Admission and degree requirements

A student must have completed at least 12 semester hours of advanced undergraduate Spanish classes and earned an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher to be admitted into the graduate program. In certain cases, exceptions may be made. Applicants are evaluated following a holistic review which includes several factors, none of which are given greater weight than any of the others: undergraduate GPA, a 250-word statement in Spanish, a one-page curriculum vitae, a 6 to 8 page research paper on any scholarly topic with bibliography, a 3 to 5 minute audio file of the applicant’s spoken Spanish, and three letters of recommendation from persons acquainted with the candidate’s scholarly and/or teaching background. 

The applicant has the choice of the following programs:

1. 36 semester hours, including 6 hours of thesis; at least 24 hours of course work must be completed in the major; a minor of 6 hours is permitted; or
2. 36 hours of course work, without thesis; at least 30 hours must be earned in the major; a minor of 6 hours is permitted.

A master’s degree candidate in Spanish must take a written comprehensive examination in the major field or select the thesis option.

With the approval of the chair of the department, the master’s thesis may be written in Spanish. Thesis option requires an oral defense.