Graduate Degrees and Programs: College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Department of Hispanic Studies 

• Master of Arts in Spanish
• M.A./M.B.A. in Spanish
• Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish

Master of Arts in Spanish

 

Admission Requirements

For unconditional admission to the M.A. program in Spanish, applicants must have earned a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish from an accredited institution, with an overall grade point average of at least 3.00 (A=4.00) for the last 60 hours of course credit. Students who have a Bachelor's Degree in a field other than Spanish must take SPAN 3304, two courses in Spanish Literature at the 4000-level, and one course in Spanish Linguistics before entering the M.A. (equivalent courses taken in other institutions are accepted).

Applicants must have acceptable scores on the General Aptitude section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). A score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for international graduate students. Two confidential letters of recommendation from professors detailing the potentials of the candidate as a student are also required.

Conditional admission may be granted a student who has a grade point average of at least 2.67 and whose scores on the Graduate Record Examination are high enough to indicate probable success in the graduate program.

Once admitted to the program, no course in which a grade below B- (2.67) is received may be applied toward the Master's degree. Comprehensive written and oral examinations are required to obtain the degree; these are scheduled during the last semester of course work. A minimum of 27 semester hours must be earned in residence at the University of Houston.

At the end of each student's first year of course work at the graduate level, a screening procedure will be conducted by all faculty members with whom the student has studied in order to determine whether the individual is progressing satisfactorily toward the degree objective.

For further information, please write:

Spanish Graduate Programs
Department of Modern and Classical Languages
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-3006

Degree Requirements

There is a five-year limit on M.A. work from the time of the first course counted toward M.A. credit. A total of 36 hours is required for the M.A. in Spanish, all at the 6000-level or above. Students may elect to write a thesis; if they do so, a maximum of 6 hours of thesis credit may count as part of the 36. A maximum of 6 hours, as well, may be taken in a complementary field outside the department if students obtain written permission in advance from the Graduate Advisor. Before entering the M.A. Program, students should decide on the concentration they wish their M.A. in Spanish to reflect.

Possible concentrations include:

1. Spanish literature

2. Spanish literature and linguistics

3. Spanish linguistics

Students must take the following required hours in accord with their selected concentration:

Concentration in Literature:

Peninsular Literature	12 hours
Latin American Literature	12 hours
Hispanic Literature of the US	6 hours
Spanish Linguistics	3 hours
Research Methods	3 hours

Concentration in Literature/Linguistics:

Literature	15-18 hours
Linguistics	15-18 hours
Research Methods	3 hours

Concentration in Linguistics:

Spanish Linguistics	24 hours
Literature	9 hours
Research Methods	3 hours

Thesis option: A master's thesis may be substituted for 6 hours in any of these concentrations.

M.A./M.B.A. in Spanish

 

The C.T. Bauer College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences offer a concurrent degree program that enables students to prepare for careers in which the understanding of business and Spanish language skills are critical. This program provides students with the opportunity to complete the Master of Business Administration and the Master of Arts in Spanish in a shorter time period than if the degrees were pursued separately. Students interested in the M.B.A./M.A. in Spanish concurrent degree program must follow the separate application procedures for admission to the M.B.A. program and the M.A. in Spanish program.

Program of study

The C.T. Bauer College of Business requires concurrent degree students to complete the Core M.B.A. courses and an additional six hours of graduate-level business electives. The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences requires the student to complete 24 hours of approved 6000-level or above Spanish courses. Upon completion of these curriculum requirements for both degrees, 12 semester hours from the Spanish curriculum, as approved by the Bauer College of Business, will apply toward the M.B.A. degree and 12 semester hours of graduate business curriculum, as approved by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, will apply toward the M.A. in Spanish degree, enabling the student to complete the requirements for both degrees. If the student fails to complete the requirements for one degree, then the requirements governing the remaining degree will be in effect.

Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish

 

Admission Requirements

For unconditional admission to the Ph.D. in Spanish, applicants must have earned an M.A. degree in Spanish, or its equivalent, with a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (A=4.00). Students who have a M.A. degree in a field other than Spanish must take, concurrently with the other courses normally required for the doctoral program, one course from each of the following groups:

• 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 XVII through XX

 

Students with a M.A. degree in a field other than Spanish whose emphasis is linguistics will also be required to take a number of additional courses in the field. (They will be advised by the Senior Linguistics Professor).

Applicants must have acceptable scores on the General Aptitude section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). A score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for international graduate students. Three confidential letters of recommendation from professors detailing the potential of the candidate as a graduate student are also required.

Once admitted to the program, no course in which a grade below B- (2.67) is received may be applied toward the Ph.D. degree.

At the end of each student's first year of course work at the Ph.D. level, a screening procedure will be conducted by all faculty members with whom the student has studied in order to determine whether the individual is progressing satisfactorily toward the degree objective.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in Spanish requires that, beyond the achievement of the master's degree, students complete a minimum of 36 semester hours of approved graduate courses and 6 semester hours of dissertation as follows:

Required core courses	9 hours
Elective courses	27 hours
Dissertation	6 hours

Core courses

Students are required to take SPAN 7301 (Methods of Study in U.S. Hispanic Literature and Language), SPAN 7304 (Studies in Critical Theory), and SPAN 7393 (Methods of Study in Spanish Linguistics).

Elective courses

 Ph.D. students must enroll in all 7000-level courses available (exceptions may be authorized by the Graduate Advisor). The 6000-level Spanish courses listed in the Graduate and Professional Studies catalogue and courses in other departments will be chosen in consultation with the Graduate Advisor.

Language requirements

Reading knowledge of two languages in addition to Spanish and English is required (in addition to the 42 hours referred to above). Reading knowledge may be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

1. Four college semesters at the undergraduate level (or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated by testing) in another Romance language.

2. 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.

Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam

A written examination over different areas in literature and linguistics as well as an oral examination must be successfully taken before admission to candidacy.

Ph.D. Dissertation

The student must develop a dissertation on a topic in literature which can be considered to be original and of significance to scholarship.

Catalog Publish Date: January 14, 2013
This Page Last Updated: November 29, 2012