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PROGRAM INFORMATION

Program Requirements

Spanish, PHD

Campus Location:
Main Campus

Summer graduates courses are available at the Ambler campus.

Full-time/Part-time Status
Students are required to complete the degree program through classes offered before and after 4:30 p.m.

General Program Requirements:

Number of Didactic credits required beyond the Baccalaureate:
39

Required Courses:
Specific course requirements for the Ph.D. degree include Bibliography and Research (Spanish 990), Literary Criticism (Spanish 430), and two to three approved courses in related fields outside of the Department.

Course work (including the Masters-level courses) must include: 10-11 Core courses, which combine a 6-course Core distribution requirement and other specific Core courses; and 10-11 courses beyond the Core, including 6 courses in the dissertation field and a minimun of 5 advanced courses. A total of 21 courses is required, including those of the Masters degree.

Internship:
False

Language Examination:
TrueStudents must pass written comprehension examinations in two foreign languages other than Spanish. Exams are usually taken in Romance languages or German. Other languages may be accepted with approval.

Culminating Events:

Culminating event for the degree program
Dissertation

Dissertation Advising Committee Information
The Dissertation Advising Committee is formed to oversee the student's dissertation research and is comprised of three Graduate Faculty members from the Department. One is the Committee Chair, who has responsibility for directly overseeing and guiding the student's progress, coordinating the responses of the Committee members, and informing the student of his or her academic progress.

Dissertation Examining Committee Information
The Dissertation Examining Committee is comprised of the Dissertation Advisory Committee and at least one additional examiner from outside the Spanish and Portuguese Department. The Outside Examiner should be identified no later than the beginning of the semester in which the student will defend the dissertation. The Examining Committee evaluates the student's dissertation and public dissertation examination.

Advisor/Committee Information
If a student needs to change a member of a Committee, the new member must be approved by the Department's Graduate Committee and registered with the Graduate Secretary and the Graduate School.

Preliminary Exam Description
The purpose of the written Preliminary Examination is to demonstrate critical and interpretive knowledge in two specific areas of Spanish studies. It is based on a required reading list. The examination is ten hours long and focuses on one primary and one supporting area. The primary area must be selected from the main field of concentration for the dissertation. The supporting area is selected from the other fields of study within the Department.

Subject Areas/Major Components of the Preliminary Examination
Examination areas are drawn from the three fields of study within the department: Peninsular Spanish Literature, Spanish American Literature, Hispanic Linguistics as represented in the graduate reading list.

At what point in the program is the student expected to take the preliminary examination
The Preliminary Examination should be completed no more than one semester after the student completes the course work component of the program.

Writing the Questions for the Preliminary Examination
Graduate Faculty members specializing in the subject areas selected for the examination write the questions for the Preliminary Examination.

Evaluating the Preliminary Examination
Graduate Faculty members of the Department will evaluate the examination. Each member grades examination answers on a scale of A to F. Grades of B- or higher are passing grades.