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Chair: John Pustejovsky, Ph.D.
marquette.edu/fola/grad_director_intro.shtml
Degrees Offered
Master of Arts, Plan B only
Specialization
Spanish
Program Description
The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures’ graduate program in Spanish is designed to provide students with a broad background in Spanish language, literature, culture and language teaching methodology. The majority of the department’s graduates have entered teaching careers, continued on to doctoral studies or secured a position in business or government. Students in the program form a small and relatively intimate group. Graduate seminars are kept small, averaging ten students, and students are given individual guidance throughout their course of study.
Teaching assistantships in Spanish are available to candidates on a competitive basis. Teaching assistants are required to take SPAN 6000, Teaching College Spanish (3 sem. hrs.), their first fall semester in the program.
Prerequisites for Admission
Applicants for the master of arts program must have a bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent foreign degree, from an accredited institution.
Applicants with an undergraduate major in Spanish are expected to have completed 24 credit hours of course work beyond the intermediate level, including work in composition, conversation and advanced work in literature. Applicants with an undergraduate minor in Spanish are expected to have completed 15 credit hours of course work beyond the intermediate level, including a survey course in literature and a course in composition and conversation. Applicants must have an undergraduate grade point average equivalent of B or above (3.000 on a 4.000 scale). Native speakers of the language, who have an undergraduate degree in the humanities, are also eligible.
Application Deadline
To be considered for admission, all application requirements must be completed and received in the Graduate School by Dec. 15.
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit, directly to the Graduate School:
- A completed online application form and fee.
- Official transcripts from all current and previous colleges/universities except Marquette.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- A writing sample in Spanish. This can be a term paper from one of the applicant’s undergraduate Spanish courses.
- (For international applicants only) a TOEFL score or other acceptable proof of English proficiency.
- (For teaching assistantships in Spanish) a tape recording (no longer than 5 minutes) of their foreign speaking voice. The tape should include a reading from a prose passage and some free conversation. Foreign applicants should make a similar recording in English. The recording should be submitted directly to the director of graduate studies or the chair of the department.
Foreign Languages and Literature
Students must pursue the Plan B course of study. Plan B students are required to complete 30 credit hours of course work. A thesis is not required.
Course Work
At least half of the student’s work as a graduate student must be in courses numbered 6000 and above. Students are required to complete a total of 30 credit hours with one 5000-level or 6000-level course in each of the six areas listed below. The remaining 12 credits are to be chosen from the courses offered in each area and subfield on which the student decides to be tested for the master of arts comprehensive examination.
- Early Hispanic Literature
Subfields:- Medieval Spanish Literature
- Golden Age Spanish Literature
- Early Spanish-American Literature
Subfields:- 15th to 17th Centuries: Pre-Columbian to Baroque Period
- 18th and 19th Century Spanish-America
- Modern and Contemporary Peninsular Spanish Literature
Subfields:- 18th and 19th Century Spanish Literature
- 20th and 21st Century Spanish Literature
- Modern and Contemporary Spanish-American Literature
Subfields:- Modernismo and Vanguardismo (1886-1940)
- Boom to 21st Century (1940-today)
- Language and Linguistics
Subfields:- Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy
- Synchronic Linguistics
- Diachronic Linguistics
- Hispanic Cultural Studies
Subfields:- Peninsular Spanish Culture and Cinematography
- Spanish-American Culture and Cinematography
- U.S. Latino(a) Literature, Culture and Cinematography
Note: A course may not be used to fulfill more than one area of study. Depending on the topic, SPAN 6931 Topics in Spanish Language, Culture and Literature may be repeated, and can be used to fulfill the appropriate area of study. All 5000-level courses will require additional work at the graduate level, such as readings, writing assignments and oral presentations.
Comprehensive Examinations
Candidates for the master of arts degree must pass written and oral comprehensive examinations based on the material covered in the student’s course work and the master’s reading list to complete the program. Examinations are normally given in November and March. Exceptions must be approved by the director of graduate studies and the department chair.
Candidates will select, in advance, a total of five subfields from three of the six areas listed above upon which to be tested. The exam must be written in Spanish.
The oral portion of the comprehensive examination will take place approximately one week following the written exam. The student will be asked to elaborate upon, clarify and/or correct information given in the written exam. No new material will be introduced during this session. The student’s overall performance will not be evaluated until after this session.
The examining committee will be composed of three to five faculty members chosen by the director of graduate studies in consultation with the student and the department chair. Details on examinations, the master’s reading list, and sample questions are available from the department office.
Reading Knowledge Courses
Reading Knowledge Courses, preparatory to doctoral language examinations, are offered in the following languages:
| FREN 6204 | French for Reading Knowledge | 3 |
| GRMN 6204 | German for Reading Knowledge | 3 |
| GREK 6204 | Greek for Reading Knowledge | 3 |
| LATN 6204 | Latin for Reading Knowledge | 3 |
| SPAN 6204 | Spanish for Reading Knowledge | 3 |
Students registered for 6204 Reading Knowledge Courses and wishing to withdraw must do so formally in the Graduate School office.
Graduate Foreign Language Proficiency Exam
Students taking the Foreign Language Proficiency Exam outside of the 6204 courses offered must register for the Graduate Foreign Language Proficiency Exam for the specific language (FREN 9831, GRMN 9831, etc.) through CheckMarq. Upon prior approval from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, students must register for FOLA 9830 for languages other than Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin or Spanish. Exams will be offered once per term. A $100 processing fee will be charged per exam.
On this page
- Degrees Offered
- Specialization
- Program Description
- Prerequisites for Admission
- Application Deadline
- Application Requirements
- Foreign Languages and Literature
- Foreign Language Courses
- French Courses
- German Courses
- Greek Courses
- Italian Courses
- Latin Courses
- Spanish Courses
Graduate School Programs
- Biological Sciences
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- Graduate Professional Studies
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- History
- Interdisciplinary Ph.D.
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