Spanish MA | Doctoral Programs
Portuguese MA | Summer Hispanic Institute (MA Program)
Emphasis in Applied Linguistics
MA Reading List for Spanish Literature
Optional PhD Emphasis in Applied Linguistics
Optional PhD Emphasis in Medieval Studies
Graduate Admissions

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To request information on our graduate program, send a message to
Gd-Span@spanport.ucsb.edu

For admission applications visit the UCSB Graduate Division Website.

Admission
In addition to fulfilling the general requirements for admission to graduate status, the department requires an undergraduate major in Spanish or its equivalent. Applicants whose native language is not English must receive a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) prior to admission to UCSB. Applicants who have received a bachelor's degree or master's degree from a U.S. college of university are exempt from this requirement. Candidates who are deficient in preparation will be required to take the necessary undergraduate courses to make up deficiencies before beginning work in the M.A. program. A list of undergraduate courses that are deemed to be suitable undergraduate preparation is available from the graduate committee. At the end of the first year of study candidates' work will be evaluated. Those who are not making satisfactory progress toward the degree may be advised to drop out of the program.

Degree Requirements
Candidates for the M.A. in Spanish will follow one of the three programs described below. The M.A. degree is awarded according to Plan 2 (comprehensive examination) in Programs 1 and 2, and according to Plan 1 (thesis) in Program 3.

Program 1: Language and Culture
This program is designed primarily for students who wish to pursue advanced studies and who do not plan to go on to the Ph.D. It emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach. Each student will have an individual course program, designed in consultation with the program director, approved by the graduate committee, and determined in part by the nature of the student's study topic in Spanish 596. The nature of the program requires proficiency in written and oral standard Spanish. A minimum of 12 courses is required, at least six of which must be in the graduate series. With prior approval, up to three upper-division or graduate courses from pertinent courses in Portuguese or in other departments may be included. The six graduate courses will include a sequence of two tutorials (Spanish 596) in which the student carries out a study project in Spanish. Results of the project take the form of a written paper and an oral presentation. In addition, each candidate will take a two-hour oral examination, given by a departmental committee, on the study project and on a reading list of essential works of Spanish and Spanish-American literature.

Program 2: Literature
This program is designed primarily for students who plan to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of Spanish and Spanish-American literature. The student must complete a minimum of eleven graduate and upper-division courses, at least eight of which must be in the graduate series. Spanish 121 or 122A-B are required if they have not been taken previously for the B.A. Spanish 212A and at least one two-quarter research seminar in literature (294A-B or 295A-B) are required. Up to two upper-division or graduate courses in Luso-Brazilian literature may count toward the degree. A reading knowledge of a pertinent language other than Spanish is required. Portuguese is acceptable. The student will prepare an academic program in consultation with the program director, who will provide guidance until the student is prepared to take the comprehensive examinations. The comprehensive examinations consist of six hours of written work based on a departmental reading list and an oral examination of approximately one hour. In order to be accepted to the doctoral program, the student must pass the comprehensive examinations and receive the approval of the graduate committee.

Program 3: Hispanic Linguistics
This program is designed primarily for students who plan to go on to a Ph.D. with emphasis in either Hispanic linguistics or Spanish-English bilingualism. The focus on Hispanic linguistics provides the student with knowledge and research skills in synchronic and diachronic linguistics. Contrastive, socio-linguistic, geographical, and historical approaches are followed in the Spanish-English bilingualism emphasis. Completion of Spanish 100 (or equivalent) is a prerequisite for entrance into Program 3. In addition, Spanish 107 and 109 are prerequisites for the Spanish-English bilingualism emphasis. Each student will have an individual course program, designed in consultation with the program director and approved by the graduate committee. Candidates are expected to complete a minimum of ten graduate and upper-division courses, at least six of which must be in the graduate series, including at least one two-quarter research seminar in Hispanic linguistics (296A-B). At least six of the ten courses must be taken within the department, including no fewer than two upper-division or graduate courses in one area of Hispanic literature. The candidate, in consultation with a faculty advisor, will pursue an individual study of a specific topic and will present the results in the form of a short thesis. In lieu of the thesis, the candidate will take a master's exam based on two of his/her research papers. These papers must cover two different linguistic areas and must have been submitted to the linguistics faculty for approval. The exam, which will be oral, will center on those aspects covered in the papers, but the candidate should be prepared to respond to questions of general linguistic knowledge, especially in the areas of current linguistic theory and mainstream linguistics that concern the department. A reading knowledge of a pertinent foreign language other than Spanish (Portuguese is acceptable), or competence in the use of special research methods such as computers or statistics, is required.

Admission
In addition to fulfilling the general requirements for admission to graduate status, the department requires an undergraduate major in Portuguese or its equivalent. Applicants whose native language is not English must receive a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) prior to admission to UCSB. Applicants who have received a bachelor's degree or master's degree from a U.S. college or university are exempt from this requirement. Students admitted to the program who are deficient in preparation will be required to take the necessary undergraduate work to make up deficiencies before beginning work in the M.A. program. At the end of the first year of study, students' work will be evaluated and those who are not making satisfactory progress toward the degree may be advised to drop out of the program.

Degree Requirements
The M.A. degree in Portuguese is awarded according to Plan 2 (comprehensive examination). The program is designed for students who plan to earn a Ph.D. in the field of Portuguese and Brazilian language and literature, and it is normally completed within two years. The student must complete a minimum of eleven graduate and upper-division courses, at least eight of which must be in the graduate series. Spanish 121, Spanish 212A, and at least one two-quarter graduate research seminar in Portuguese or Brazilian literature (294A-B or 295A-B) are required. Up to two upper-division or graduate courses in Spanish or Spanish-American literature may count toward the degree. A reading knowledge of a pertinent language other than Portuguese is required; Spanish is acceptable. Each student will have an individual course program designed in consultation with the program director, who will provide guidance until the student is prepared to take the comprehensive examinations. The comprehensive examinations consist of six hours of written examinations based on a departmental reading list and an oral examination of approximately one hour. In order to be accepted to the doctoral program, the student must pass the comprehensive examinations and receive the approval of the graduate committee.

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers the Ph.D. degree in Hispanic languages and literatures in three areas: Spanish and Spanish-American literature, Luso-Brazilian literature, and Hispanic linguistics.

Admission
Applicants will normally have followed a course of study leading to the M.A. degree in Spanish under Programs 2 or 3, the M.A. in Portuguese, or the M.A. in Spanish and Portuguese (see above). Applicants whose native language is not English must receive a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) prior to admission to UCSB. Applicants who have received a bachelor's degree or master's degree from a U.S. college or university are exempt from this requirement. During the first quarter of residence, the graduate committee, if it has not already done so, will specify, in the case of students who took the M.A. or equivalent on another campus, exactly which areas from our own M.A. program the student has not covered adequately. These deficiencies must be made up by taking courses specified by the graduate committee.

Degree Requirements
No later than the eighth week of the fourth quarter of residence the student will present to the graduate committee a proposal for a program of studies which may lead to a subsequent proposal for a Ph.D. dissertation. This proposal will outline courses, readings, and methods of research aimed at a broad historical period in the field, a restricted genre, or an author or authors. Students in linguistics will outline a topic with a synchronic or diachronic approach, specific level of analysis, a corpus pertinent to the intended object of research, and a suitable method of research. Specific courses and topics set forth in the proposal will be in addition to the required courses cited below, although some overlapping is possible. A more detailed guide to this first step is available from the graduate program assistant of the department. Within two weeks after submission of the proposal, every doctoral candidate will take an advancement to candidacy examination presided over by the graduate committee, in which the student will make a brief commentary on a text, followed by a period of questions, to permit an evaluation of the student's potential to complete the project. This examination may be repeated once upon the recommendation of the graduate committee.

In addition to courses specified in the program proposal, all students will complete two two-quarter research seminars. Ph.D. students in literature will take Spanish 212A, at least one quarter of either Spanish 213 or 214, Spanish 121, if not taken previously, and, if the emphasis is on Spanish or Spanish-American literature, two graduate courses in Luso-Brazilian literature which may include courses in the Portuguese 205 and 206 series. If the emphasis is Luso-Brazilian literature, the student will take two graduate courses in Spanish or Spanish-American literature. Ph.D. students in linguistics will complete Spanish 212B; Spanish 221A-B; four graduate courses in linguistics (two of them reflecting a different level, approach, and methodology from those courses included in the program proposal); and one graduate course in literature approved by the student's doctoral committee. Before being admitted to candidacy, the student must demonstrate a good reading knowledge of at least one foreign language besides Spanish and Portuguese, subject to approval by the graduate committee as germane to the student's program proposal. A general command of Spanish or Portuguese will be assumed but not formally tested. When the requirements are completed and work in the program of studies is sufficiently advanced, the student will submit to the doctoral committee a detailed written proposal for a Ph.D. dissertation. Within two weeks, the student will defend the proposal before the doctoral committee in an oral qualifying examination. Students are advanced to candidacy when they have passed the Advancement to Candidacy examination and will thereupon begin work on the dissertation under the supervision of the chair of the doctoral committee. When the Dissertation is approximately half completed and all course work is satisfied, students will take the Dissertation Progress Examination. When all members of the committee have approved the final version of the dissertation, the degree will be awarded.

The Summer Institute in Hispanic Languages and Culture at the University of California, Santa Barbara offers an M.A. program, unique among universities in the United States in that it offers an MA degree earned during 3 summers. UCSB's Summer Institute aims particularly to meet the needs of elementary, high-school and junior-college teachers of Spanish as well as other professionals unable to pursue graduate studies during a regular academic year. The program also serves students enrolled in regular graduate programs whose Spanish would improve vastly through a summer of total immersion and intensive study with UCSB credits.

For more information on the Hispanic Institute MA Program, visit the Summer Sessions Web Site: UCSB Summer Sessions: Hispanic Institute

Students pursuing a Ph.D. in the Departments of Education, French & Italian, Germanic, Slavic & Semitic Studies, Linguistics, and Spanish & Portuguese may petition to add an emphasis in applied linguistics. The interdisciplinary program in applied linguistics involves over 35 faculty members in 11 departments on campus.

Students who petition to add the emphasis must fulfill the following requirements in addition to the requirements for the Ph.D. in their home department: