Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, 214 Folwell Hall, 9 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN, 55455 (612-625-5858; fax 612-625-3549)

The Ph.D. program in Hispanic and Lusophone Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics is a four-year program (post M.A.) that provides students with a focused and rigorous formation in the literatures, languages, and cultures of Spain and Latin America. Ph.D. students choose one of four areas of emphasis: Iberian (peninsular), Latin America, Lusophone Literatures and Cultures, and Hispanic Linguistics. In addition to establishing a specialization in one or more areas of Hispanic studies, the program allows and encourages students to pursue comparative or interdisciplinary work. Students complement their work in the department with coursework in other disciplines such as history; cultural studies and comparative literature; gender, women, and sexuality studies; medieval and early modern studies; and linguistics, among others. In addition to the requirements for the M.A. degree, Ph.D. students must complete additional coursework. For students in the literature and culture tracks, six additional 5xxx and 8xxx courses in related or major fields are required in order to strengthen and further define the student's area of concentration. The final make-up of the program is decided by the student with the consent of his/her academic adviser. Ph.D. students in Hispanic linguistics are required to take three courses outside the department relating to linguistics, and three 5xxx or 8xxx courses in order to strengthen and further define the student's area of concentration. The department's faculty is committed to preparing students and giving them the tools to become scholars and teachers of the highest quality. The department has a strong tradition of fostering socio-historical perspectives on literatures, languages, and cultures. The graduate faculty is committed to comparative and interdisciplinary research and engages a variety of contemporary theoretical approaches, with strengths in postcolonial theory, social justice and human rights, memory studies, critical race theory, diasporic studies, and gender and sexuality studies. Members of the Hispanic linguistics faculty are specialists in the fields of sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, syntax, pragmatics, and phonology. The department offers students in the program faculty mentoring, a seminar, and workshops on professional development, including publishing, teaching, and interviewing. In addition, graduate student workshops in both literatures and cultures and in linguistics foster student-faculty relations and allow graduate students to ready themselves for conference participation. Travel funds are available through the department to allow students to present their papers at conferences in the U.S. or abroad.

Applicants must first apply to, or hold, a master of arts degree (or its equivalent) before applying to the Ph.D. program. A graduate GPA of 3.50 is preferred.

Other requirements to be completed before admission:

Prospective students generally have completed an undergraduate degree or substantial coursework in the fields of Hispanic literatures and cultures, Lusophone literatures and cultures, or Hispanic linguistics, although individuals with other backgrounds may be admitted. The Graduate Studies Committee may require completion of background coursework, without graduate degree credit, for admitted students with insufficient preparation.

Students admitted to the program are required to be fluent in Spanish or Portuguese. The Graduate Studies Committee may require completion of background coursework, without graduate degree credit, for admitted students with insufficient preparation. All application materials must be submitted electronically through the ApplyYourself application system by December 15. Applicants are accepted for admission for fall semester only. Please refer to the Application Checklist for important details. The following is required for the application: the Departmental Application; a personal statement; a writing sample representative of the applicant's level of scholarly development; three letters of recommendation; a five-minute voice sample; a Curriculum Vitae; GRE or TOEFL test scores; and transcripts. For more information see the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies Apply page: http://spanport.umn.edu/grad/applying.html.

The Ph.D. requires a minimum of 54 course credits (18 courses) beyond the B.A., including a required teaching methodology course, 39 credits in the major field, and 12 credits in either a minor or related field, depending on the requirements of the minor program. The program also requires 24 thesis credits. Students entering the program with an M.A. from other institutions must take a minimum of seven courses in this department.