Master of Arts in Spanish
Thirty credits of courses at the 550 level or above, at least twelve of which must be at the 700 level or above ; none of the thirty credit hours may be derived from non-topical research; Spanish 730 and Spanish 821 are required courses; a comprehensive written examination; a one-hour oral examination; a thesis (normally an extended seminar paper) approved by two members of the graduate faculty. The written and oral examinations are based exclusively on the departmental M.A. reading list.
Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish
Official departmental permission to proceed beyond the M.A. level; a reading knowledge of two other foreign languages (or the mastery of one) pertinent to the major research area; a minimum of 54 credits of courses (24 beyond the M.A. if obtained at the University of Virginia; 36 beyond the M.A. if obtained at another institution) at the 700-level or above; a written and oral comprehensive examination; an acceptable dissertation; an oral defense examination on the field of the dissertation. The guide for the written and oral exams will be the departmental Ph.D. reading list.
Permission to Proceed to the Ph.D. in Spanish
After completion of the M.A. requirements and acceptance into the Ph.D. program, all students in their first year of Ph.D. course work will be evaluated by the department before permission to proceed is granted.
Teaching Requirement for Spanish
Because this department considers language teaching an integral part of its graduate degree program, and in order that our graduate students may fully develop their teaching abilities at several levels under the close supervision of the Spanish Language Coordinator and the course heads, the department requires that graduate students serve as teaching assistants. Exceptions may be made for part-time and non-resident students; exceptions in other cases must be approved by the graduate advisor.
Master of Arts in Italian
The M.A. program in Italian consists of 30 hours of work, no more than three of which may be Non-Topical Research done in pursuit of the M.A. thesis, including; at least two 700-level and two 800-level courses, and at least two 500- level courses. The master’s examination (based on the required readings): two two-hour written examinations and a one -hour oral examination, including an analytic commentary; a master’s thesis approved by two graduate faculty members. The program requires all M.A. candidates to serve as teaching assistants in elementary language courses (five hours) supervised by the language coordinator, and in a pedagogy course taught by the language coordinator.
Course Descriptions
Note: To enroll in courses numbered 700 or above, all graduate or special students must have completed the equivalent of three years in the appropriate foreign language at the college level. For courses numbered 800 or above, graduate status in the department or special permission is required.
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