Spanish M.A.

Graduate student River Bondurant presenting at the 2019 Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference at Auburn University in October 2019.

MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN SPANISH

The goals of this program are:

to raise the level of communicative competence of native and non-native speakers of Spanish
to provide critical and practical skills necessary for analyzing, assessing and addressing academic and societal issues related to Hispanic language and culture
to provide knowledge and advanced skills in Spanish language and Hispanic culture necessary for higher-level graduate work;
to increase, improve and promote cultural understanding and awareness of regional, national and international Spanish-speaking communities; and
to produce professionals capable of dealing with the demands brought by the ever-increasing U.S. Hispanic population and by the global job market.

Students who have completed the Master of Arts in Spanish apply their acquired skills and knowledge in diverse fields and careers including:

Spanish Instructors in Universities and Community Colleges
K-12 Education
PhD Candidates in Spanish
International Organizations
University Administration
Community and Social Organizations

Degree Requirements

The M.A. program requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate study and the successful completion of capstone written and oral individualized comprehensive exams based on coursework. Students may choose between a thesis or non-thesis option.

A) Non-Thesis Option (30 credit hours):

Students are required to take at least one course from each of the following groups:
- Phonetics/Linguistics Group: SPN 507 - Spanish Phonetics and Phonology or SPN 508 - Hispanic Linguistics (Topics)
- Culture and Civilization Group: SPN 511 – Topics in Spanish Civilization or SPN 512 – Topics in Spanish American Civilization
- Literature Group: SPN 521 – Studies in Spanish Literature or SPN 522 – Studies in Spanish American Literature
The remaining 21 credit hours are electives which can be from additional course above as well as courses in film studies, US Latino culture and literature, cultural studies, pedagogy, among other topics.

B) Thesis Option (30 credit hours):

Students are required to take at least one course from each of the following groups:
- Phonetics/Linguistics Group: SPN 507 - Spanish Phonetics and Phonology or SPN 508 - Hispanic Linguistics (Topics)
- Culture and Civilization Group: SPN 511 – Topics in Spanish Civilization or SPN 512 – Topics in Spanish American Civilization
- Literature Group: SPN 521 – Studies in Spanish Literature or SPN 522 – Studies in Spanish American Literature
Students enroll in 3 credit hours of SPN 599 (Thesis) and successfully defend thesis.
The remaining 18 credit hours are electives which can be from additional course above as well as courses in film studies, US Latino culture and literature, cultural studies, pedagogy, among other topics.

Admissions

If you are considering applying to join our program, we invite you to consult the detailed information on our HOW TO APPLY page. The application deadline for fall admission is midnight eastern time May 15 (midnight eastern time March 1 for priority consideration for financial aid and assistantships). For spring admission, the application deadline is midnight eastern time November 1. We also offer summer admission and non-degree admission under certain situations. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator if you have any admissions related inquiries. We look forward to helping you throughout the application process.

Information on How to Apply for a Masters in Spanish

Student Learning Outcomes M.A. in Spanish

Students will:

SLO 1: Be able to write a research paper or opinion piece in Spanish, with highly advanced use of language, tone, style, register and critical apparatus.

SLO2: Be able to read, understand and utilize texts in Spanish at a highly advanced level. They will be able to manage and interpret primary resources in Spanish as well as secondary resources in Spanish (such as articles in professional journals).

SLO 3: Be able effectively to communicate their thoughts with highly advanced fluency and accuracy of spoken language. They will be able to communicate concrete and abstract ideas in such a way that educated native speakers of the language will have no problem understanding. They will be able to speak on an array of academic topics as well as personal and professional matters and be clearly understood by native speakers of the language. They will be able to sustain extended discourse in order to effectively to state and defend an opinion.

SLO 4: Be able to comprehend ideas expressed orally at a normal pace in standard dialect including, but not limited to, ideas pertaining to academic and professional topics. They will have very good understanding of standard idioms, colloquialisms, and cultural inferences delivered at a normal speaking pace.