dissertation doctoral in spanish

Spanish Language and Literature Ph.D.

The Ph.D. is primarily a research and specialization degree, culminating in the writing of a dissertation.

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• Spanish Language and Literature M.A.
• Hispanic Applied Linguistics M.A. 
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Our graduate programs include a Ph. D degree with specializations in both Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture. Our Ph.D. students are mentored by our faculty, engage in substantive research projects, and benefit from rigorous teaching training. We offer courses that cover most geographical areas and time periods and guide students through relevant theoretical and methodological developments. Courses are complemented with lecture series and events that enrich our students’ intellectual and life experiences.

To be considered for admission applicants must:

• Have earned an M.A. degree or have equivalent training;
• Submit a paper in Spanish produced at the M.A. level;
• Submit a statement of purpose;
• Submit three letters of recommendation from academic references;

In addition, non-native speakers of English are required to take the TOEFL examination prior to admittance. Candidates must meet the minimum TOEFL standards established by the University of Maryland Graduate School (score of 100). For information students should contact the SLLC graduate coordinator.

Students on the "short list" may be interviewed by the graduate director in person or by phone.

Prior to admission to candidacy the student must demonstrate/fulfill the following:

• A thorough knowledge of the literary and cultural production in the main area of study;
• An in-depth knowledge of research tendencies in the field of specialization;
• At least two courses in the secondary area;
• A graduate course in the History of the Spanish Language;
• A minimum of one course in literary theory and/or criticism;
• A total of 30 credits of coursework (in very exceptional cases, fewer);
• Reading proficiency in a third language other than Spanish or English, appropriate to the student's field of study.

What do I need to apply?

To be considered for admission applicants must submit:

• Online application
• Application fee $75 -> Information about fee waiver
• Official transcripts of an M.A. degree or equivalent training.
• A paper in Spanish produced at the M.A. level.
• A statement of purpose.
• Three letters of recommendation from academic references.
• Non-native speakers of English are required to take the TOEFL examination prior to admittance. Candidates must meet the minimum TOEFL standards established by the University of Maryland Graduate School (score of 100). For information students should contact the SLLC graduate coordinator. Apply here Step-by-Step Guide to Applying English Language Proficiency Requirements for International Students **Due to deferrals, graduation delays during pandemic and reductions in available funding, admissions to our graduate programs will be more competitive for Fall 2021. Applicants should note that we are an affirmative action department and that we remain especially interested in recruiting strong African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students to our Ph.D. and M.A. programs. 

Qualifying Examination: Procedures and Evaluation

Students who obtained their M.A. at another institution must take a qualifying examination after their first semester in the Ph.D. program. The goal of the exam is to ensure that students have both the specific field knowledge and the theoretical and/or critical background to continue in the program.

A student must declare her/his intention to take the qualifying examination in writing to the director of graduate Studies at least 60 days prior to the examination date, and at this time s/he should select the areas or fields and faculty advisor with whom s/he wants to work in preparation for the qualifying. The exam will be given every January, before the beginning of the spring semester. A committee consisting of two department faculty members (including the advisor) will meet to evaluate the examination and discuss the student's overall progress in the Ph.D. program. Written notification of the results will be sent to the student within one month of completing the exam. In the event that the student does not pass the exam, her/his advisor and the director of graduate studies may recommend that the student retake the examination in May. If a student does not pass the retake exam, s/he will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.

The examination is based on a list of 10 primary texts in the fields of Latin American and/or Spanish literature chosen by the student in consultation with her/his faculty advisor. The list of 10 books should focus on the student’s specific area of interest, as the purpose of the exam is to evaluate a student’s reading and writing skills as s/he continues to pursue a doctoral degree. The director of graduate studies must receive and approve the list of 10 texts as soon as the decision is made. Once the list is approved by the DGS, the student will have a maximum of 10 business days to select five (5) books from the list of 10 primary texts to prepare for the exam and inform the DGS and her/his faculty advisor of her/his decision. The DGS will then, in consultation with the student, establish the exact date of the examination in January (or May in the event of a retake).

The examination will be formulated by the faculty advisor and will include the following: (a) a close reading of a passage of no more than 500 words from one (1) book from the student’s list of five, which would lead to (b) an extrapolation to a wider set of ideas pertaining to the whole book and/or to the five (5) books selected. The student will receive the examination question by hand at the time of the exam and will have 4 hours to answer it in a room on a computer provided by the department with no internet access. The exam will be written in Spanish, with the exception of English for students who are specialized in U.S. Latina/o Studies. No notes or bibliography may be consulted, although a bilingual dictionary may be used.

The exam will be proctored by the Director of Graduate Studies or the SLLC Graduate Coordinator.

Route to Ph.D. Candidacy

After Ph.D. coursework has been completed, students proceed through a pre-candidacy stage consisting of three components: the comprehensive examination, the language reading (or “translation”) exam and the dissertation proposal and defense. Following successful completion of these three elements, students are advanced to candidacy and are considered “ABD” (all but dissertation). 

Comprehensive Examination  The comprehensive examination consists of three essays written over a span of three weeks. The essays are based on the courses a student has taken and on reading lists tailored to his or her sub-fields of focus (two in the main area and one in the secondary area). The three reading lists are created in consultation with faculty specialists in the areas of examination.

The comprehensive examination is offered three times per year, in January, May and August. On three consecutive Mondays, the student will receive a question to be answered in essay form, each related to a particular sub-field. These essays will be due by 3:00 p.m. on the Thursday of each respective week.

Sixty days prior to the desired examination start date, the candidate must inform the director of graduate studies as well as the professor assigned to administer the exam of his/her intention to sit for the examination. This notification should be submitted in writing, outlining the areas and sub-fields in which the student will be examined.

Exams will be evaluated by a committee consisting of two faculty members per subfield.  Where appropriate, and in only one instance per student, the same faculty member may be called upon to evaluate two of the essays.

In the case of an unsuccessful examination, the student’s Ph.D. advisor and the director of graduate studies may recommend that the student sit a second time for the comprehensive examination. Continuation in the Ph.D. program depends on the successful outcome of any second attempt.

Language Reading (“Translation”) Examination                                                         This examination consists of a “for sense” translation from a third language into English or Spanish. The topic of the text will be related to the student's field of specialization. The choice of the language will be determined by its usefulness as a tool for the student's dissertation research. This exam may be repeated once. The student will choose a book or a long article together with a professor qualified to evaluate the third language (the examiner) and then notify the DGS of when the exam is to take place. The examiner will select a passage from the book or long article, which must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words. The examiner must submit the passage to the DGS for review at least two weeks prior to the exam. The student will have three hours to complete the exam, which will take place on campus and be proctored. Please note that only a printed dictionary (not an electronic source) is allowed to assist with the translation exam. For your information, please note that professors Igel and Lima are authorized to conduct examinations in Portuguese; and professors Naharro and Benito-Vessels are authorized to conduct examinations in French. Any questions about who is qualified to conduct the exam should be directed to the DGS. Please note also that dissertation advisors are not allowed to administer exams to their advisees. The examiner evaluates the exam and communicates the result directly to the DGS, who will then advise the student. The reading exam can be taken at any point prior to advancement to candidacy. 

Dissertation Proposal and Defense The final stage of the pre-candidacy period is focused on preparation for the writing of the dissertation. In consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the dissertation director and three members of the faculty, the student will write a dissertation proposal that aims to give a clear sense of the intended corpus of study, intellectual aims and methodology. The proposal should include a review of the literature, an outline of projected chapters and a selected bibliography. Proposals should be about 25-30 pages in length and are expected to be completed within four months to one year after the comprehensive examination.

The advisory committee and the candidate will then convene for the defense of the proposal. All faculty in the department are welcome to attend the defense.

The Dissertation

As stated previously, the Ph.D. is essentially a research degree. This means that coursework taken for the Ph.D. is intended as a preparation for the dissertation. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the student identify his/her field of interest as soon as possible. Early in the first semester, students should consult with one or more professors and explore the research possibilities in the field, period, genre, author(s) of his/her particular interest and select an academic advisor accordingly.

Dissertation Defense

When the candidate has completed the dissertation, the director of graduate studies notifies the Graduate School of its completion. The dean of the Graduate School, upon the recommendation of the director of graduate studies, appoints an examining committee for the candidate. This examining committee will include four members of the department and one member from another academic unit who acts as the graduate dean's representative. The committee will be chaired by the dissertation director.

All members of the examining committee will read the dissertation in its final form and take part in an oral examination in which the candidate defends his/her findings. Copies of the dissertation must be given to members of the examining committee at least 10 days before the date set for the oral examination. The Graduate School has established procedures for the dissertation examination. For details on these and all other aspects regarding the dissertation, please see the Thesis and Dissertation Forms and Guidelines. In addition, the student must provide the department with one copy of the final version of his/her dissertation.

Students are expected to defend the dissertation within 4 years of advancing to candidacy.  The director of graduate studies may approve an extension of up to one year in cases of extenuating circumstances.

Application for Graduation

Students must apply for a graduate diploma early in the semester in which they intend to receive their degree. Deadlines are published in the Schedule of Classes.

Note: Once students are done they MUST file an EXIT form with the Graduate School and, if applicable, an address change form.

Graduate Student Handbook

The purpose of the Graduate Student Handbook is to aid you in understanding the context of graduate education at UMD. The goal is to provide you with resources, information, practices, and policies that will help you in navigating the graduate experience. 

Teaching Handbook

The  Teaching Handbook is intended to familiarize graduate students with the procedures, policies, and expectations in teaching, research and administrative environments as an integral part of their education. 

• Hispanic Studies
• College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Ph.D. in Spanish with a Concentration in Linguistics or Literature (FACE-TO-FACE)

Department of Hispanic Studies University of Houston 3553 Cullen Boulevard, Room 416 Houston, TX 77204-3062 713.743.3007 Contact Us

The Department of Hispanic Studies is at the forefront of research and teaching of Hispanic literature and Spanish linguistics. Our offering in Hispanic literature and Hispanic linguistics now encompasses the literatures written throughout the Americas and Spain. Given Houston’s location, as well as Arte Público Press and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Project at UH, our Ph.D. program offers an optimal environment in which to achieve excellence.

For more information about the course work, expectations and the progression of the PhD program please see the PhD Students Handbook.

General Requirements

Minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the ph.d. in spanish.

• A completed M.A. degree in Spanish,or its equivalent
• 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 XVIII through XX
• Formal linguistics
• Applied linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Completed online application through CollegeNet   [all required documents are to be directly uploaded to your account during the application process. Please prepare them beforehand. Official individual mark sheets in certain countries, transcripts, and degree certificates must be sent directly to the Graduate school and to the Graduate Admissions Advisor in Hispanic Studies at the addresses included below]
• A statement of research in Spanish (between 1000 and 1500 words) explaining your academic interests and projects (see this link to find the guidelines you must follow for writing your  statement ).
• Three letters of recommendation from the applicant’s professors detailing the potential of the applicant at the Ph.D. level (sent directly by recommenders via CollegeNet)
• Writing sample (Graded)
• Transcripts that are not in English must be sent along with an official translation made by a certified interpreter .
• Please see the Graduate School guidelines for transcripts and diploma verification

Additional Requirements for International Students

• Certified copy of diploma: besides official transcripts and their translation, international students must send a copy of their graduation diploma. If the document is not in English, an official translation made by a certified interpreter must be attached. The diploma must be sent to the University of Houston Graduate School (102 E. Cullen Building Houston, Texas 77204-2012).
• TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language: A score of at least 79 on the (international students only, unless they have earned a college degree from an American university)
• Duolingo English Test for English proficiency exams. The exam costs $49 (USD) and may be taken from any computer that has a camera, audio and reliable internet. The exam portion of the Duolingo English Test contains a series of speaking, reading, writing and listening exercises. Following the exam, there will be an interview portion that will ask you to respond to various prompts in 30 to 90 seconds. The exam will take about 45 minutes to complete and you will need either a passport, driver license, or national or state ID to show the camera. The score results are generally received within a few days of exam completion. A minimum score of 105 is required.

For information on the TOEFL visit the Educational Testing Service web site . (UH Code: 6870)

IMPORTANT: ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETE BY JANUARY 15th (INCLUDING TRANSCRIPTS AND EXAM RESULTS TOEFL) IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR FUNDING. INCOMPLETE DOSSIERS WILL NOT COMPETE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS . Click here to download the Spanish PhD application checklist

Once admitted to the program

• No course in which a grade below B- (2.67) is received may count towards Ph.D. degree.
• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) for all graduate courses attempted is required for a graduate degree; failure to maintain this average will result in a warning, probation, or suspension.
• Qualifying written and oral examinations are required to obtain admission to candidacy
• The student must develop a dissertation on a topic in literature which can be considered to be original and of significance to scholarship.
• Four college semesters at the undergraduate level (or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated by testing) in another Romance language.
• 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.

Application Fees

Fees payable by check, money order or online (Credit Card) with application

• Total cost, $50
• Payable to University of Houston
• Total cost, $80
• The Spanish PhD Program only has admissions for the Fall semester.
• All documents and information must be uploaded through CollegeNet and/or sent to the University of Houston by January 15 th

For applications and advisement, please write, call, or e-mail:

Dr. Paola Arboleda-Ríos, Interim Graduate Director, at [email protected]

* Phone interviews will be conducted after application file is reviewed.

Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

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Doctor of philosophy in spanish, general information:.

The Department of Modern Languages offers a variety of opportunities for advanced study. The Ph.D. program in Hispanic Literature is designed to prepare students to become first-rate scholars and teachers, primarily in institutions of higher learning. In addition to two major fields of specialization (Peninsular Spanish Literature and Spanish American Literature), minors are available in Peninsular Spanish Literature, Spanish American Literature, and Hispanic Linguistics. Candidates to the Ph.D. must pass a qualifying   examination .

Description of the Program

The doctoral program consists of 75 semester hours of graduate level work beyond the Bachelor's degree, distributed as follows: 57 graduate credits of courses and 18 credits of dissertation. Students holding Master of Arts degrees in Spanish or Hispanic Studies will be considered for admission and some or all of their graduate credits may be counted toward the doctoral degree after being evaluated and approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. Student will be able to transfer a maximum of 36 graduate credits from an earned graduate degree.

Course Distribution

Core Courses: (9 credits)

All core courses must be taken as graduate courses offered by the University and may not be taken as independent studies:

• FOL 5943 Foreign Language Teaching Methodology
• SPW 5806 Methods of literary research
• SPW 6825 Literary Theory and Criticism

Distribution Requirement: (15 credits)

All students must take:

• One course in Medieval or Golden Age Peninsular Spanish Literature
• One course in Peninsular Spanish Literature of the 18th-21st century
• One course in Colonial/19th century Spanish American Literature
• One course in 20th century Spanish American Literature
• One additional course in Spanish American Literature

Electives: (33 credits)

Students may choose from graduate courses in literature, linguistics, culture, and translation/interpretation.

Dissertation: (18 credits)

Independent Studies

Students who want to conduct research in a very specialized field with a particular faculty member will be allowed to register for a 3-credit independent study course. No more than two such independent study will be allowed without permission from the Graduate Program Director and only in exceptional cases. Under no circumstances will a student be authorized to take a regularly-taught course as an independent study. Independent studies are envisioned as an opportunity for students to carry out specialized research, not as a substitute for regular courses.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal consists of two documents: 1) A concise (max. 5 pages double-spaced) dissertation proposal following University Graduate School guidelines; 2) a more developed statement of research purpose and plans (15-20 pages long). Students should circulate these two documents among all the members of the committee at least two weeks prior to the oral defense. The dissertation proposal has to be approved by the four members of the dissertation committee. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for more details   Here

The dissertation proposal is a five-page document with an appended bibliography that explains in detail the proposed thesis topic, the critical instrument chosen to approach it, existing scholarship on the subject, and an overarching plan for its development. The proposal is prepared in consultation with the thesis adviser but it is revised and evaluated by all the members of the student's graduate committee. The proposal should follow the general guidelines in the Regulations for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation. A copy of the approved proposal must be filed with the Dean of Graduate Studies at least one full semester prior to defense of the dissertation or thesis.

Students who have completed all coursework must register in SPW 7910 Pre-dissertation Research during the semester in which he or she expects to be admitted to candidacy. Students fully admitted to candidacy subsequently register in SPN 7980 Dissertation Research. Candidates must be registered in at least three credit-hours of dissertation research every semester --including at least one summer term-- once he or she begins such preparation. The candidate must be enrolled for at least three dissertation credits during the semester in which the doctoral degree is awarded.

The statement of research purpose and plans is internal to the department.

Dissertation

A dissertation or thesis is a formal and systematic discourse or treatise advancing an original point of view as a result of research. A dissertation is required of all candidates for the doctoral degree.

Upon completion of a dissertation or thesis, the degree candidate will submit to the Dean of Graduate Studies an application for thesis or dissertation defense signed by the dissertation director. The application must be filed in sufficient time to allow the Dean of Graduate Studies to publish the notice in a monthly calendar of dissertation and theses defenses for the University community.

Copies of the final version of the dissertation, prepared in accordance with the most recent edition of the MLA Style Manual or MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Paper and the FIU Guidelines for Thesis and Dissertation Writers (available from the Office of Graduate Studies), together with an abstract in English of a maximum of 350 words, must be submitted to the Dissertation Committee at least four weeks before the Oral Defense of the Dissertation, which must be scheduled following UGS calendar.

Dissertation Defense

The date, time, and place of the Defense will be announced by memo from the Dissertation Director at least two weeks in advanced to the rest of the committee, the candidate, the Director of Graduate Studies, the department Chairperson, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Media Relations.

The oral defense, which is open to public, will take the following form: 10-15 minute presentation by candidate, 10 minute question period from each member of the dissertation committee.

Following the successful defense, as determined by a majority vote of the student's committee, the dissertation or thesis is forwarded to the Academic Dean and to the dean of graduate studies for their approval.

The Ph.D. dissertation must be completed within five years of the doctoral comprehensive examination, or the examination will have to be retaken.

Seminars on Professional Concerns

The Department of Modern Languages recognizes the need to inform graduate students regarding a wide range of professional issues directly related to the successful development of their academic careers. To that end, each year it sponsors a series of meetings during which these concerns can be more fully addressed and explored. The professional concerns seminars meet as needed and are led by one or several faculty members. Topics to be covered include "Publishing your work," "Participating in conferences and symposia," "Applying for grants and fellowships," "Writing the curriculum vitae," "Applying for jobs," and "Preparing for an interview." Other possible topics for discussion might include book reviewing, publishing the dissertation and networking. Students may also propose a seminar on a topic not listed here that is of special professional concern to them. Such proposals are channeled through the Director of Graduate Studies.

Graduate and Teaching Assistantships

A limited number of assistantships are available each year for doctoral students. Candidates seeking an assistantship must apply in writing to the Graduate Program Director by December 15th. Assistantships normally consist of a stipend of $20,000 per academic year (including the summer terms) and a matriculation fee-waiver.

In exchange, students who receive assistantships must work twenty hours per week for the Department and must take a minimum of nine credits per semester and six credits in the summer. Students with more than eighteen graduate credits generally fulfill their work requirements by teaching one language class per term.

Assistantships are incompatible with outside employment. Please see the Graduate Program Director for further information. Renewal is not automatic but contingent upon the student's successful performance in the following areas: (1) academics (2) work as graduate or teaching assistant, (3) participation in all the meetings and activities organized by the department. Renewals must be approved by the graduate committee in consultation with the student’s advisor and the Language Coordinator. In order to have the Teaching Assistantship renewed, ABDs will have to show adequate progress towards the completion of their dissertation.

For information on additional special scholarships, please contact the Graduate Program Director.

Selected Course Offerings

• Methods of Literary Research
• Literary Theory and Criticism
• Historiography of Literature
• The Structure of Spanish
• History of the Spanish Language
• Spanish in the United States
• Dialectology of the Spanish Caribbean
• Learning Technology in Spanish Pedagogy and Research
• Spanish Culture
• Spanish American Culture
• Hispanic Culture in the US
• Afro-Cuban Culture
• The Latin American Experience in Literature and Film
• Colonial Latin American Literature
• 19th Century Latin American Literature
• Spanish American Modernism
• The Traditional Spanish American Novel
• Primitivism in Spanish American Literature
• Magical Realism
• Contemporary Spanish American Novel
• Spanish American Historical Novel
• Spanish American Essay
• Prose and Poetry of Jorge Luis Borges
• Poetry of Pablo Neruda
• Eros in the Poetry of Spanish American Women Writers
• Spanish American Women Writers
• Hispanic Literature of the US
• Mexico in Poetry
• Literature of the Spanish Caribbean
• 19th Century Spanish Caribbean Literature
• Cuban Theater
• Cuban Narrative
• Prose and Poetry of José Martí
• Literature of Hispanics in the United States
• Medieval Spanish Literature
• The Renaissance in Spain
• Golden Age Prose
• Golden Age Poetry
• Spanish Romanticism and Neoclassicism
• Spanish Realism and Naturalism
• Seminar on Benito Pérez Galdós
• Generation of 98
• 20th Century Spanish Novel
• Poetry of Jorge Guillén
• Seminar on Federico García Lorca
• Seminar on Antonio Buero Vallejo
• Modern Spanish Women Writers
• Representation of Women in Spanish Literature and Film
• 20th Century Spanish Poetry

• University of Michigan Library
• Research Guides

Spanish Language and Literature

• Dissertations
• Getting Started
• Dictionaries
• Reference Works
• Digital Collections and Libraries
• Web Resources
• Dialnet: Tesis Repository of full text PhD dissertations from some 40 Spanish universities.
• Tesis Doctorales en Red / Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa Repository of full text PhD dissertations from the universities in Catalonia and other autonomous regions in Spain.
• Tesis Doctorales (TESEO) Catalog of PhD dissertations registered by the Spanish Ministry of Education. No full text.
• Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes: Tesis Doctorales Catalog of PhD dissertations written in Spanish at any university in the world. Not comprehensive.

Latin America

• Portal de Tesis Latinoamericanas Full text theses and dissertations from Latin American universities.
• Tesis de UNAM Catalog of dissertations since 1900, some in full text format.

International

• Global Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Search ETDs from more than 200 universities on all continents.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Descriptions, sometimes with full text, of doctoral dissertations & master theses from US, UK, Canada, Ireland, etc.
• WorldCat Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window A subset of WorldCat containing records of dissertations, theses, and published material based on theses; many international titles not included elsewhere.
• Dissertation Reviews Overviews of recently defended, unpublished doctoral dissertations in a wide variety of disciplines across the Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Center for Research Libraries: Dissertations Dissertations from universities outside the U.S. and Canada.

Department of Hispanic Studies

Doctoral Degree

The Department of Hispanic Studies offers a Ph.D. in Spanish to train students for academic positions as scholars and teachers. We emphasize advanced course work and independent research, culminating in the doctoral dissertation. Our program is designed to provide in-depth coverage of the student’s primary area of study, while also assuring ample coverage of the broad field of Hispanic Studies.

Admission Requirements Candidates who hold the M.A. from UCR must be recommended by the faculty to continue for the Ph.D. Minimum course requirements.

Course Requirements There is a minimum course requirement of 24 units beyond the M.A., though in practice doctoral students usually find that more than the minimum is advisable for doctoral training. Students may, with the permission of their advisor, take courses outside the Department to fulfill their requirements. The normative time to completion of the Ph.D. degree, after the M.A., is nine quarters. The normative time to the completion of the Ph.D. after the B.A. is 15 quarters.

Long Paper As part of their preparation in their major area of specialization, students present a paper of 40 to 50 pages in length, representing scholarly research and analysis in their chosen field of study. The long paper will form the basis of the doctoral dissertation.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations Students choose two areas of concentration as examination areas. One area is the field of major emphasis; a second area or topic is selected in consultation with the chair of the guidance committee.

The area of specialization is defined by the long paper and dissertation topic. The doctoral examination consists of a five-hour written examination (three hours in the major field and two hours in the secondary field or topic), followed by an oral examination of approximately two hours. The oral examination deals with the major and secondary examinations and the long paper. The written and oral examinations are conducted by the qualifying committee nominated by the graduate advisor in consultation with the student and appointed by the graduate dean. Upon the successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations, the student is recommended to the graduate dean for advancement to candidacy.

Language Requirements In addition to Spanish and English, the candidate must demonstrate a reading knowledge of one other language. Students specializing in Latin American literature must select Portuguese as this language. This requirement may be fulfilled by departmental examination or by satisfactory completion of one Brazilian literature class.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination Students prepare a dissertation presented as prescribed by the Graduate Division under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation committee. After completion of the dissertation, the candidate is examined by the dissertation committee. This examination normally takes the form of a public presentation by the candidate followed by questions from the committee.

The Sheridan Libraries

• Spanish Language and Literature
• Sheridan Libraries
• Dissertations
• Information on an AUTHOR
• Information on a WORK
• Information on a THEME
• Research in Archives
• Essential Tools
• Language Tools
• Using the Library

Access to Dissertations

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Includes more than 2 million entries.The single, central, authoritative resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations
• Interlibrary Loan the Library does not routinely purchase dissertations from other institutions. However, many are available through InterLibrary Services. Search in WorldCat for easiest ordering.
• Request a purchase for the library If you would like the Library to purchase a dissertation, contact the Librarian for the Department.

Databases in Europe and Latin America

TESEO : theses from Spanish universities since 1976.

Portal de tesis digitales de REBIUN : links to databases of theses of Spanish universities.

Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes Tesis doctorales : theses in literature from Spanish universities. Some full-text available.

DART-Europe : E-theses Portal

EthOs : British Library dissertations

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global : comprehensive listing of theses with abstracts in universities in the US, UK, and Ireland. Full-text coverage spans from 1743 to the present, with citation coverage dating back to 1637.

Buy Your Own

As a last resort, you can purchase dissertations directly.

Dissertation Express : US, from ProQuest

• Verify using the tools listed above that the document is not otherwise available to you free before ordering.
• If Interlibrary Loan can't locate a copy to borrow.
• Use a credit card or fax payment.
• Orders are shipped directly to you.

Submitting your dissertation

• Guidelines at JHU
• Graduate Board formatting details

Related Guide

• Electronic Theses & Dissertations
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• Last Updated: May 9, 2024 12:39 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.jhu.edu/spanish

Doctorate (PhD) in Spanish - Hispanic Linguistics

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers a comprehensive graduate program in Hispanic Linguistics.

Courses explore such topics as what Spanish language structures are possible and why; how sounds are learned, processed, produced, and perceived; and the use of language as social behavior, including speaker intention, the role of the interlocutor, and the impact of society on language. Coursework includes topics in Spanish bilingualism, heritage- and second-language acquisition and teaching, morphology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, syntax, and translation studies. Our faculty is committed to working closely with you to prepare you for careers in Spanish teaching and research, and beyond. 

Explore Our Program

• Research Labs

Meet Our People

• Current Students

Linguistics in Tucson

The University of Arizona has the highest concentration of linguists per student of any Research-1 University in the United States. Linguists are part of an increasing number of Departments and Programs including Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Spanish and Portuguese, English, French and Italian, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT), Anthropology, to name a few-- and they form a tightly related resource for theoretical, applied and multidisciplinary studies. The University of Arizona is situated in the midst of Native American Territory and very close to the border with Mexico. Tucson hosts an extensive community of native speakers of Spanish making it a vibrant and endless source of linguistic reflection and research.

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers the Ph.D. with a major in Spanish - Hispanic Linguistics.

Submit Your Application

Graduate program coordinator.

Isela Gonzales-Cook [email protected]

Director of the Graduate Program

Faith S Harden [email protected]

Graduate Student Advisor in Hispanic Linguistics

Miquel Simonet [email protected]

Spanish and Portuguese

Doctor of philosophy in spanish.

The Doctor of Philosophy program in Spanish requires a total of at least 72 s.h. of graduate credit. Students must maintain a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 3.00.

In this research-oriented degree, Ph.D. students choose from two different tracks: literatures/cultures and Hispanic linguistics. The literatures/cultures track trains students in textual analysis and literary history, criticism, and theory. The linguistics track provides training in linguistic analysis and theory. All courses taken to fulfill the semester hour requirement for the degree must be taken on a graded basis; no graduate credit is awarded for a grade lower than C-minus.

Both tracks require a specified number of semester hours of coursework, of which up to, but not more than, 30 s.h. (10 courses) may be counted from the M.A. in Spanish or the M.F.A. in Spanish creative writing at the University of Iowa or elsewhere, as approved by the director of graduate studies. The Ph.D. also requires 3-15 s.h. for the thesis in SPAN:6999 - Thesis . The degree also requires successful completion and defense of a dissertation representing original research or creative work.

No credit is awarded for coursework completed after the M.A. is granted and prior to entrance into the Ph.D. program. If, in the course of doctoral study, the advisory committee recommends a student take coursework at another institution, the student may petition the director of graduate studies well in advance of undertaking the coursework, for approval of up to 9 s.h. of transfer credit. At least 39 s.h. of the 72 s.h. required for the degree must be in coursework taken at the University of Iowa.

Listed below are the general categories of coursework required to earn the degree; for more specific information on courses, curriculum, and requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish visit the UI General Catalog .

Literatures/Cultures Track

Students must complete at least 36 s.h. (12 courses) beyond the master's degree (or 22 courses beyond the bachelor's degree). The following courses are required; courses taken for the M.A. may be used to meet part of this requirement.

Language Tool Requirement

Students in this track must complete the equivalent of three years of college-level study in one language.

Students who plan to write dissertations on topics in Spanish or Spanish American literature before 1700 are strongly encouraged to select Latin, Arabic, or an Amerindian language to satisfy this requirement; they should consult specialists in their field to determine which language is most appropriate. Students may take more than two languages if their coursework permits.

Language tool coursework below the third-year college level does not count toward the 72 s.h. required for the degree. Courses taken to fulfill the language tool requirements may be taken on a nongraded basis. If the language tool requirements are satisfied by examination, the exam results must be documented in a student's file.

Hispanic Linguistics Track

Students must earn at least 27 s.h. (9 courses) beyond the master's degree (or 19 courses beyond the bachelor's degree). The following courses are required; courses taken for the M.A. may be used to meet part of this requirement.

Language Tool and Additional Requirements

Students in this track must complete the equivalent of three years of college-level study of Portuguese, and the equivalent of one year of college-level study in each of two other languages. For students specializing in historical linguistics, one of those two languages must be Latin.

Students may satisfy the language tool requirement by examination or by coursework at the University of Iowa or at another accredited university. Courses taken to fulfill the language tool requirements may be taken on a nongraded basis. If the language tool requirements are satisfied by examination, the exam results must be documented in the student's file. The language tool coursework does not count toward the 57 s.h. of pre-thesis coursework required for the degree, except for the third-year-level coursework in Portuguese, which may be counted with the faculty advisor's approval if a student completed the course with a grade.

Students also must write two extended research papers and give two colloquium presentations based on these papers. The first paper must be in an area distinct from the intended dissertation research; it must be approved by a student's advisory committee by the end of fall semester of the second year of Ph.D. coursework in order for the student to continue in the track. The second paper must be in the dissertation research area, must be of publishable quality, and must be approved by the student's advisory committee no later than the beginning of the semester in which the student takes the comprehensive exam.

Important Deadlines

Application Deadline : January 15th (for financial support)

Admission decisions are based on prior academic performance, letters of reference, and the applicant's statement about background and purpose. Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the  Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College  on the Graduate College website. For more information, see the  Graduate Admissions Process  page.

Comprehensive Examinations

The purpose of the comprehensive examination is to determine whether students have gained sufficient breadth and depth of research knowledge in Hispanic literatures or linguistics to enter the profession as a teacher-scholar. The examining committee is composed of five departmental faculty members, or four departmental faculty members and a fifth faculty member from a related department.

Graduate students who plan to take the examination must file the departmental Notification of Intent to Take M.A. or Ph.D. Exams form with the graduate student academic coordinator by the third week of the relevant semester; see the  Graduate Program Manual . Students presenting the comprehensive exams cannot have more than one coursework requirement left to be completed, including courses for the fulfillment of the language tool requirements, after the semester in which the exams are presented. Generally, students either have finished their coursework requirements prior to presenting the comprehensive exams or they are completing them in the semester of their exams.

Dissertation

After the comprehensive examination is completed, a student submits a dissertation prospectus for the dissertation committee's approval. The dissertation committee is composed of five faculty members; at least four committee members must be from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

The dissertation, complete and in final form, must be submitted in the required electronic format to the Graduate College office by the first-deposit deadline date of the session in which the degree is to be conferred. The final deposit of the approved dissertation in electronic format must be deposited at the office by the appropriate deadline in a student's graduation semester.

Students must adhere to the Graduate College regulations regarding preparation of the dissertation copy; consult the  Graduate College . For information on the dissertation and final examinations, see the  Manual of Rules and Regulations  on the Graduate College website.

Additional Requirements

Only 3 s.h. earned for post-M.A. independent study may be applied toward the 72 s.h. required for the degree; the department discourages students from including independent study as a part of their coursework. Exceptions are made under extraordinary circumstances, but must be preapproved by the director of graduate studies. For consideration of a request for independent study credit, students must complete the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Independent Study Contract for Graduate Students form obtained from the director of graduate studies, then secure the approval of the director of graduate studies and the chair of the department, and submit a copy of the form to the graduate student academic coordinator before the first day of the semester. Only students in good academic standing may enroll in an independent study course.

PhD in Spanish (General Catalog)

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Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Ph.D. in Spanish

Below are the specific requirements to earn a Ph.D. in Spanish. Please also see the timetable to earn the degree and the checklist for course requirements .

Ph.D. in Spanish Requirements

• Maintaining good standing in the progress toward the degree
• Language requirement
• M.A. Thesis
• Selection of Academic Adviser
• Successful Comprehensive Exam
• Successful Qualifying Exam
• Successful Dissertation Defense

1. Student standing

Students must maintain a B+ average or better every semester in all graduate courses to remain in good standing. Students may request up to a maximum of two Incompletes (I) while enrolled at Vanderbilt and cannot carry an Incomplete (I) for more than one semester. Students must be conscientious classroom instructors and advance toward their degrees in a timely fashion. Students should participate actively in the academic life of the department, attending lectures, presentations, and other activities sponsored by the department. Only students in good standing may take the Comprehensive Exam, submit a dissertation proposal; and take the Qualifying Exam. Good standing is a prerequisite for financial assistance, including summer support, teaching assistantships, and dissertation fellowships.

2. Language requirement

As part of the M.A. students must demonstrate competence in Portuguese by taking PORT 5203 or a more advanced course taught in the target language. Other possibilities for meeting this requirement will be entertained and reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

3. Coursework

The Ph.D. in Spanish requires 63 credit hours of coursework, including the 30 credit hours earned for the M.A. at Vanderbilt.

Required courses (12 hours):

• SPAN 6010 Literary Analysis and Theory;
• SLS/SPAN 6030 Foreign Language Learning and Teaching;
• SPAN 6020 Ibero-Romance Philology (Students entering with a B.A. or Licenciatura should take SPAN 6020 in the 5 th semester of residence, if offered; students entering with an M.A. must take 6020 in the 3 rd semester of residence, if offered);
• SPAN 6040 Research and Grant Proposal Writing (Students entering with a B.A. or Licenciatura should take 6040 in the 5 th semester of residence, if offered; students entering with an M.A. should take 6040 in the 3 rd semester of residence, if offered).

Core courses (36 hours):

A minimum of 36 additional credit hours should be in graduate seminars in Spanish, numbered 7000 and above.  A maximum of 6 credit hours of Independent Study (SPAN 9560, 9660, 9670) may be applied to the Spanish requirements. Each Independent Study must be approved by the DGS upon the submission of a detailed syllabus prepared by the instructor. Note that SPAN 6080, a special graduate course to be used for Comprehensive Exam preparation, does not count toward these required credit hours.

Required minor (9 hours):

There is a mandatory minor for the Ph.D. in Spanish, which consists of a minimum of 9 credit hours. This minor is often Portuguese. After the Comprehensive Exam and within the following academic year, students will send their academic advisor in writing their plan to complete the minor. The academic advisor will assess the coherence and relevance of the minor and send the plan for the minor to the DGS. Some minors are pre-established and do not require prior approval; they must simply be declared. These minors are: 1. the Certificate in Latin American Studies issued by the Center for Latin American Studies, 2. the interdisciplinary minor in Philosophy and Literature; and 3. the Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies, issued by the Program of Women’s and Gender Studies (for details see the Graduate Catalog and contact the director of the program).

Electives (6 hours):

6 additional hours of graduate-level courses in Spanish, Portuguese or another discipline approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

4. M.A. Thesis

See Master of Arts in Spanish .

5. Selection of Academic Adviser

6. comprehensive exam.

A Comprehensive Exam is mandatory for all students (accepted with or without an M.A. from another institution) and will be completed by the end of the fourth semester of residence.

Preparation

• All students must take the Comprehensive Exam no later than the end of their fourth semester of residence.
• The Spanish Comprehensive Exam is based on both the Spanish Peninsular and Spanish American literature lists.
• Optional Comprehensive Research/Reading course: during their fourth semester, students may take a special graduate course to be used for Comprehensive Exam Preparation (SPAN 6080 Comprehensive Exam Study) for 3 credit hours. The course will not count toward the credit hours needed for completion of the M.A. or Ph.D. degrees. For this course, students will produce, in agreement with their academic advisors a list of works to be read during the semester.

Both parts of the Comprehensive Exam will be taken over spring break. One will cover the Spanish Peninsular list and the other will cover the Spanish American list. The questions for both parts will be sent to the student by 4:00 pm on the Friday before the beginning of Spring Break and the answers to all of the questions must be sent by email to the DGS by 9:00 am of the Monday following the end of Spring Break.

The exam is take-home and open book. The answers to all of the questions are expected to be fully original to each individual student. Examinees are expected to adhere to the Vanderbilt Honor Code: “Vanderbilt University students pursue all academic endeavors with integrity. They conduct themselves honorably, professionally and respectfully in all realms of their studies in order to promote and secure an atmosphere of dignity and trust. The keystone of our honor system is self-regulation, which requires cooperation and support from each member of the University community.”

• Identifications with Brief Analysis: Answer six out of eight questions involving identifications and analyses of elements from literary works on the lists. These elements may be a character, a quote, the title of a book, a literary phenomenon, trend or school, among other features of works or literary criticism. The answers may run from one to two pages. At least four of the answers should be in Spanish.
• Literary analysis in English: Answer one of two questions requiring literary analysis. This short essay should be written in English (four to five pages).Literary analysis in Spanish: Answer one of two questions with a longer essay written in Spanish (six to eight pages).

Comprehensive Exam committee

The Comprehensive Exam committee will be formed by three faculty members: the student’s academic advisor (chosen by the student during the third semester of study) and two other faculty members chosen by the DGS. If the student’s academic advisor is not available, a substitute member will be chosen by the DGS in consultation with the graduate student being examined. The Comprehensive Exam committee is ultimately responsible for the outcome of the Comprehensive Exam, and has the final say on the outcome of the exam. Exams will be made available to all Faculty members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese upon request.

Possible outcomes of the Comprehensive Exam:

• Pass with distinction and admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Pass with admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Fail with the automatic possibility of retaking the exam. The exam can only be retaken once. The retake will take place during the week immediately following the official final exam period of the same semester when the first exam is taken. The student will have one week to take the new exam under the same conditions as described above. The retake will be evaluated by the original committee. The outcome of the retake will be determined by the committee and will be final. The graduate student can opt out of retaking the exam, choosing instead to leave the program.

Possible outcomes of the retake of the Comprehensive Exam:

• Pass and admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Fail and dismissal from the program.

7. Qualifying Exam

• There are two reading lists for the Qualifying Exam: the Period List and the Specialized Research List.
• The Period List consists of primary and secondary works in all genres from a particular period that is directly related to the dissertation topic.
• The Specialized Research List consists of works based on the dissertation topic. The dissertation and resulting list may be organized around a genre, an issue, a theme, or any combination of these elements, as well as around a particular theoretical problem. The list should include primary works as well as theoretical, historical, and critical works. It may, as deemed necessary by the doctoral committee, include works from different periods, from both sides of the Atlantic, and from Africa, Asia, or any other part of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. Accompanying the Specialized Research List should be a two-page statement that explains and justifies it in relation to the dissertation topic and proposal.
• Each list consists of approximately 30 to 50 books, as well as complementary chapters of books, articles, and specific works of literature, theory, and criticism. Each list should be compiled by the student in consultation with his or her advisor and committee.
• The final proposal for the dissertation (including bibliography), approved by the student’s advisor, should be submitted to the dissertation committee and the DGS one month prior to the Qualifying Exam.
• The dissertation committee will consist of three faculty members from the department and one outside member chosen by the student in consultation with his or her advisor. The student must appoint the dissertation committee in the semester prior to the Qualifying Exam. After securing the agreement and permission of all parties involved, the student must provide the DGS with a list of the faculty members who will serve on the committee and indicate who will serve as committee chair.

Qualifying Exam format

• Written portion: The written exam will be designed by the student’s academic advisor and agreed upon in advance by the entire committee. It will be divided into two sections: one based on the Period List and the other on the Specialized Research List and the Proposal. The student will answer 3 of the 4 questions in each section. Each essay answer must be from 10 to 15 pages long (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point) and must demonstrate dedicated work and sophisticated thinking, and reflect the student’s readiness to begin work on the dissertation. Twelve days will be allotted for this exam. The dissertation advisor will distribute copies of the written exam to each member of the committee and the DGS.
• Oral portion: Five to fifteen days after the satisfactory completion of the written exam, the student will take an oral exam. During this oral exam, the student will present the dissertation proposal, discuss it with the committee, and answer questions regarding the written exam. The main purpose of the oral exam is: 1) to strengthen the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the proposal; 2) to discuss the material and content of the proposed dissertation; and 3) to define both a plan and a timetable for the completion of the dissertation.

Qualifying Exam outcomes

Possible outcomes of the Qualifying Exam:

• Pass with distinction and Candidacy for the Ph.D
• Pass and Candidacy for the Ph.D.
• Depending on the nature of the failure, the student may be asked to repeat either part or all of the exam. If the exam shows that the student is unlikely to be successful in future exams, he or she may not be given the option of additional testing.

8. Dissertation Defense

Students are required to attend an oral defense of their dissertation. The Department strongly recommends that the final draft of the dissertation be in the hands of the “readers” at least one month prior to the anticipated date for the defense. The student, in consultation with the DGS, the advisor and with the members of the Dissertation Committee, will schedule an oral defense of the dissertation after the Dissertation Committee has received it. The form to request a date for the defense must be signed by the DGS and delivered to the Graduate School at least two weeks in advance.

Restrictions

• Transfer credit from other institutions may not exceed 15 hours.
• No undergraduate courses in Spanish may be transferred.
• The Graduate School requires that the Qualifying Exam be taken within four years of admission to the Ph.D. program.
• The Graduate School also requires that the dissertation be completed within four years after the student has been admitted to Candidate status (successful completion of Qualifying Exam).
• The department considers these time limits to be reasonable and will not grant extensions except for compelling reasons related to issues of health.

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The Ph.D. in Spanish

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers a Ph.D. degree in Spanish with a focus in Spanish, Spanish-American, or Chicano/Latino literatures and cultures. The program integrates period and genre studies with work in literary and critical theory, linguistics, sociohistorical studies, and cultural studies. The Department seeks to professionalize its Ph.D. candidates not as narrow specialists but rather as scholars and critics acquainted with a range of fields that relate to and enhance their discipline. For this reason, Ph.D. students are encouraged to take  courses outside of the Department. Graduate emphases in Comparative Literature, Critical Theory, and Women’s Studies are available; other areas of study (for example, film, history) may be designed with approval from the student’s Ph.D. guidance committee. The Department has traditionally been committed to excellence in teaching, both in its own practice and in the formation of its graduates. THE PH.D. ADVISOR Upon acceptance to the doctoral program and in consultation with the Graduate Director, the Ph.D. student is assigned a primary Advisor and an alternate Advisor (in case the primary advisor is temporarily absent). The Ph.D. Advisor will head the Ph.D. Guidance Committee and presumably direct the dissertation. The Ph.D. Advisor in conjunction with the Guidance Committee guides the student in preparing for the qualifying exams, informs the student of departmental and university requirements, signs and approves the Academic Planning Guide each quarter, and serves as faculty mentor for the student. In addition, the Ph.D. Advisor informs the Graduate Director about the qualifying exam (dates, committee membership, outcome). If necessary, the Ph.D. Advisor may convoke a meeting of professors with whom the student has studied to evaluate academic progress and performance. All students are required to meet bi-annually with their Advisors during the second week of instruction in the Fall and, once again, during the second week of Spring quarter. The purpose of these meetings is to advise students in their courses of graduate study and monitor their progress towards the timely completion of the Ph.D. degree. The student may petition the Chair or Graduate Director for a change of advisor or committee (except between the qualifying exam and any retake); any change must be approved by the Graduate Director. The Ph.D. Advisor chairs the Exam Committee and organizes and coordinates the qualifying exam. COURSEWORK The doctoral program comprises a minimum of 16 courses, that is, 8 courses beyond the 8 courses required for the M.A. degree. As part of the 8 courses required for the Ph.D., all students must take the following:

• one graduate course in Linguistics (diachronic or synchronic)
• one graduate course in Luso-Brazilian literature and culture
• Spanish 239A or B (Introduction to Literary Theory), unless this course was taken as part of the MA coursework at UCI. Equivalent courses from other institutions may satisfy the requirement.
• A detailed rationale for taking the course
• Reading list
• Course objective
• Evaluation components
•  It is recommended that students complete the required minimum coursework towards the Ph.D. before taking an Individual Studies.
•  Individual Studies MUST NOT be taken for the purposes of preparing readings for the Ph.D. qualifying examination (see Directed Reading above).
• A detailed rationale for taking the Individual Study with appropriate documentation of eligibility (i.e. completion of all required minimum coursework for the Ph.D.)
• A course description and complete reading list for the course
• Evaluation components, which must include a research paper
• An endorsement from the Ph.D. advisor

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PhD Program

The mission of the doctoral program of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese is to educate and train graduate students to develop new knowledge about the languages, literatures and cultures of the Latin American and Iberian regions, their related diasporas, and their Indigenous, African, and Afro-descendant cultures. Our graduates will acquire the competence to engage in critical discussions of major trends in their field of study, and to apply this knowledge in meaningful endeavors. To help our graduates achieve their goals, our program introduces students to a diverse body of theoretical approaches and methodological procedures that are instrumental to their respective disciplines.

Iberian and Latin American Literatures and Cultures

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Addresses the broad range of linguistic and cultural contacts that currently comprise our field.  Allows students to complete their primary coursework in Portuguese or Spanish, and then choose a second specialization in the literature and culture in a language that is not Spanish or Portuguese.

Luso-Brazilian Cultural and Media Studies

Designed for students who wish to acquire the cultural capital and critical thinking skills crucial to a global understanding of Brazil, Portugal, and the Portuguese-speaking populations of Africa and Asia.

Iberian and Latin American Linguistics

Students pursue coursework in areas that bridge theoretical and applied approaches in the study of the structural and meaning-bearing properties of standardized and local languages, the sociolinguistics of the Ibero-American world, the development of second languages in natural and academic settings, and the qualitative and quantitative analysis of speech samples collected in the field and in the laboratory. 

Areas of Study

Graduate work in Iberian and Latin American Languages and Cultures is offered in three tracks: Iberian and Latin American Literatures and Cultures, Luso-Brazilian Cultural and Media Studies, and Iberian and Latin American Linguistics.

Admission and Degree Requirements

Master of arts.

The Master of Arts (MA) degree is available only to students enrolled in the PhD degree program in Iberian and Latin American Languages and Cultures under two conditions. First, students who leave the program without obtaining their PhD, and who are approved by the Graduate Studies Committee after having successfully defended a doctoral qualifying paper in the fourth semester, may receive a terminal master's degree. Second, if the doctoral qualifying paper is deemed unacceptable, thus disqualifying them from continuing in the program, the student may still petition to receive the MA after successfully completing 30 semester credit hours. In these cases, the Graduate Studies Committee reviews the petitions, deciding whether to approve or deny the petition. 

Doctor of Philosophy

The entering student must hold a bachelor's degree with a major in Spanish or Portuguese or must demonstrate equivalent knowledge. In either case, all students must demonstrate reading proficiency in a second language prior to advancing to doctoral candidacy. In Tracks 1 and 3 (see above), the second language may be any language other than English that is relevant to the student's proposed field of study and is approved by the graduate advisor. Students in the second track must choose Spanish or Portuguese as the second language. This requirement may be fulfilled by exam, previous credit, or 10-12 hours of additional coursework.

Students seeking the PhD must earn a minimum of 54 hours of credit. Coursework includes the following required courses:  ILA 380 Introduction to Theory and Research of Literature and Culture (only students in Track 1 and 2), ILA 398T Supervised Teaching In Spanish and Portuguese, ILA 394 Supervised Teaching of the Qualifying Paper, ILA 385T Teaching Practicum, ILA 395 Supervised Preparation of the Dissertation Fields, ILA 396 Supervised Preparation of the Dissertation Proposal and ILA 399W, ILA 699W or 999W Dissertation. The remaining credit hours may be fulfilled through elective courses at the graduate level, as specified by the graduate advisor.  At least 15 of the 27 elective credit hours must come from courses offered by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. 

All graduate students must complete ILA 380 Introduction to Theory and Research of Literature and Culture (only students in Track 1 and 2) and ILA 398T Supervised Teaching in Spanish and Portuguese, as well as 9 nine hours of elective coursework in their first three long semesters. By the end of the third long semester, students must have selected or been assigned an advisor from among the department's graduate faculty. 

The fourth long semester will be dedicated to the elaboration of the Doctoral Qualifying Paper . In the first half of the semester, in consultation with the mentor and two additional readers appointed by the Graduate Adviser, each student must write and submit a paper demonstrating a mastery of a specialized topic, theoretical rigor, sophisticated research techniques, and a command of structure, academic style and organization. If all three readers deem the paper acceptable, the student will defend the paper before the committee during the second half of the semester.

Upon the successful completion of the Doctoral Qualifying Paper, students will enroll in 9 hours of additional elective coursework, generally in the fifth long semester.

The sixth and seventh long semesters will be dedicated to the Preparation of the Doctoral Dissertation Fields and Proposal .  In the sixth long semester, in consultation with a Dissertation Proposal Committee (consisting of the student's mentor and three other GSC faculty members, including one from outside the department), each student will prepare the Doctoral Dissertation Fields , which will include critical summaries of the field lists.  If the Dissertation Proposal Committee considers the lists and accompanying summaries acceptable, the student will develop a Doctoral Dissertation Proposal , under the supervision of his/her mentor, which the student will defend before the 12th week of the seventh long semester. The student will also enroll in the Teaching Practicum (ILA 385T) during the seventh long semester.

Graduate Courses and Curriculum

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For administrative matters and logistical inquiries: Graduate Coordinator: Josephine Foster

Concerning academic aspects of the program: Graduate Adviser Dr. Kelly McDonough

Mailing address:

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Spanish and Portuguese Graduate Program 150 W. 21st St., Stop B3700 Austin TX 78712

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Marcelo Carosi — Mucamas peligrosas: Retóricas del empleo doméstico en América Latina

Ewa Chmielewska — Epistemología del amor. Ética, animalidad y conversión en el discurso de amor del siglo XV. Hacia una ética relacional

Cristina Colmena — Fuera de campo: ficciones, afectos y apropiaciones en los bordes de la imagen. Documental y fotografía en España y Latinoamérica

Juan Francisco Marguch —   Texturas de lo real: Ficciones de lo provincial en América Latina

Osdany Morales — La ciudad anticipada. Proyecciones de La Habana y Buenos Aires en la literatura y la arquitectura del siglo XX

Michel Otayek — Photography, Mobility and Collaboration: Kati Horna in Mexico and Grete Stern in Argentina

Abel Sierra Madero — “Work Will Make Men Out of All of You.” Forced Labor Camps, Testimony, Literature and Memory in Cuba During the 1960’s

Irina Troconis — Spectral Remains: Memory, Magic, and the State in the Afterglow of Hugo Chávez’s Bolivarian Revolution

Marcos Del Cogliano — Subjetividades (in)dóciles: representaciones culturales de los trabajadores Argentinos en la primera mitad del siglo veinte

Pablo La Parra-Pérez — Displaced Cinema: Militant Film Culture and Political Dissidence in Spain (1966-1982)

Camila Ariadna Moreiras-Vilaros — Registering Vision: Saturation, Surveillance and the Contemporary Image in Spain and Mexico

Tess C. Rankin — Feeling Strangely: Science and the Construction of Gender in 20th-Century Spanish and Latin American Modernist Fiction by Women

Amaury Leopoldo Sosa — The Auto/Biographical Imperative and the Governmentality of Minor Life/Writing in Spain

Germán Garrido —  La Internacional Argentina : Las cosmopolíticas queer de Copi, María Moreno y Néstor Perlongher (1971-1992)

María Rocío Pichon Rivière — La piel de la política: Fenomenologías latinoamericanas sobre la producción de diferencia

Edward Rosa — Propiedades transatlánticas: Estrategias narrativas de apropiación e identificación en España y Puerto Rico en el siglo XVIII

Emmanuel Velayos — Embodied Letters: Vernacular Experiments and the Performance of Writing in Latin America, 1808-1902

Current and Recent Dissertations

The following Doctoral Dissertations, organized by graduation year, reflect the breadth and depth that characterize the research of our graduate students. Digital access is provided through the  University of California Digital Library , our institutional repository. Additionally, the abstracts of theses and dissertations worldwide are indexed by  ProQuest . 

For Dissertations since 2000, click here .

Dissertations In Progress

Recent dissertations – 2012 to 2023.

Madison Felman-Panagotacos,  Hagiographies of Maternal Bodies: Corporality, Abortion, and Citizenship  in Argentina. [ Advisor: Adriana Bergero] (June 2023)

Julia Gonzalez Calderon,  Negra memoria: la narrativa policial centroamericana en la era del neoliberalismo.  [Advisor: Patricia Arroyo-Calderon]  (June 2023)

Isaac Gimenez,  Crise autoral e apropriações textuais: Corpo e poesia performativa no Brasil, 1920-2020. [ Advisors: Patricia Lino & Jose Luiz Passos]   (June 2023)

Tania Varela,  Adapting Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso for Iberian Readerships: Jerónimo de Urrea’s Spanish Translation and its Sephardic Adaptation (Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS. Canon. Or. 6)  [Advisor: John Dagenais] (June 2023)

João Paulo Temporão Albuquerque, Postcolonial (Mock-)Epic Narratives: Reading Mário de Andrade with Jorge Luis Borges.   [Advisor: Jose Luiz Passos] (March 2022)

Esther Claudio, Historical Memory in Post-Francoist Spanish Graphic Narrative [Advisor: Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2022)

Roxana Colon-Cosm e, “Dezir quiero de Granada, todo quanto he visto en ella”: A Geocritical Approach to Sixteenth Century Iberian pliegos sueltos. [Advisor: John Dagenais] (June 2022)

Audrey Larkin, Lunar Wastelands to Fertile Fields: Representations of the Landscape in Mexican Novels, Illustrations, and Film Adaptations (1899-2019) [Advisor: Maarten van Delden] (June 2022)

Chak Han (Laura) Lee, Modernity in Transition: Roberto Arlt’s Aguafuertes porteñas.   [Advisor: Veronica Cortinez] (March 2022)

Adelmar Ramirez, Ficciones especulares: formas intermediadas de representación y exégesis de la violencia en la literatura contemporánea mexicana y argentina. [Advisors: Adriana Bergero and Jorge Marturano] (June 2022)

Gemma Repiso Puigdelliura, The Development of Cross-linguistic Transfer: The Case of  Word-External Repairs of Empty Onsets in Spanish Heritage Speakers. [Advisor: Ji Young Kim] (June 2022)

Jesus Jose Silveyra, An e-Learning Lesson on the First Commercial Spanish Theaters. A Non-Traditional Dissertation [Advisor: Barbara Fuchs] (Fall 2022)

Carolina Beltran,  Nature, Nation and Animality in the Discourse of Literary Indigenismo: Case Studies in Peru, Mexico & the American Southwest, 1920-1974   .  [Advisor: Efrain Kristal] (March 2021)

Juliana Espinal,  Representaciones de la violencia paramilitar en la Colombia del siglo XXI.  [Advisor: Veronica Cortinez] (June 2021)

Barbara Galindo,  Vidas Huérfanas, Ciudades Torturadas y Derechos Humanos Ecosociales: Representaciones Culturales del Terror Minero en los Andes.  [Advisor: Adriana Bergero] (June 2021)

Jesus Galleres,  Ira, humillación, Deseo De Venganza y Luchas De Prestigio: Un Acercamiento Al Papel De Las Pasiones En Las Novelas políticas De Mario Vargas Llosa y Alonso Cueto Que Tratan épocas Dictatoriales y De insurrección.  [Advisor: Efrain Kristal] (March 2021)

Laura Muñoz Franco,  Communities of Playmaking: Guillén de Castro in the Development of the Comedia.   [Advisor: Barbara Fuchs] (June 2021)

Paula Thomas,  El espacio público y el derecho a la ciudad en el Santiago de Alberto Fuguet.  [Advisor: Veronica Cortinez] (June 2021)

Benjamin Burt,  Cities of Dreams and Despair: Utopia and Dystopia in Contemporary Brazilian Film and Literature.  [Advisors: Randal Johnson and Jose Luiz Passos] (June 2020)

Veronica Garcia Moreno,  España transfigurada en el Magreb: Construcciones identitarias en la literatura sobre la guerra de África de 1859.  [Advisor: Prof. Jesus Torrecilla] (June 2020)

Natassia Hott,  Rethinking Sterotypes: Representations of Gender in Brazilian Comedies of the Post-Remotada.     [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (June 2020)

Alexandra Lawn,  The Varying Roles of Morphosyntax in Memory and Sentence Processing: Retrieval and Encoding Interference in Brazilian Portuguese.   [Advisors: Carlos Quicoli and Jesse Harris] (June 2020)

Maria Teresa Monroe,  Indocumentados en tránsito: Representaciones contemporáneas de precariedad, muerte y resistencia.  [Advisor: Marten van Delden] (June 2020)

Renee Rivera,  Masculinities at Work: Men, Masculinities, and Employment in the Spanish Popular Comedies of the Late-Francoist and Transition Eras.  [Advisor: Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2020)

Lourdes Arevalo,  Dos o tres cosas sobre la novela de la violencia y las violencias en Colombia.  [Advisor: Prof. Veronica Cortinez] (March 2019)

Maricela Becerra,  “2 de octubre no se olvida”: la (pos)memorialización de Tlatelolco 68  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2019)

Kristal Bivona,  Transitional Justice in Post-Dictatorship South American Film.  [Advisors: Prof. Randal Johnson and Adriana Bergero] (June 2019)

Francesca Gambini,  La producción cultural del Perú ante la comisión de la verdad y reconciliación.  [Advisor: Prof. Veronica Cortinez] (June 2019)

Jennifer Monti,  Imagining Cuba: Emigration, Tourism, and Imperialist Nostalgia in the Work of Spanish Women Writers and Photographers (1992-2015).  [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2019)

Cristian Yanai Bermudez,  Black Mexico’s Sites of Struggles across Borders: The Problem of the Color Line . [Advisor: Prof. Hector Calderon] (June 2018)

Franny Brogan,  Signs of our Times: Language Contact and Attitudes in the Linguistic Landscape of Southeast Los Angeles  [Advisors: Carlos Quicoli and Norma Mendoza-Denton] (June 2018)

Paul Cella,  Contemporary Republicanism in Spain: Dialogues with Liberalism and the Left . [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2018)

Adrian Collado,  Caricaturas del otro: contra-representaciones satíricas de la inmigración en la literatura y la cultura visual Española contemporánea (1993-2017).  [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2018)

Daniel Cooper,  The Roots of Transformation: Octavio Paz and the Radical Americanist Awakening of Pablo Neruda.  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2018)

Nitzaira Delgado-Garcia,  Historiografía y ficción: la construcción del discurso en la estoria de España (NS7586) de Alfonso X . [Advisor: Prof. John Dagenais] (June 2018)

Armando Guerrero,  The Mexican Diaspora: On constructing and Negotiating Mexicanidad in México City.  [Advisor: Prof. Carlos Quicoli] (June 2018)

Payton Phillips,  Imperial Occlusions: Mestizaje and Marian Mechanisms in Early Modern Andalucía and the Andes.  [Advisor: Prof. Barbara Fuchs] (June 2018)

Alejandro Ramirez-Mendez,  Trans-Urban Narratives: Literary Cartographies and Global Cities in the Urban Imagination of Mexico and the U.S. .  [Advisor: Prof. Hector Calderon] (June 2018)

Rafael Ramirez Mendoza,  Transformar el mundo, cambiar la vida: el surrealismo en el Perú y los proyectos de renovación sociocultural de Jose Carlos Mariategui, Xavier Abril, y Cesar Moro. .  [Advisor: Prof. Efrain Kristal] (August 2018)

Jyeun Son,  Acquisition of Spanish Intonation by Native Korean Speakers . [Advisors: Prof. Carlos Quicoli and Sun-Ah Jun] (June 2018)

Ezequiel Trautenberg,  A Porous Cinema: Cosmopolitanism and Cinephilia in Chilean Art Film (2005-2015).   [Advisor: Prof. Veronica Cortinez] (June 2018)

Elizabeth Warren,  The Aesthetic of the Grotesque in Post-Franco Spain .    [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2018)

Mariska Bolyanatz,  Plural Production and Perception in Santiago Spanish  [Advisors: Profs. Ji Young Kim and Norma Mendoza-Denton] (June 2017)

Isaura Contreras,  El diario de escritor en la literatura latinoamericana del siglo XX  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2017)

Jhonni Carr,  Signs of Our Times: Language Contact and Attitudes in the Linguistic Landscape of Southeast Los Angeles  [Advisor: Prof. Carlos Quicoli] (June 2017)

Wendy Kurtz,  Mass Graves and Remembering through Ritual: Historical Memory in Contemporary Peninsular Literature, Documentary Film, and Digital Culture  [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2017)

Magdalena Matuskova,  Cuban Cinema in a Global Context: The Impact of Eastern European Cinema on the Cuban Film Industry in the 1960s  [Advisor: Prof. Jorge Marturano] (June 2017)

David Ramirez Prieto,  José Lezama Lima y las redes intelectuales antimodernas: escritores, revistas, editoriales  (1920-1956) [Advisor: Prof. Jorge Marturano] (June 2017)

Cheri Robinson,  Representations of Transnational Violence: Children in Contemporary Latin American Film, Literature, and Drawings  [Advisor: Prof. Adriana Bergero] (May 2017)

Maria Gabriela Venegas,  La novela del Ecuador desde el espacio anfibio de la ciudad portuaria y su relación con el liberalismo ecuatoriano: tres casos representativos entre 1855 y 1944  [Advisor: Prof. Efrain Kristal] (March 2017)

Daniel Whitesell,  Debates ideológicos y estilísticos en torno a la Revolución Cubana, 1963-1966  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2017)

Inês Cordeiro da Silva Dias, Film and Politics in the Lusophone World (1960s— 1970s) [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (June 2016)

Julio P. García, Ignacio Padilla, México, y el legado de la tradición literaria latinoamericana (1985-2015). [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2016)

Willivaldo Delgadillo, Fabulando Juárez: Marcos de guerra, memoria y los foros por venir. [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2016)

Audrey A. Harris, De lo más lindo y de lo más pobre: Transnational Borges and Sandra Cisneros. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (June 2016)

Isabel Gomez,  Reciprocity in Literary Translation: Gift Exchange Theory and Translation Praxis in Brazil and Mexico (1968-2015) [Advisors: Profs. Efraín Kristal and José Luiz Passos]

Bryan Kirschen,  Judeo-Spanish Encounters Modern Spanish: Language Contact and Diglosia among the Sephardim of Los Angeles and New York City. [Advisors: Profs. Claudia Parodi and A. Carlos Quicoli] (June 2015)

Ian Romain,  A Phase Approach to Spanish Object Clitics . [Advisor: Profs. Claudia Parodi and A. Carlos Quicoli] (April 2015)

Juan Jesús Payán,  La magia postergada: género fantástico e identidad nacional en la España del XIX. [Advisor: Prof. Jesús Torrecilla] (May 2015)

Eilene Jamie Powell,  Hurts so good: representation of sadomasochism in Spnaish novels (1883-2012) [Advisors: Profs. Jesús Torrecilla and Silvia Bermudez] (May 2015)

Luiz Santos,  Literatura da Bagunça: a carnavalização nos romances da contracultura brasileira [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (March 2015)

Sandra Ruiz, Escrito con Tinta Roja: The Mexicana Feminist Detective in the Fiction of Maria Elvira Bermudez, Myriam Laurini, and Patricia Valladres. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (September 2014)

Armando Enrique Cerpa, Cifrado gótico en Santa Evita de Tomás Eloy Martínez y Una casa vacía de Carlos Cerda: espacios subterráneos, espectros e insepultos de las dictaduras. [Advisor: Prof. Adriana J. Bergero] (June 2014)

Carolyn González, Las Insometidas de la Ciudad de México: The Novel of Prostitution in Antonia Mora, Sara Sefchovich, and Cristina Rivera Garza. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (June 2014)

Belén MacGregor Villarreal, Dialect Contact among Spanish-Speaking Children in Los Angeles. [Advisor: Profs. Claudia Parodi] (June 2014)

Chase Wesley Raymond, On the Sequential Negotiation of Identity in Spanish-Language Discourse: Mobilizing Linguistic Resources in the Service of Social Action. [Advisor: Prof. Claudia Parodi and John Heritage] (Winter 2014)

Vanessa Marie Fernández, A Transatlantic Dialogue: Argentina, Mexico, Spain, and the Literary Magazines that Bridged the Atlantic (1920-1930). [Advisor: Profs. Maarten van Delden and Michelle Clayton] (Summer 2013)

Yeon Mi Lee, De milongas a la Casa Rosada: contribuciones y representaciones de la mujer en la industria del espectáculo popular argentino (1930-1950). [Advisor: Prof. Adriana J. Bergero] (Spring 2013)

Luis Francisco Cuesta Muniz, El estadio y la palabra: deporte y literatura en la Edad de Plata. [Advisor: Profs. Maite Zubiaurre and Roberta L. Johnson] (Spring 2013)

Bethany Renee Beyer, Performable Nations: Music and Literature in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. [Advisor: Prof. Elizabeth Marchant] (Spring 2013)

Eli Lee Carter, Luiz Fernando Carvalho: An Auteur of Brazilian Television. [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (Spring 2013) Brenda Liz Ortiz-Loyola, En busca de la solidaridad: feminismo y nación en el Caribe hispano, 1880-1940. [Advisor: Profs. Roberta L. Johnson and Jorge Marturano] (Spring 2013)

Polina Vasiliev, The Initial State for Californian English Learners of Spanish and Portuguese Vowels. [Advisor: Prof. A. Carlos Quicoli] (Spring 2013)

Joanna Dávila, Sexualidad, género y sociedad en la literatura del Caribe hispanohablante (1950-2000). [Advisor: Prof. Jorge Marturano] (Spring 2013)

Edward Chauca, El lugar de la locura: La construcción de la nación desde lo insano en la narrativa peruana. [Advisor: Prof. Efraín Kristal] (Fall 2012)

Alvaro Molina, Sacred, Epic and Picaresque: Violence and Genre in Cervantes. [Advisor: Profs. Efraín Kristal and Teófilo Ruiz] (Summer 2012)

Bryan David Green, Forging an Ascetic Planet: Jesuit Lives and Virtues on the Mission Frontier of Eighteenth-Century New Spain. [Advisor: Prof. Anna H. More] (Summer 2012)

Argelia Andrade, Segmental and Intonational Evidence for a Los Angeles Chicano Spanish Vernacular. [Advisor: Profs. Claudia Parodi and A. Carlos Quicoli] (Spring 2012)

Jamie Diane Fudacz, The Decadent City: Urban Space in Latin American Dirty Realist Fiction. [Advisor: Profs. Jorge Marturano and Maarten van Delden] (Spring 2012)

María Covadonga Lamar Prieto, El español de California en el XIX. [Advisor: Prof. Claudia Parodi] (Spring 2012)

Claudia Villegas-Silva, Tecnologías en escena: Del teatro multimedia al teatro cibernético en España y las Américas. [Advisor: Prof. Verónica Cortínez] (Spring 2012)

Oriel María Siu, Novelas de la diáspora centroamericana y la colonialidad del poder: Hacia una aproximación de-colonial al estudio de las literaturas centroamericanas. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (Spring 2012)

Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

Dual-title doctoral degree in spanish and language science, program description, requirements, committee composition, comprehensive exam, dissertation and dissertation defense, spanish and language science courses to fulfill requirements.

Students electing this program through the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, with the collaboration and support of the Linguistics Program and the Center for Language Science, will earn a degree with a dual-title at the PhD level in Spanish with a dual-title in Language Science. A graduate student obtaining this dual-degree will have the skills and knowledge to bring the methods and theories of linguistics, psycholinguistics, and cognitive neuroscience to bear on central issues in Spanish.

A dual-title degree program in Spanish and Language Science will prepare students to combine the theoretical and methodological approaches of several disciplines in order to contribute to research in the rapidly growing area of Language Science.  This inherently interdisciplinary field draws on linguistics, psychology, speech-language pathology, and cognitive neuroscience, as well as other disciplines, to address both basic and applied research questions in such areas as first and second language acquisition, developmental and acquired language disorders, literacy, and language pedagogy.  Dual-title degree students will receive interdisciplinary training that will enable them to communicate and collaborate productively with a wide range of colleagues across traditional discipline boundaries. Such training will open up new employment opportunities for students and give them the tools to foster a thriving interdisciplinary culture in their own future students. The dual-title program will facilitate the formation of a cross-disciplinary network of peers for participating students as part of their professional development.

The doctoral degree in Spanish and Language Science is awarded only to students who are admitted to the Spanish doctoral program and admitted to the dual-title degree in Language Science ( click here to obtain the  APPLICATION FORM ). The minimum course requirements for the dual-title Ph.D. degree in the Spanish and Language Science, in addition to the Spanish Program requirements, are as follows: 

• Language Science proseminar courses (LING 521 and LING 522; 6 credits).
• Research Methods/Statistics (LING 525 or equivalent; 3 credits).
• Theoretical Linguistics (LING 500 or LING 504; 3 credits)
• Cognitive Neuroscience or Psycholinguistics (LING/PSY 520, PSY 511 or equivalent; 3 credits)
• Research internships with two different Language Science faculty mentors (CSD 596, GER 596, LING 596, PSY 596, SPAN 596; 6 credits).

Particular courses may satisfy both the Spanish requirements and those in the Language Science program. Final course selection is determined by the student in consultation with the dual-title program advisors and the major program advisors. Students who already hold a master’s degree from another institution may petition to have equivalent course credits accepted.

In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy in the dual-title degree program, students will take a candidacy examination that is administered by the major program. A single candidacy examination will contain both elements of the Spanish program and the dual-title offering. For the Ph.D. student, the examination may be given after at least 18 credits have been earned in graduate courses beyond the baccalaureate; it must be taken within three semesters (summer sessions do not count) of entry into the doctoral program. With careful planning and consultation, in some cases it may be possible to complete all requirements for both Spanish and Language Science without incurring any delays.  However, it is possible that the dual-title degree student may require an additional semester or more to fulfill requirements for the major program and dual-title program; therefore, the candidacy examination may be delayed.  The candidacy committee will determine whether an additional semester is warranted on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to the candidacy examination, the student will be required to present a portfolio of work in Spanish Language Science to their committee. Such a portfolio would include a statement of the student’s interdisciplinary research interests, a plan of future study, and samples of writing that indicate the student’s work in Language Science.  The candidacy examination committee will be composed of faculty from the major program, as well as at least one faculty member affiliated with Language Science. The designated Language Science faculty member may be appointed in the student’s major program, but he or she may also hold a formal appointment with Linguistics. The Language Science member will participate in constructing and grading candidacy examination questions in the area of Language Science.

The doctoral committee of a Ph.D. dual-title degree student must include a minimum of four faculty members, i.e., the chair and at least three additional members all of whom must be members of the Graduate Faculty.  The committee must include at least one member of the Language Science graduate faculty. The chair of the committee is typically a member of both Spanish and Language Science, however, if the chair of the committee representing Spanish is not also a member of the graduate faculty in Language Science, then the member of the committee representing Language Science should be appointed as Co-Chair. 

At the end of the coursework, candidates for the dual-title doctoral degree in Spanish and Language Science will be required to pass an oral comprehensive examination based on their thesis proposal and area of specialization in Spanish, while reflecting their dual-title degree curriculum. The Language Science program representative on the student’s doctoral committee must have input into the development of and participate in the evaluation of the comprehensive examination.

Ph.D. students enrolled in the dual-title degree program are required to write and orally defend a dissertation on a topic that reflects their original research.  A dissertation on a topic related to Language Science is required for a dual-title Ph.D. degree in Language Science.

Many existing Penn State courses are relevant and appropriate for Language Science students.  The following list offers examples of courses that could contribute toward a student’s individualized doctoral program.  A number of the courses could fulfill coursework requirements (e.g., research methods/statistics).  The listing is organized by program.  

LING 446 FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (3)  LING 447 BILINGUALISM (3)  LING 448 SOCIOLINGUISTICS (3)   LING 449 SEMANTICS (3)  LING 493 FIELD METHODS (3)   LING 500 SYNTAX II (3)   LING 502 HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS (3)  LING 504 PHONOLOGY II (3)  LNGSC 521 PROSEMINAR IN THE LANGUAGE SCIENCE OF BILINGUALISM (3) LNGSC 522 PROSEMINAR IN PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN LANGUAGE SCIENCE (3) LING 525 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH METHODS IN LANGUAGE SCIENCE (3) LING 597 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) 

CSD 500 RESEARCH METHODS IN COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS (3)  CSD 520 PHYSIOLOGIC AND ACOUSTIC ISSUES IN SPEECH SCIENCE (3)  CSD 540 PHONOLOGICAL DISABILITIES (3)  CSD 546 LANGUAGE DISORDERS IN ADULTS (3)  CSD 547 LANGUAGE DISORDERS IN CHILDREN (3)  CSD 596 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9)  CSD 597 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) 

PSY 507 ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DATA I (3)  PSY 508 ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DATA II (3)  PSY 520 (LING) SEMINAR IN PSYCHOLINGUISTICS (3)  PSY 521 COGNITIVE STUDIES (3)  PSY 524 PROSEMINAR IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY (3)  PSY 525 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY SEMINAR (3 per semester, maximum of 12)  PSY 596 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9)  PSY 597 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) 

APLNG 512  LANGUAGE AND ADULT LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT (3)  APLNG 570 SECOND LANGUAGE READING (3)  APLNG 581 (CAS) DISCOURSE ANALYSIS (3)  APLNG 591 SEMINAR IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (3)  APLNG 593 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE (3)  APLNG 596 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9)  APLNG 597 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) 

SPAN 507 HISPANO-ROMANCE LINGUISTICS (3 per semester, maximum of 9)  SPAN 510 SPANISH DESCRIPTIVE LINGUISTICS: PHONOLOGY (3)  SPAN 511 SPANISH TRANSFORMATIONAL-GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS (3) SPAN 513 ACQUISITION OF SPANISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (3)  SPAN 514 HISPANIC DIALECTOLOGY (3 per semester, maximum of 6)  SPAN 596 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9)  SPAN 597 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9)   

GER 513 GERMAN PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY (3) GER 514 GERMAN SYNTAX GER 593 SEMINAR IN GERMAN PHILOLOGY AND GERMAN LINGUISTICS (3 per semester, maximum of 12)  GER 596 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9)  GER 597 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) 

FR 502 INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH LINGUISTICS (3)  FR 597 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) 

CAMS 501 COMPARATIVE GREEK AND LATIN GRAMMAR (3)  CAMS 503 SEMINAR ON ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGES (3-6)  CAMS 596 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9) 

STAT 500 APPLIED STATISTICS (3)  STAT 501 REGRESSION METHODS ( 3)  STAT 502 ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE AND DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS (3)  STAT 503 DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS (3)  STAT 504 ANALYSIS OF DISCRETE DATA (3)  STAT 505 APPLIED MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS (3)  STAT 511 REGRESSION ANALYSIS AND MODELING (3)  STAT 512 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS (3)  STAT 515 STOCHASTIC PROCESSES I (3)  STAT 544 CATEGORICAL DATA ANALYSIS I (3)  STAT 561 STATISTICAL INFERENCE I (3)  STAT 562 STATISTICAL INFERENCE II (3)  STAT 565 MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS (3)

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Translation of dissertation – English–Spanish dictionary

Dissertation.

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(Translation of dissertation from the Cambridge English-Spanish Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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(Translation of dissertation from the GLOBAL English-Spanish Dictionary © 2020 K Dictionaries Ltd)

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Chicago teen earns doctorate at 17 years old from Arizona State

Dorothy Jean Tillman II spoke at her commencement this month at Arizona State University. She successfully defended her dissertation to earn a doctorate in integrated behavioral health last December.

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• Fall 2023 Issue

Doctoral Students Tackle Impactful Research

Nicole Choquette and Emmanuel Lozada-Soto were recently named the recipients of the 2024 Kenneth R. Keller Research Award.

By Jess Clarke

As an Illinois native who’d lived all her life there, Nicole Choquette wanted a new state and different crop focus as she considered doctoral programs in plant breeding.

She had planned to go beyond corn and soybeans, key research areas at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where Choquette earned undergraduate and graduate degrees.

“Toward the end of my master’s program, I said I’d never study corn again,” she recalls. “But then a great opportunity came up at NC State University, and I said, ‘OK, I’m going to go study corn there.’”

So, Choquette headed to North Carolina and worked as a graduate research assistant for Jim Holland, a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences

She has no regrets — Choquette ultimately was recognized for her scholarship as an NC State crop science doctoral student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.    

Choquette and animal science Ph.D. student Emmanuel Lozada-Soto, both 2023 graduates, are the 2024 winners of CALS’ Kenneth R. Keller Award , a $2,500 prize for excellence in doctoral dissertation research within the college. The award’s namesake is a late CALS faculty member, recognized for his work for the university and agricultural development.

Lozada-Soto also originally thought he’d pursue a different doctoral path at CALS than the one he chose. He’d planned to study molecular biology but faced an unexpected obstacle: “I fell in love with quantitative genetics,” he says.

His interest shifted when he was invited to help with the animal breeding and genetics research of then-CALS professor Francesco Tiezzi, who became Lozada-Soto’s adviser when he was an NC State animal science master’s student .       

In quantitative genetics, he was intrigued by how many traits, including weight and milk production with cows, were controlled by genes and the environment. “We can see the genetic structure of the traits, so we can improve them,” Lozada-Soto says. “We can use science to uncover this hidden genetic architecture.”

His dissertation research stemmed from that, helped by an NC State master’s degree in statistics he’d already earned, and overseen by his doctoral adviser, CALS professor Christian Maltecca.   

Promising Research

Lozada-Soto examined the best ways to measure inbreeding and genetic diversity in cattle to determine how inbreeding affects their health and milk and meat production. The aim was to find out how harmful inbreeding potentially could be to animals and production.

He used molecular tools to study the cows’ genetic composition — half a million beef cattle and over four million dairy cows. With such a large and broad sampling, “I could more accurately quantify the genetic diversity and levels of inbreeding,” Lozada-Soto says.

The main conclusions of his research: In dairy cows, inbreeding can increase the incidence of reproductive disease; in beef cattle, inbreeding reduced growth and weight on average. Now dairy and beef producers can use the data to impact mating decisions, with the ultimate goal to increase food production.   

Lozada-Soto’s doctoral work eventually could increase genetic diversity and possibly counteract impacts of disease and climate change. Choquette’s dissertation research also has that potential.

The objective of her research was to try adapting tropical corn to temperate environments. With more plant diversity from different corn varieties, “That can help make our current corn breeding lines more resistant to climate change,” Choquette says.

Her focus was on quickening adaptation. The process is difficult because of the overall shorter daylight hours over a year’s time in tropical areas than in North Carolina. Introducing new varieties to longer day lengths “kind of freaks them out,” so the plants don’t flower and develop kernels on time, which can reduce their yield, she notes.

Choquette selected for the flowering time to be earlier, so plants could go through their developmental process in a single season. That entailed cross-pollinating tropical corn, taking pollen from one plant and putting it on another plant to select for the traits she wanted. “As we did that, we got rid of those bad individuals that were late flowering,” she says.   

Her research concluded that selecting for flowering time in breeding programs can make plants flower earlier, “so you can adapt tropical germplasm to new environments,” she notes.

Choquette’s research and the new, diverse plant populations she created can be used broadly by corn breeding programs. “Someone might discover that these plants have good resistance to disease,” she says. “This is an important resource they wouldn’t have access to otherwise.”

Breeding Possibility

As CALS students, Choquette and Lozada-Soto had resources and opportunities they may not have had otherwise.

Choquette thrived in the tight-knit graduate student community. “In the Plant Breeding Consortium ,” she says, “it was easy to make your friends and find your people. That was huge.”

Huge for Lozada-Soto were the conferences where he presented papers on his research and the paid research jobs he had in Canada and Italy. “That filled my Rolodex of contacts. Once I graduated, that became a great resource for me to expand my network,” he says.

Now Lozada-Soto and Choquette have full-time positions that overlap with their dissertation research.

Lozada-Soto is an animal scientist in Colorado for the USDA’s National Animal Germplasm Program, which maintains a collection of nearly 1.3 million tissue samples that represent about 65,000 animals. The program safeguards genetic diversity of agricultural animals to potentially expand food production and counteract climate change and disease.  

“I’ll be a lifelong geneticist. I’ll always be in this field,” he says.

In a different field, Choquette is a diversity breeder for Benson Hill, a Missouri breeding company. The business focuses on quality traits in soybeans’ protein and oil to ultimately grow healthier beans for animals. She adds new types of soybeans to their database that could potentially unlock new genetic traits for more nutritious animal feed.

As Choquette builds on the research that led to her Keller Award, that recognition — which she’s been told only a few crop science students have received — boosts her confidence.

“That honor makes me carry my head higher,” she says. Whatever her eventual career direction, she says “the possibilities are endless.”

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2024 Best Doctoral Dissertation Advances Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Seismic Design

• by Molly Bechtel
• May 21, 2024

Sumeet Kumar Sinha is this year's recipient of the University of California, Davis, College of Engineering Zuhair A. Munir Award for Best Doctoral Dissertation. The award recognizes the methods, findings and significance of Sinha's research, which featured several first-of-its-kind approaches and analyses in the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering and is actively informing seismic design practices.   

The college established the annual award in 1999 in honor of Zuhair A. Munir, the former dean of engineering who led the college from 2000 to 2002 and acted as associate dean for graduate studies for 20 years. The award recognizes a doctoral student, their exemplary research and the mentorship of their major professor.  

A two-time Aggie alum, Sinha received his master's degree in 2017 and Ph.D. in 2022 from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he was mentored by Associate Professor Katerina Ziotopoulou and Professor Emeritus Bruce Kutter . He is now an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and co-founder of BrahmaSens, a startup that specializes in the development of sensing technologies and solutions for application in various sectors including health-monitoring of civil infrastructures.  

"It's really a special honor to get this [award]," said Sinha. "It acknowledges both the depth and significance of the research I conducted during my Ph.D."   

Sinha's dissertation is of notable significance in California, where agencies like the Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, which funded his research, are eager to identify improved design methods in seismically active regions of the state.  

In " Liquefaction-Induced Downdrag on Piles: Centrifuge and Numerical Modeling, and Design Procedures ," Sinha focuses on the effects of earthquakes on deep foundations, like piles, in soils that can liquefy. Liquefaction occurs when wet sand-like soils lose their strength due to increased pore water pressure during earthquake shaking. This causes the soil to behave like a liquid, leading to significant ground deformations.   

After the shaking stops, the soil slowly regains its strength as the water drains out, but this settling and densifying process, called reconsolidation, can drag down piles downward. Additional downdrag loads have not always been properly accounted for in conventional design.   

Through centrifuge model tests at the UC Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling , Sinha developed numerical models to evaluate scenarios. His findings include procedures for accurately estimating downdrag loads and the corresponding demands on pile foundations, as well as practical methods to design bridges in a more efficient and economical way.  

"Dr. Sinha's methods, approaches, documentation, results and overall findings have been, by any standards, novel and meticulous," said Ziotopoulou in her nomination letter. "His research represents a significant and original contribution to the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering, and his findings have already been implemented into practice by major design firms."  

Sinha's research was recognized with a DesignSafe Dataset Award , an Editor's Choice in his field's top journal and the Michael Condon Scholarship from the Deep Foundations Institute. He has published seven papers in peer-reviewed journals.  

Of perhaps greater meaning to Sinha is making improvements in the design codes to make them more informed, feasible, economical, resilient and sustainable through the complete understanding of the mechanism obtained through his findings from experiments, developed numerical models and design procedures, which are available publicly via platforms such as GitHub and DesignSafe.   

"My philosophy has always been to convert whatever I'm doing into a product, a tool which has a wider impact," explained Sinha. "During my Ph.D., I tried to go beyond the deliverables so that I maximize the impact of [my research]."  

Sinha is grateful for his mentors' and peers' influence and support during the five-year Ph.D. program at UC Davis.  

"I have learned a lot from [Professors Katerina Ziotopoulou and Bruce Kutter] academically as well as professionally," said Sinha. "The Geotechnical Graduate Student Society also had a very important role in my overall experience at UC Davis."  

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5 RS PhD Students Defend Dissertations

• By: Michael Williams
• May 14, 2024

A big congratulations to all five Romance Studies PhD students who successfully defended their dissertations this spring!

Tiffany Bailey

Dissertation Title:  Girl Gang: Black Girlhood in France Represented Through Contemporary Film and Literature

Brittany Bernard

Dissertation Title:  Revenants: Gendered Memories of Trauma in the Works of Leïla Sebbar, Diane Kurys, Alice Zeniter, and Mati Diop

Joanna Ducey

Dissertation Title:  Ontological Exiles & Returns:  Memory & Mourning in 21st Century Francophone Literatures & Film

Braden Clinger

Dissertation Title:  Mediations of Popular Belief in the Southern Cone: Museums, Prose, New Media, and Film on the Traditional Guarani Frontier

Natanael Saraí García Santos

Dissertation Title:  Ficciones sobre la infancia. La semilla de la identidad nacional en el México posrevolucioinario (1920 – 1950)

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