Romance Languages, M.A. - Spanish

For further information:RomanceLanguageGrad@southernct.edu

Application Deadlines

Rolling Admissions

Master of Arts Degree in Romance Languages

Master of Arts in Romance Languages is designed for students interested in French, Italian or Spanish. It provides advanced training for those who plan to complete their graduate studies in literature, language, literary and cultural theory at the master's level, and for those who anticipate continuing graduate work up to the doctoral degree. The program is tailored to the needs of those who wish:

• To teach these languages at the elementary, middle school, or high school levels;
• To teach these languages at the college level;
• To work in related fields, such as foreign service, other government service, private industry, translation and interpreting, librarianship, etc.

The program consists of 31 credits, 7 of which are core courses that are taught in English for all language concentrations; 18 credits are electives in a language-specific concentration; and 6 credits are designated for Capstone experiences, including the Comprehensive Examination option, Thesis option, or Special Project option.

Admissions Requirements

In accordance with the Admission Policy of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies, the following are the minimum requirements for admission to the MA in Romance Languages:

• An undergraduate degree from an institution accredited by a recognized regional accrediting agency in the United States. Degrees from outside the U.S. must be evaluated by the WES evaluating agency.
• Undergraduate degree from an Anglophone university or TOEFL with the minimum score of 600.
  
  • Demonstrated Proficiency in the target language at Advanced Low level.
• A letter of intent in English to explain the candidate's background, reasons for enrolling in the program and areas of interest.
• Two letters of recommendation.

Program Sequence-31 Credits

*Students must earn a "B" or better in each course.

Core Courses (7 credits):
WLL 581 — Introduction to Graduate Studies in Romance Languages - 3 credits
To be taken as the first course in the program.
WLL 582 — Culture of Expression - 4 credits
Prerequisite is WLL 581

Electives: Six courses from a specific language concentration (18 credits):
Students must take at least one course from each of the four categories.

Category I: Premodern Spain to the Era of the Discoveries and Exploration
SPA 533 — Early Encounters: Culture and Literature of the Colonization of Latin America - 3 credits
SPA 560 — Literature and Culture of Al Andalus - 3 credits
SPA 561 — Women Healers, Messengers, and Intermediaries - 3 credits

Category II: Baroque and neo-Classical Literature and Cultures
SPA 521 — The Picaresque Literary Tradition - 3 credits
SPA 528 — Cervantes and the Birth of the Modern Narrative and Drama - 3 credits
SPA 567 — The Golden Age Spanish Theater: Texts and Cultural Contexts - 3 credits

Category III: The Emergence of Modern Nations, Post-nationalism, and Border Studies
SPA 525 — Cinema of Transitional Democracies - 3 credits
SPA 548 — Modernism in Spanish America and Spain - 3 credits

Category IV: Recent Trends in Hispanic Studies: Hispanic Pluralisms
SPA 516 — Gabriel Garcia Márquez Seminar on One Hundred Years of Solitude - 3 credits
SPA 531 — Literature and Cinema in Latin America - 3 credits
SPA 566 — Literature of the Caribbean Diaspora - 3 credits
SPA 562 — Arts and Activism in Latin American Social Movements - 3 credits
SPA 563 — Ghosts in Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies - 3 credits
SPA 564 — Dictatorship and Performance in the Southern Cone - 3 credits
SPA 565 — Caribbean Women's Historical Fictions - 3 credits
SPA 566 — Literature of the Caribbean Diaspora - 3 credits

In addition, students are required to choose one of three options for a two-semester sequence Capstone course (6 credits)

Thesis Option

Permits the analysis of a substantial applied topic in the selected area of concentration. In the first semester, the student works with an adviser to write a proposal, which must be passed by the Graduate Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School. The student is expected to complete the thesis by the end of the second semester and thesis completion requires the approval of the thesis adviser, a second reader (a member of the Graduate Committee) and the Dean of the Graduate School.

WLL 590 — Writing the Thesis Proposal - 3 credits
WLL 591 — Writing the Thesis: Prerequisite is WLL 590 - 3 credits

Special Project Option

The special project involves the integration and application of discipline-specific knowledge, concepts, theories and skills in the development of a tangible product (a.k.a., deliverable), accompanied by a proposal and a written report describing the process and results of the product's development.

WLL 592 — Special Project I - 3 credits
WLL 593 — Special Project II: Prerequisite is WLL 592 - 3 credits

Comprehensive Exam Option

The comprehensive examination is designed by the graduate faculty to rigorously assess the student's mastery and synthesis of knowledge garnered during coursework. Students work individually with an adviser in selecting and researching themes from the Master 's Reading List provided by the individual language section.

WLL 594 — Comprehensive Exam Seminar I - 3 credits
WLL 595 — Comprehensive Exam Seminar II: Prerequisite is WLL 594 - 3 credits