Program: Spanish, Ph.D. - Columbia Campus

Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate near-native linguistic competence in Spanish as it pertains to all graduate courses (including all examinations) that are part of the Program of Study.

Students will produce original research on the literature and cultures of Spain and Latin America both orally and in writing at a near-native level of stylistic, critical and theoretical discourse.

Students will conduct research and produce original scholarship within a specific theoretical and critical framework.

Doctoral Candidates will present original papers at conferences (and eventually submit their scholarship for publication), submit manuscripts for future publication, and be encouraged to write pertinent grant proposals. ABDs will also be selected to serve as coordinators for SPAN 109-110 and SPAN 121 (all under the direct supervision of the Language Program Director in Spanish and in consultation with the Graduate Advisor).

Admission

To be admitted to the Ph.D. program in Spanish, candidates typically have an M.A. in Spanish or related fields. A total of 30 credit hours may be approved toward the doctoral program. The Graduate Advisor in Spanish is responsible for the approval of the credit hours and for designing individual programs of study.

Students with an M.A. in a related field may need to take a Proficiency Test to show verbal, written and reading skills in Spanish. Exceptions may be considered when the student’s first language is Spanish.

Students who desire to pursue the Ph.D. in Spanish may enroll concurrently in the M.A. program in Spanish. In order to be admitted to the doctoral program, they must pass a Qualifying Examination during their third semester of M.A. work.

Degree Requirements (33-36 Post-Masters Hours)

Beyond the B.A., candidates for the Ph.D. are required to take 66-69 graduate hours. They must demonstrate a reading knowledge in one other language. This requirement may be satisfied by coursework in another program of the DLLC (with such courses not included in the total number of required credit hours of approved doctoral work). Each doctoral candidate must take 24 credit hours of approved coursework, and 12 hours of Dissertation preparation (beyond the M.A.). With the approval of the Graduate (Academic) Advisor, student may substitute 6 credit hours of graduate course work in another area related to their field of study. Each student will pass a six hour Comprehensive Examination, and present any analytical commentary of a text in the student’s major area of concentration. There will be an oral exam (to be given within two weeks after successfully passing the written exams). A Comprehensive Examination Committee will design questions based upon reading lists pertinent to all parts of the Examination. Each student will write a dissertation on a topic which will be chosen in consultation with the Dissertation Committee and the Graduate Advisor in Spanish.

Students Admitted with a B.A.

Students with a B.A. and who are admitted to the doctoral program should complete 54 hours of graduate coursework, and 12 additional credit hours of the following:

SPAN 899 - Dissertation Preparation

Students Admitted with an M.A.

Students who have not completed the following courses (or equivalents) as part of the M.A. degree must complete the following:

SPAN 700 - Introduction to Graduate Studies in Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
SPAN 711 - Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism
SPAN 715 - History of the Spanish Language

Graduate Teaching Assistants

The following is required of all graduate teaching assistants:

FORL 776 - The Teaching of Foreign Languages in College

Note

Students who have completed similar courses during their M.A. training at another institution will be exempt from this course.

Dissertation Requirement

In order to obtain the Ph.D. in Spanish, candidates should write a Dissertation that makes a relevant contribution to current scholarship in their chosen field. The candidate must designate as Doctoral Advisor a Graduate Faculty member of the Spanish program.

The proposal for the Dissertation and the composition of the Dissertation Committee should be endorsed by the Doctoral Advisor and approved by the Graduate Advisor in Spanish. A Prospectus will be presented and defended (after passing the Comprehensive Examination and no later than two semesters thereafter).

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