate students are granted financial support in the form of Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships. Students who progress satisfactorially through the program receive 6 guaranteed years of support. Our financial package includes a stipend of $24,000 (annual stipend of $24,000, plus $6,000 of summer support), two years of teaching release, full tuition remission ($75,000-$114,000 at 2023 rates), and health insurance coverage for themselves. Students who need to enroll a partner and/or dependents should consult the rates listed by Aetna, here . Students can enroll partners or dependents during open enrollment (insurance verification) or within 30 days of a qualifying event, such as birth, adoption, or marriage. More details on student health, wellness, and insurance coverage are available here .

In addition to department funding, graduate students are frequently employed in Summer School courses in Charlottesville or in the Department’s summer undergraduate programs in Spain and Latin America. There are also a variety of opportunities to fund conference travel, language study, and dissertation research and writing. We encourage students to work with their advisors and committees to find field-specific funding sources.

Department Handbook

The Graduate Handbook serves as a guide to policies and procedures governing graduate education in the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at the University of Virginia. To view the handboook,  please click here .

Graduate Guide

For more information on career development and diversity affairs, please see the College of Arts & Sciences Graduate Guide .

Course Descriptions & Sequences

For updates or a complete description of courses offered by the Department please visit the course description page . You may also consult the Student Information System and the Graduate Record .

For information on course sequences, current students should consult the Graduate Guide for the present academic year. Admitted students may request a copy by writing to the Director of Graduate Admissions or their intended faculty advisors.

Student Research & Support

Original, innovative research is the hallmark of graduate study; as we uncover new texts in archives, develop alternative ways of reading the classics, and collaborate with colleagues in other fields and around the world, we find new ways of thinking and new works to teach.

Part of graduate student development involves teaching undergraduate courses; such teaching is complemented by classwork and research projects.

The Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese is pleased to support all Ph.D. students for five years of graduate study, including a year-long fellowship for dissertation research and writing. We encourage you to work with your faculty advisor, subject liasons in the UVa Library, and colleagues in your field to develop research questions, identify relevant archives, and share your findings in presentations and articles. To get started with archival research, we suggest looking through something like the "Fresh from the Archives" series on Dissertation Reviews . Graduate students from around the world have helpfully described archival protocols and research topics in Latin American and Caribbean studies, including the AGI (Sevilla) , Archivo Nacional (Madrid) , and Archivo Histórico del Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica (Antigua, Guatemala) . Don't be afraid to reach out to other graduate students! They've been in your shoes and will be eager to share what they've learned. To generate ideas at the pre-dissertation stage and get a sense of what a finished project will look like, you should review summaries of recently finished dissertations in your area. You can find examples of such projects in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies section of Dissertation Reviews and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Follow this link from UVa Library, click "ProQuest," and then click "ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global" from the list of databases. If you're off campus, sign in through NetBadge.)

Already finished with the dissertation? As you apply to fellowships and jobs, the University is here to help with your CV and application materials. Please contact Sonali Majumdar , Associate Director of Professional Development in the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Affair s, to arrange an appointment. Fourth- and fifth-year graduate students are encouraged to participate in OGPA's Research Communication Training Program , a six-week workshop series that trains students across Grounds to present their work to a variety of non-specialists. Participants can also present their work the Three Minute Thesis competition , which provides excellent practice for interviews on the academic, public sector, and corporate job markets. Job seekers can find sample materials (CV, cover letter, teaching statement) on SIP Jobs ( a joinable collab site ) and in the University-recommended Academic Job Search Handbook, by Julia Miller Vick, Jennifer S. Furlong, and Rosanne Lurie. Follow the link in Virgo for an electronic edition of the text. For a list of resources dedicated to digital studies at UVa, please visit DH@UVa and consult the department list of all things digital .

Below please find additional sources of support for your work, from foundational language training to pre-dissertation research and dissertation completion fellowships.

Current Graduate Students

To learn more about current students and their research projects, please visit their profile pages .

Recent Graduate Spotlights (PhD)

Our graduate students work on diverse topics from the medieval, early modern, revolutionary/Enlightenment, and modern/contemporary periods in Spain and Latin America, with a variety of methodological approaches and theoretical orientations. They go on to work in academica, industry, non-profit organizations, and public service. To learn more about our alumni, please  click here .

Doctoral Language Exams

The Doctoral Language Exams in Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, also known as Proficiency and Mastery exams, are offered twice per semester through the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. The exams are available to currently enrolled graduate students who are required to demonstrate foreign language "proficiency" or "mastery" in order to satisfy certain degree requirements. The precise dates of the exams are set early in the semester, although they are generally offered in October, November, February and March.

To learn more about the exams, and to register for an exam, please visit our doctoral language exam page .

Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Ph.D. in Spanish

Below are the specific requirements to earn a Ph.D. in Spanish. Please also see the timetable to earn the degree and the checklist for course requirements .

Ph.D. in Spanish Requirements

• Maintaining good standing in the progress toward the degree
• Language requirement
• M.A. Thesis
• Selection of Academic Adviser
• Successful Comprehensive Exam
• Successful Qualifying Exam
• Successful Dissertation Defense

1. Student standing

Students must maintain a B+ average or better every semester in all graduate courses to remain in good standing. Students may request up to a maximum of two Incompletes (I) while enrolled at Vanderbilt and cannot carry an Incomplete (I) for more than one semester. Students must be conscientious classroom instructors and advance toward their degrees in a timely fashion. Students should participate actively in the academic life of the department, attending lectures, presentations, and other activities sponsored by the department. Only students in good standing may take the Comprehensive Exam, submit a dissertation proposal; and take the Qualifying Exam. Good standing is a prerequisite for financial assistance, including summer support, teaching assistantships, and dissertation fellowships.

2. Language requirement

As part of the M.A. students must demonstrate competence in Portuguese by taking PORT 5203 or a more advanced course taught in the target language. Other possibilities for meeting this requirement will be entertained and reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

3. Coursework

The Ph.D. in Spanish requires 63 credit hours of coursework, including the 30 credit hours earned for the M.A. at Vanderbilt.

Required courses (12 hours):

• SPAN 6010 Literary Analysis and Theory;
• SLS/SPAN 6030 Foreign Language Learning and Teaching;
• SPAN 6020 Ibero-Romance Philology (Students entering with a B.A. or Licenciatura should take SPAN 6020 in the 5 th semester of residence, if offered; students entering with an M.A. must take 6020 in the 3 rd semester of residence, if offered);
• SPAN 6040 Research and Grant Proposal Writing (Students entering with a B.A. or Licenciatura should take 6040 in the 5 th semester of residence, if offered; students entering with an M.A. should take 6040 in the 3 rd semester of residence, if offered).

Core courses (36 hours):

A minimum of 36 additional credit hours should be in graduate seminars in Spanish, numbered 7000 and above.  A maximum of 6 credit hours of Independent Study (SPAN 9560, 9660, 9670) may be applied to the Spanish requirements. Each Independent Study must be approved by the DGS upon the submission of a detailed syllabus prepared by the instructor. Note that SPAN 6080, a special graduate course to be used for Comprehensive Exam preparation, does not count toward these required credit hours.

Required minor (9 hours):

There is a mandatory minor for the Ph.D. in Spanish, which consists of a minimum of 9 credit hours. This minor is often Portuguese. After the Comprehensive Exam and within the following academic year, students will send their academic advisor in writing their plan to complete the minor. The academic advisor will assess the coherence and relevance of the minor and send the plan for the minor to the DGS. Some minors are pre-established and do not require prior approval; they must simply be declared. These minors are: 1. the Certificate in Latin American Studies issued by the Center for Latin American Studies, 2. the interdisciplinary minor in Philosophy and Literature; and 3. the Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies, issued by the Program of Women’s and Gender Studies (for details see the Graduate Catalog and contact the director of the program).

Electives (6 hours):

6 additional hours of graduate-level courses in Spanish, Portuguese or another discipline approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

4. M.A. Thesis

See Master of Arts in Spanish .

5. Selection of Academic Adviser

6. comprehensive exam.

A Comprehensive Exam is mandatory for all students (accepted with or without an M.A. from another institution) and will be completed by the end of the fourth semester of residence.

Preparation

• All students must take the Comprehensive Exam no later than the end of their fourth semester of residence.
• The Spanish Comprehensive Exam is based on both the Spanish Peninsular and Spanish American literature lists.
• Optional Comprehensive Research/Reading course: during their fourth semester, students may take a special graduate course to be used for Comprehensive Exam Preparation (SPAN 6080 Comprehensive Exam Study) for 3 credit hours. The course will not count toward the credit hours needed for completion of the M.A. or Ph.D. degrees. For this course, students will produce, in agreement with their academic advisors a list of works to be read during the semester.

Both parts of the Comprehensive Exam will be taken over spring break. One will cover the Spanish Peninsular list and the other will cover the Spanish American list. The questions for both parts will be sent to the student by 4:00 pm on the Friday before the beginning of Spring Break and the answers to all of the questions must be sent by email to the DGS by 9:00 am of the Monday following the end of Spring Break.

The exam is take-home and open book. The answers to all of the questions are expected to be fully original to each individual student. Examinees are expected to adhere to the Vanderbilt Honor Code: “Vanderbilt University students pursue all academic endeavors with integrity. They conduct themselves honorably, professionally and respectfully in all realms of their studies in order to promote and secure an atmosphere of dignity and trust. The keystone of our honor system is self-regulation, which requires cooperation and support from each member of the University community.”

• Identifications with Brief Analysis: Answer six out of eight questions involving identifications and analyses of elements from literary works on the lists. These elements may be a character, a quote, the title of a book, a literary phenomenon, trend or school, among other features of works or literary criticism. The answers may run from one to two pages. At least four of the answers should be in Spanish.
• Literary analysis in English: Answer one of two questions requiring literary analysis. This short essay should be written in English (four to five pages).Literary analysis in Spanish: Answer one of two questions with a longer essay written in Spanish (six to eight pages).

Comprehensive Exam committee

The Comprehensive Exam committee will be formed by three faculty members: the student’s academic advisor (chosen by the student during the third semester of study) and two other faculty members chosen by the DGS. If the student’s academic advisor is not available, a substitute member will be chosen by the DGS in consultation with the graduate student being examined. The Comprehensive Exam committee is ultimately responsible for the outcome of the Comprehensive Exam, and has the final say on the outcome of the exam. Exams will be made available to all Faculty members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese upon request.

Possible outcomes of the Comprehensive Exam:

• Pass with distinction and admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Pass with admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Fail with the automatic possibility of retaking the exam. The exam can only be retaken once. The retake will take place during the week immediately following the official final exam period of the same semester when the first exam is taken. The student will have one week to take the new exam under the same conditions as described above. The retake will be evaluated by the original committee. The outcome of the retake will be determined by the committee and will be final. The graduate student can opt out of retaking the exam, choosing instead to leave the program.

Possible outcomes of the retake of the Comprehensive Exam:

• Pass and admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Fail and dismissal from the program.

7. Qualifying Exam

• There are two reading lists for the Qualifying Exam: the Period List and the Specialized Research List.
• The Period List consists of primary and secondary works in all genres from a particular period that is directly related to the dissertation topic.
• The Specialized Research List consists of works based on the dissertation topic. The dissertation and resulting list may be organized around a genre, an issue, a theme, or any combination of these elements, as well as around a particular theoretical problem. The list should include primary works as well as theoretical, historical, and critical works. It may, as deemed necessary by the doctoral committee, include works from different periods, from both sides of the Atlantic, and from Africa, Asia, or any other part of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. Accompanying the Specialized Research List should be a two-page statement that explains and justifies it in relation to the dissertation topic and proposal.
• Each list consists of approximately 30 to 50 books, as well as complementary chapters of books, articles, and specific works of literature, theory, and criticism. Each list should be compiled by the student in consultation with his or her advisor and committee.
• The final proposal for the dissertation (including bibliography), approved by the student’s advisor, should be submitted to the dissertation committee and the DGS one month prior to the Qualifying Exam.
• The dissertation committee will consist of three faculty members from the department and one outside member chosen by the student in consultation with his or her advisor. The student must appoint the dissertation committee in the semester prior to the Qualifying Exam. After securing the agreement and permission of all parties involved, the student must provide the DGS with a list of the faculty members who will serve on the committee and indicate who will serve as committee chair.

Qualifying Exam format

• Written portion: The written exam will be designed by the student’s academic advisor and agreed upon in advance by the entire committee. It will be divided into two sections: one based on the Period List and the other on the Specialized Research List and the Proposal. The student will answer 3 of the 4 questions in each section. Each essay answer must be from 10 to 15 pages long (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point) and must demonstrate dedicated work and sophisticated thinking, and reflect the student’s readiness to begin work on the dissertation. Twelve days will be allotted for this exam. The dissertation advisor will distribute copies of the written exam to each member of the committee and the DGS.
• Oral portion: Five to fifteen days after the satisfactory completion of the written exam, the student will take an oral exam. During this oral exam, the student will present the dissertation proposal, discuss it with the committee, and answer questions regarding the written exam. The main purpose of the oral exam is: 1) to strengthen the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the proposal; 2) to discuss the material and content of the proposed dissertation; and 3) to define both a plan and a timetable for the completion of the dissertation.

Qualifying Exam outcomes

Possible outcomes of the Qualifying Exam:

• Pass with distinction and Candidacy for the Ph.D
• Pass and Candidacy for the Ph.D.
• Depending on the nature of the failure, the student may be asked to repeat either part or all of the exam. If the exam shows that the student is unlikely to be successful in future exams, he or she may not be given the option of additional testing.

8. Dissertation Defense

Students are required to attend an oral defense of their dissertation. The Department strongly recommends that the final draft of the dissertation be in the hands of the “readers” at least one month prior to the anticipated date for the defense. The student, in consultation with the DGS, the advisor and with the members of the Dissertation Committee, will schedule an oral defense of the dissertation after the Dissertation Committee has received it. The form to request a date for the defense must be signed by the DGS and delivered to the Graduate School at least two weeks in advance.

Restrictions

• Transfer credit from other institutions may not exceed 15 hours.
• No undergraduate courses in Spanish may be transferred.
• The Graduate School requires that the Qualifying Exam be taken within four years of admission to the Ph.D. program.
• The Graduate School also requires that the dissertation be completed within four years after the student has been admitted to Candidate status (successful completion of Qualifying Exam).
• The department considers these time limits to be reasonable and will not grant extensions except for compelling reasons related to issues of health.

Course Catalog

Spanish, phd.

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers work leading to the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish and Portuguese, and to a Concentration in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE).

Fields of specialization are:

Spanish linguistics

Romance linguistics

Spanish literature and cultural studies

Latin American literature and cultural studies

• Brazilian Studies

Luso-Brazilian literature and cultural studies

A graduate course in Catalan literature is also available. Additionally, the department is affiliated with the Latina/Latino Studies Program. Students in the area of Latina/Latino studies may be able to work with experts in the other disciplines in Latina/Latino studies such as anthropology, history, political science, sociology, and so forth in order to design and complete a program of studies in a particular area.

Admission The normal prerequisite for a graduate major is an undergraduate major in the corresponding Romance language or consent of the department. Students doing graduate work for any advanced degree in Spanish or Portuguese must possess a command of the language. Applicants should apply online and submit a statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation and a writing sample of approximately 10-20 pages in the form of one or two papers, at least one of which must be written in Spanish or Portuguese (as applicable). Original transcripts (with English translations if applicable) showing all undergraduate and graduate work completed should also be uploaded. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are recommended (although not required) of all domestic applicants and should be submitted to institution code 1836. International applicants who have taken the GRE are encouraged to submit their scores as well. Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and must score at least 88 on the internet-based test (iBT); they must also pass the speaking sub-section of the iBT with a minimum score of 24 . Applications are accepted for fall admission only. Application questions may be directed to SLCL Graduate Student Services .

Centers, Programs, and Institutes The option to pursue a concentration in SLATE (Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education) is available to doctoral students in the department's programs in linguistics. Candidates selecting this option are required to complete courses in linguistics, psycholinguistics/sociolinguistics, second language studies, and research methodology in addition to advanced study in linguistics of the particular language. See information about SLATE .

Graduate Teaching Experience Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, this department requires degree candidates to teach as part of their academic work. Such experience is considered a vital part of the graduate program. Non-native English speakers must first pass a test of their oral English ability .

Financial Aid The department offers financial aid (in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships) to all of the students it admits. Other kinds of fellowships and research support are also available on a competitive basis to qualified candidates; they include dissertation research and travel grants, conference travel grants, and summer fellowships.

For additional details and requirements refer to the department's guidelines for graduate students and the Graduate College Handbook .  

Other Requirements

• Possess in-depth knowledge of the three major populations (Spain, U.S. Latino/a, Latin America) as it pertains to cultural production.
• Be able to make original scholarly contributions that engage previous research and advance the field.
• Be able to critically analyze and evaluate scholarly works and debates produced in different contexts.
• Students will acquire the ability to communicate research findings in a variety of academic venues in spoken and written English and in Spanish, and be able to teach at the undergraduate level.

Graduate Degree Programs in Spanish & Portuguese

• Medieval Studies
• Spanish Linguistics
• Spanish Literatures & Cultures
• Romance Linguistics
• Second Language Acquisition & Teacher Education
• Portuguese, PhD

Department of Spanish and Portuguese Head of Department: Melissa Bowles Director of Graduate Studies: Jonathan E. MacDonald Department of Spanish and Portuguese website 4080 Foreign Languages Building, 707 South Mathews, Urbana, IL 61801 (217)  244-3250 Spanish and Portuguese email

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Ph.D. in Spanish

Ph.D. Program

The PhD in Spanish allows students to conduct research in Spanish and Latin American literary and cultural studies. It offers to connect this research with issues in Comparative Literature, Trans-Atlantic Studies, Film Studies and other related fields. In addition, it provides for opportunities to expand collaborative research and teaching venues with other disciplines, such as Linguistics, Anthropology, and History.

For more information on the admissions process and course requirements to our PhD program, please see the Graduate Bulletin here.

For information on possible graduate courses to take in our Spanish program, see the Course Descriptions in the Academic Bulletin here.

For more information contact: [email protected] Spanish Graduate Program | Download the Spanish Graduate Manual [pdf] University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 Fax: (803) 777-0454

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The Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program in Spanish

  Deadlines  for Fall admission, February 1, for Spring admission, October 1.

Prerequisites for admission to the Ph.D. program in Spanish include the following:

• Master's degree in Spanish or equivalent. 3.50 (on the 4.00 scale) on all graduate course work.
• Students entering the program are encouraged to show evidence of residence in a Spanish-speaking country.
• The total number of hours required for the Ph.D. is ninety hours beyond the Bachelor's degree, including credit earned for the M.A., if applicable to the Ph.D. program.
• Only graduate-level courses (4000/5000 level) preceded by a "G" in the General Course Catalog are applicable toward the Ph.D. major and concentration.

General Guidelines for the Ph.D. in Spanish

A concentration consisting of nine hours as approved by the student's committee. The following courses were strongly recommended for students who started the program before the spring of 2014, are now required for students who will start the program in the fall of 2014 or later:

• SPAN 5713 (History of the Spanish Language)
• MLLL 5063 (Early Literary Criticism)
• MLLL 5073 (Contemporary Literary Criticism)

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. Before completion of the degree, 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. A general examination based on coursework and a reading list established in consultation with the student's committee members is required for the Ph.D. 

Graduate Teaching Assistants are required to maintain enrollment in a minimum of five credit hours of graduate-level courses per semester.

• Apply to the Spanish PhD Program
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The Spanish and Portuguese Section offers undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan. It is unique in its commitment to exploring the trans-historical and cross-cultural interrelations between all these language areas and their corresponding cultural formations. The research interests of its academic staff thus span a wide range of areas including Medieval and Golden Age Spanish cultures and their consolidation in dialogue with the diverse cultures and faith systems of Africa and the "New World"; the literature, art and cinema of Portugal, Brazil and Lusophone Africa; the literature of modern Spain and its relationship with the Enlightenment, colonialism, and modernity; the cinema of the Ibero-American world from early silent film through to its avant-garde, indigenous, popular and transnational dimensions today; and the culture of Catalonia from its rebirth in the Renaixença, through its resistance to Franquismo in literature and film, to its vibrant contemporary artistic, architectural and cinematographic expressions.

The Section also has one of the largest contingents of Latin American specialists in the United Kingdom, whose interests span the poetry and chronicles of the colonial period; the formation of national cultures in post-Independence Spanish America and Brazil; the experimental literatures of the Spanish American "Boom"; and the literature, cinema, and visual art produced in the interlocking contexts of post-dictatorship, mass urbanisation, narcotráfico and neo-liberal globalisation. The intellectual vitality of the Section is further evidenced by a dynamic research culture of public lectures, section seminars, postgraduate workshops and conferences, all of which add to a close-knit system of graduate supervision and mentoring that encourages both individual and collective endeavour within the section.

In British universities, the PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy) is traditionally awarded solely on the basis of a thesis, a substantial piece of writing which reports original research into a closely defined area of enquiry. The completion of the PhD thesis is generally expected to take three to four years, and most funding is based on this assumption. It's also possible to take a part-time route through research degrees, the expected timeframe for which would be five years.

During your research, you will have the opportunity to work closely with a supervisor who is a specialist in your research area.  In addition to your supervisor, you will normally also be able to draw on the help and support of other members of the Section with expertise in your field of study

In addition to the specialist supervising provided by the Section, the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics runs a programme of professional training for the benefit of all research students. The programme includes seminars and workshops on library resources, giving conference papers, publishing, applications and interviews, and teaching skills. The School of Arts and Humanities runs a central programme covering a range of skills relevant to doctoral students. Doctoral students may also be offered opportunities to do small group teaching for the undergraduate colleges and, in some cases, language teaching for the Faculty.

The Spanish and Portuguese Section and the Centre of Latin American Studies are pleased to details of a Consortium in Latin American Cultural Studies for PhD students. This new flexible arrangement will foster a greater exchange of ideas between students and scholars in the Section and the Centre and provide more opportunities for them to access relevant training, funding and other resources. Please visit the Latin American Cultural Studies Consortium page on the Department of Modern and Medieval Languages website for further information.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme, candidates will have acquired excellent skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or another related profession.

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Advanced Study to PhD, the minimum academic requirement is an overall distinction in the MPhil.

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Thesis to PhD, the usual academic requirement is a pass in the MPhil.

All applications are judged on their own merits and students must demonstrate their suitability to undertake doctoral level research.

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Departments

This course is advertised in the following departments:

• Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics
• Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of spanish and portuguese this course is advertised in multiple departments. please see the overview tab for more details., course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Michaelmas 2024 (Closed)

Funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• European, Latin American and Comparative Literatures and Cultures by thesis MPhil
• European, Latin American and Comparative Literatures and Cultures by Advanced Study MPhil
• Latin American Studies MPhil
• English PhD
• Digital Humanities PhD

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