Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the Baccalaureate: 30

Required Courses:

¹

Twelve credits is the maximum number that a student may take of 5000-level coursework.

²

Eighteen credits is the minimum number that a student may take of 8000- and 9000-level coursework.

Language Examination: Students must pass a written reading-comprehension examination in a foreign language other than Spanish. Examinations are usually taken in the Romance languages or German. Other languages may be accepted with approval.

Culminating Event:
Comprehensive Examination:
The purpose of the comprehensive examination is to evaluate the breadth and depth of students' knowledge of the discipline. Students must write a four-hour written comprehensive examination based on a customized reading list agreed on through consultation with three faculty members from the three course fields within the department: Spanish Peninsular Literature, Latin American Literature, and Hispanic Linguistics. The examination is taken after the student fulfills the 30-credit course requirement and passes the reading-comprehension exam in a language other than Spanish or English.

All examinations must include representation from each of three course fields: Spanish Peninsular Literature, Latin American Literature, and Hispanic Linguistics. Graduate Faculty from each of the three fields write the questions and evaluate responses on a scale of "A" to "F." To be evaluated as passing, a grade of "B-" or higher must be achieved in response to each examination question. 

Comprehensive examinations are administered once a term. They are scheduled by the Graduate Chair, with whom students must register.