dissertation doctoral in spanish

Spanish Language and Literature Ph.D.

The Ph.D. is primarily a research and specialization degree, culminating in the writing of a dissertation.

Quick Links

• Spanish Program Home
• Spanish Graduate Programs
• Spanish Ph.D. Dissertation Abstracts
• Spanish Language and Literature M.A.
• Hispanic Applied Linguistics M.A. 
• Spanish Program Graduate Funding

Our graduate programs include a Ph. D degree with specializations in both Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture. Our Ph.D. students are mentored by our faculty, engage in substantive research projects, and benefit from rigorous teaching training. We offer courses that cover most geographical areas and time periods and guide students through relevant theoretical and methodological developments. Courses are complemented with lecture series and events that enrich our students’ intellectual and life experiences.

To be considered for admission applicants must:

• Have earned an M.A. degree or have equivalent training;
• Submit a paper in Spanish produced at the M.A. level;
• Submit a statement of purpose;
• Submit three letters of recommendation from academic references;

In addition, non-native speakers of English are required to take the TOEFL examination prior to admittance. Candidates must meet the minimum TOEFL standards established by the University of Maryland Graduate School (score of 100). For information students should contact the SLLC graduate coordinator.

Students on the "short list" may be interviewed by the graduate director in person or by phone.

Prior to admission to candidacy the student must demonstrate/fulfill the following:

• A thorough knowledge of the literary and cultural production in the main area of study;
• An in-depth knowledge of research tendencies in the field of specialization;
• At least two courses in the secondary area;
• A graduate course in the History of the Spanish Language;
• A minimum of one course in literary theory and/or criticism;
• A total of 30 credits of coursework (in very exceptional cases, fewer);
• Reading proficiency in a third language other than Spanish or English, appropriate to the student's field of study.

What do I need to apply?

To be considered for admission applicants must submit:

• Online application
• Application fee $75 -> Information about fee waiver
• Official transcripts of an M.A. degree or equivalent training.
• A paper in Spanish produced at the M.A. level.
• A statement of purpose.
• Three letters of recommendation from academic references.
• Non-native speakers of English are required to take the TOEFL examination prior to admittance. Candidates must meet the minimum TOEFL standards established by the University of Maryland Graduate School (score of 100). For information students should contact the SLLC graduate coordinator. Apply here Step-by-Step Guide to Applying English Language Proficiency Requirements for International Students **Due to deferrals, graduation delays during pandemic and reductions in available funding, admissions to our graduate programs will be more competitive for Fall 2021. Applicants should note that we are an affirmative action department and that we remain especially interested in recruiting strong African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students to our Ph.D. and M.A. programs. 

Qualifying Examination: Procedures and Evaluation

Students who obtained their M.A. at another institution must take a qualifying examination after their first semester in the Ph.D. program. The goal of the exam is to ensure that students have both the specific field knowledge and the theoretical and/or critical background to continue in the program.

A student must declare her/his intention to take the qualifying examination in writing to the director of graduate Studies at least 60 days prior to the examination date, and at this time s/he should select the areas or fields and faculty advisor with whom s/he wants to work in preparation for the qualifying. The exam will be given every January, before the beginning of the spring semester. A committee consisting of two department faculty members (including the advisor) will meet to evaluate the examination and discuss the student's overall progress in the Ph.D. program. Written notification of the results will be sent to the student within one month of completing the exam. In the event that the student does not pass the exam, her/his advisor and the director of graduate studies may recommend that the student retake the examination in May. If a student does not pass the retake exam, s/he will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.

The examination is based on a list of 10 primary texts in the fields of Latin American and/or Spanish literature chosen by the student in consultation with her/his faculty advisor. The list of 10 books should focus on the student’s specific area of interest, as the purpose of the exam is to evaluate a student’s reading and writing skills as s/he continues to pursue a doctoral degree. The director of graduate studies must receive and approve the list of 10 texts as soon as the decision is made. Once the list is approved by the DGS, the student will have a maximum of 10 business days to select five (5) books from the list of 10 primary texts to prepare for the exam and inform the DGS and her/his faculty advisor of her/his decision. The DGS will then, in consultation with the student, establish the exact date of the examination in January (or May in the event of a retake).

The examination will be formulated by the faculty advisor and will include the following: (a) a close reading of a passage of no more than 500 words from one (1) book from the student’s list of five, which would lead to (b) an extrapolation to a wider set of ideas pertaining to the whole book and/or to the five (5) books selected. The student will receive the examination question by hand at the time of the exam and will have 4 hours to answer it in a room on a computer provided by the department with no internet access. The exam will be written in Spanish, with the exception of English for students who are specialized in U.S. Latina/o Studies. No notes or bibliography may be consulted, although a bilingual dictionary may be used.

The exam will be proctored by the Director of Graduate Studies or the SLLC Graduate Coordinator.

Route to Ph.D. Candidacy

After Ph.D. coursework has been completed, students proceed through a pre-candidacy stage consisting of three components: the comprehensive examination, the language reading (or “translation”) exam and the dissertation proposal and defense. Following successful completion of these three elements, students are advanced to candidacy and are considered “ABD” (all but dissertation). 

Comprehensive Examination  The comprehensive examination consists of three essays written over a span of three weeks. The essays are based on the courses a student has taken and on reading lists tailored to his or her sub-fields of focus (two in the main area and one in the secondary area). The three reading lists are created in consultation with faculty specialists in the areas of examination.

The comprehensive examination is offered three times per year, in January, May and August. On three consecutive Mondays, the student will receive a question to be answered in essay form, each related to a particular sub-field. These essays will be due by 3:00 p.m. on the Thursday of each respective week.

Sixty days prior to the desired examination start date, the candidate must inform the director of graduate studies as well as the professor assigned to administer the exam of his/her intention to sit for the examination. This notification should be submitted in writing, outlining the areas and sub-fields in which the student will be examined.

Exams will be evaluated by a committee consisting of two faculty members per subfield.  Where appropriate, and in only one instance per student, the same faculty member may be called upon to evaluate two of the essays.

In the case of an unsuccessful examination, the student’s Ph.D. advisor and the director of graduate studies may recommend that the student sit a second time for the comprehensive examination. Continuation in the Ph.D. program depends on the successful outcome of any second attempt.

Language Reading (“Translation”) Examination                                                         This examination consists of a “for sense” translation from a third language into English or Spanish. The topic of the text will be related to the student's field of specialization. The choice of the language will be determined by its usefulness as a tool for the student's dissertation research. This exam may be repeated once. The student will choose a book or a long article together with a professor qualified to evaluate the third language (the examiner) and then notify the DGS of when the exam is to take place. The examiner will select a passage from the book or long article, which must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words. The examiner must submit the passage to the DGS for review at least two weeks prior to the exam. The student will have three hours to complete the exam, which will take place on campus and be proctored. Please note that only a printed dictionary (not an electronic source) is allowed to assist with the translation exam. For your information, please note that professors Igel and Lima are authorized to conduct examinations in Portuguese; and professors Naharro and Benito-Vessels are authorized to conduct examinations in French. Any questions about who is qualified to conduct the exam should be directed to the DGS. Please note also that dissertation advisors are not allowed to administer exams to their advisees. The examiner evaluates the exam and communicates the result directly to the DGS, who will then advise the student. The reading exam can be taken at any point prior to advancement to candidacy. 

Dissertation Proposal and Defense The final stage of the pre-candidacy period is focused on preparation for the writing of the dissertation. In consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the dissertation director and three members of the faculty, the student will write a dissertation proposal that aims to give a clear sense of the intended corpus of study, intellectual aims and methodology. The proposal should include a review of the literature, an outline of projected chapters and a selected bibliography. Proposals should be about 25-30 pages in length and are expected to be completed within four months to one year after the comprehensive examination.

The advisory committee and the candidate will then convene for the defense of the proposal. All faculty in the department are welcome to attend the defense.

The Dissertation

As stated previously, the Ph.D. is essentially a research degree. This means that coursework taken for the Ph.D. is intended as a preparation for the dissertation. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the student identify his/her field of interest as soon as possible. Early in the first semester, students should consult with one or more professors and explore the research possibilities in the field, period, genre, author(s) of his/her particular interest and select an academic advisor accordingly.

Dissertation Defense

When the candidate has completed the dissertation, the director of graduate studies notifies the Graduate School of its completion. The dean of the Graduate School, upon the recommendation of the director of graduate studies, appoints an examining committee for the candidate. This examining committee will include four members of the department and one member from another academic unit who acts as the graduate dean's representative. The committee will be chaired by the dissertation director.

All members of the examining committee will read the dissertation in its final form and take part in an oral examination in which the candidate defends his/her findings. Copies of the dissertation must be given to members of the examining committee at least 10 days before the date set for the oral examination. The Graduate School has established procedures for the dissertation examination. For details on these and all other aspects regarding the dissertation, please see the Thesis and Dissertation Forms and Guidelines. In addition, the student must provide the department with one copy of the final version of his/her dissertation.

Students are expected to defend the dissertation within 4 years of advancing to candidacy.  The director of graduate studies may approve an extension of up to one year in cases of extenuating circumstances.

Application for Graduation

Students must apply for a graduate diploma early in the semester in which they intend to receive their degree. Deadlines are published in the Schedule of Classes.

Note: Once students are done they MUST file an EXIT form with the Graduate School and, if applicable, an address change form.

Graduate Student Handbook

The purpose of the Graduate Student Handbook is to aid you in understanding the context of graduate education at UMD. The goal is to provide you with resources, information, practices, and policies that will help you in navigating the graduate experience. 

Teaching Handbook

The  Teaching Handbook is intended to familiarize graduate students with the procedures, policies, and expectations in teaching, research and administrative environments as an integral part of their education. 

• Hispanic Studies
• College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Ph.D. in Spanish with a Concentration in Linguistics or Literature (FACE-TO-FACE)

Department of Hispanic Studies University of Houston 3553 Cullen Boulevard, Room 416 Houston, TX 77204-3062 713.743.3007 Contact Us

The Department of Hispanic Studies is at the forefront of research and teaching of Hispanic literature and Spanish linguistics. Our offering in Hispanic literature and Hispanic linguistics now encompasses the literatures written throughout the Americas and Spain. Given Houston’s location, as well as Arte Público Press and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Project at UH, our Ph.D. program offers an optimal environment in which to achieve excellence.

For more information about the course work, expectations and the progression of the PhD program please see the PhD Students Handbook.

General Requirements

Minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the ph.d. in spanish.

• A completed M.A. degree in Spanish,or its equivalent
• Hispanic literature of the United States
• Latin American literature through Modernism
• Latin American literature since Modernism
• Peninsular literature through the XVII century
• Peninsular literature, centuries XVIII through XX
• Formal linguistics
• Applied linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Completed online application through CollegeNet   [all required documents are to be directly uploaded to your account during the application process. Please prepare them beforehand. Official individual mark sheets in certain countries, transcripts, and degree certificates must be sent directly to the Graduate school and to the Graduate Admissions Advisor in Hispanic Studies at the addresses included below]
• A statement of research in Spanish (between 1000 and 1500 words) explaining your academic interests and projects (see this link to find the guidelines you must follow for writing your  statement ).
• Three letters of recommendation from the applicant’s professors detailing the potential of the applicant at the Ph.D. level (sent directly by recommenders via CollegeNet)
• Writing sample (Graded)
• Transcripts that are not in English must be sent along with an official translation made by a certified interpreter .
• Please see the Graduate School guidelines for transcripts and diploma verification

Additional Requirements for International Students

• Certified copy of diploma: besides official transcripts and their translation, international students must send a copy of their graduation diploma. If the document is not in English, an official translation made by a certified interpreter must be attached. The diploma must be sent to the University of Houston Graduate School (102 E. Cullen Building Houston, Texas 77204-2012).
• TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language: A score of at least 79 on the (international students only, unless they have earned a college degree from an American university)
• Duolingo English Test for English proficiency exams. The exam costs $49 (USD) and may be taken from any computer that has a camera, audio and reliable internet. The exam portion of the Duolingo English Test contains a series of speaking, reading, writing and listening exercises. Following the exam, there will be an interview portion that will ask you to respond to various prompts in 30 to 90 seconds. The exam will take about 45 minutes to complete and you will need either a passport, driver license, or national or state ID to show the camera. The score results are generally received within a few days of exam completion. A minimum score of 105 is required.

For information on the TOEFL visit the Educational Testing Service web site . (UH Code: 6870)

IMPORTANT: ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETE BY JANUARY 15th (INCLUDING TRANSCRIPTS AND EXAM RESULTS TOEFL) IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR FUNDING. INCOMPLETE DOSSIERS WILL NOT COMPETE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS . Click here to download the Spanish PhD application checklist

Once admitted to the program

• No course in which a grade below B- (2.67) is received may count towards Ph.D. degree.
• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) for all graduate courses attempted is required for a graduate degree; failure to maintain this average will result in a warning, probation, or suspension.
• Qualifying written and oral examinations are required to obtain admission to candidacy
• The student must develop a dissertation on a topic in literature which can be considered to be original and of significance to scholarship.
• Four college semesters at the undergraduate level (or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated by testing) in another Romance language.
• Reading knowledge of Latin or any other approved language, as demonstrated either by satisfactory scores on the Educational Testing Service examinations for that language, or the completion of two semesters of graduate reading courses in the language chosen with a grade of B- or higher.

Application Fees

Fees payable by check, money order or online (Credit Card) with application

• Total cost, $50
• Payable to University of Houston
• Total cost, $80
• The Spanish PhD Program only has admissions for the Fall semester.
• All documents and information must be uploaded through CollegeNet and/or sent to the University of Houston by January 15 th

For applications and advisement, please write, call, or e-mail:

Dr. Paola Arboleda-Ríos, Interim Graduate Director, at [email protected]

* Phone interviews will be conducted after application file is reviewed.

Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

Search this website

Doctor of philosophy in spanish, general information:.

The Department of Modern Languages offers a variety of opportunities for advanced study. The Ph.D. program in Hispanic Literature is designed to prepare students to become first-rate scholars and teachers, primarily in institutions of higher learning. In addition to two major fields of specialization (Peninsular Spanish Literature and Spanish American Literature), minors are available in Peninsular Spanish Literature, Spanish American Literature, and Hispanic Linguistics. Candidates to the Ph.D. must pass a qualifying   examination .

Description of the Program

The doctoral program consists of 75 semester hours of graduate level work beyond the Bachelor's degree, distributed as follows: 57 graduate credits of courses and 18 credits of dissertation. Students holding Master of Arts degrees in Spanish or Hispanic Studies will be considered for admission and some or all of their graduate credits may be counted toward the doctoral degree after being evaluated and approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. Student will be able to transfer a maximum of 36 graduate credits from an earned graduate degree.

Course Distribution

Core Courses: (9 credits)

All core courses must be taken as graduate courses offered by the University and may not be taken as independent studies:

• FOL 5943 Foreign Language Teaching Methodology
• SPW 5806 Methods of literary research
• SPW 6825 Literary Theory and Criticism

Distribution Requirement: (15 credits)

All students must take:

• One course in Medieval or Golden Age Peninsular Spanish Literature
• One course in Peninsular Spanish Literature of the 18th-21st century
• One course in Colonial/19th century Spanish American Literature
• One course in 20th century Spanish American Literature
• One additional course in Spanish American Literature

Electives: (33 credits)

Students may choose from graduate courses in literature, linguistics, culture, and translation/interpretation.

Dissertation: (18 credits)

Independent Studies

Students who want to conduct research in a very specialized field with a particular faculty member will be allowed to register for a 3-credit independent study course. No more than two such independent study will be allowed without permission from the Graduate Program Director and only in exceptional cases. Under no circumstances will a student be authorized to take a regularly-taught course as an independent study. Independent studies are envisioned as an opportunity for students to carry out specialized research, not as a substitute for regular courses.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal consists of two documents: 1) A concise (max. 5 pages double-spaced) dissertation proposal following University Graduate School guidelines; 2) a more developed statement of research purpose and plans (15-20 pages long). Students should circulate these two documents among all the members of the committee at least two weeks prior to the oral defense. The dissertation proposal has to be approved by the four members of the dissertation committee. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for more details   Here

The dissertation proposal is a five-page document with an appended bibliography that explains in detail the proposed thesis topic, the critical instrument chosen to approach it, existing scholarship on the subject, and an overarching plan for its development. The proposal is prepared in consultation with the thesis adviser but it is revised and evaluated by all the members of the student's graduate committee. The proposal should follow the general guidelines in the Regulations for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation. A copy of the approved proposal must be filed with the Dean of Graduate Studies at least one full semester prior to defense of the dissertation or thesis.

Students who have completed all coursework must register in SPW 7910 Pre-dissertation Research during the semester in which he or she expects to be admitted to candidacy. Students fully admitted to candidacy subsequently register in SPN 7980 Dissertation Research. Candidates must be registered in at least three credit-hours of dissertation research every semester --including at least one summer term-- once he or she begins such preparation. The candidate must be enrolled for at least three dissertation credits during the semester in which the doctoral degree is awarded.

The statement of research purpose and plans is internal to the department.

Dissertation

A dissertation or thesis is a formal and systematic discourse or treatise advancing an original point of view as a result of research. A dissertation is required of all candidates for the doctoral degree.

Upon completion of a dissertation or thesis, the degree candidate will submit to the Dean of Graduate Studies an application for thesis or dissertation defense signed by the dissertation director. The application must be filed in sufficient time to allow the Dean of Graduate Studies to publish the notice in a monthly calendar of dissertation and theses defenses for the University community.

Copies of the final version of the dissertation, prepared in accordance with the most recent edition of the MLA Style Manual or MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Paper and the FIU Guidelines for Thesis and Dissertation Writers (available from the Office of Graduate Studies), together with an abstract in English of a maximum of 350 words, must be submitted to the Dissertation Committee at least four weeks before the Oral Defense of the Dissertation, which must be scheduled following UGS calendar.

Dissertation Defense

The date, time, and place of the Defense will be announced by memo from the Dissertation Director at least two weeks in advanced to the rest of the committee, the candidate, the Director of Graduate Studies, the department Chairperson, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Media Relations.

The oral defense, which is open to public, will take the following form: 10-15 minute presentation by candidate, 10 minute question period from each member of the dissertation committee.

Following the successful defense, as determined by a majority vote of the student's committee, the dissertation or thesis is forwarded to the Academic Dean and to the dean of graduate studies for their approval.

The Ph.D. dissertation must be completed within five years of the doctoral comprehensive examination, or the examination will have to be retaken.

Seminars on Professional Concerns

The Department of Modern Languages recognizes the need to inform graduate students regarding a wide range of professional issues directly related to the successful development of their academic careers. To that end, each year it sponsors a series of meetings during which these concerns can be more fully addressed and explored. The professional concerns seminars meet as needed and are led by one or several faculty members. Topics to be covered include "Publishing your work," "Participating in conferences and symposia," "Applying for grants and fellowships," "Writing the curriculum vitae," "Applying for jobs," and "Preparing for an interview." Other possible topics for discussion might include book reviewing, publishing the dissertation and networking. Students may also propose a seminar on a topic not listed here that is of special professional concern to them. Such proposals are channeled through the Director of Graduate Studies.

Graduate and Teaching Assistantships

A limited number of assistantships are available each year for doctoral students. Candidates seeking an assistantship must apply in writing to the Graduate Program Director by December 15th. Assistantships normally consist of a stipend of $20,000 per academic year (including the summer terms) and a matriculation fee-waiver.

In exchange, students who receive assistantships must work twenty hours per week for the Department and must take a minimum of nine credits per semester and six credits in the summer. Students with more than eighteen graduate credits generally fulfill their work requirements by teaching one language class per term.

Assistantships are incompatible with outside employment. Please see the Graduate Program Director for further information. Renewal is not automatic but contingent upon the student's successful performance in the following areas: (1) academics (2) work as graduate or teaching assistant, (3) participation in all the meetings and activities organized by the department. Renewals must be approved by the graduate committee in consultation with the student’s advisor and the Language Coordinator. In order to have the Teaching Assistantship renewed, ABDs will have to show adequate progress towards the completion of their dissertation.

For information on additional special scholarships, please contact the Graduate Program Director.

Selected Course Offerings

• Methods of Literary Research
• Literary Theory and Criticism
• Historiography of Literature
• The Structure of Spanish
• History of the Spanish Language
• Spanish in the United States
• Dialectology of the Spanish Caribbean
• Learning Technology in Spanish Pedagogy and Research
• Spanish Culture
• Spanish American Culture
• Hispanic Culture in the US
• Afro-Cuban Culture
• The Latin American Experience in Literature and Film
• Colonial Latin American Literature
• 19th Century Latin American Literature
• Spanish American Modernism
• The Traditional Spanish American Novel
• Primitivism in Spanish American Literature
• Magical Realism
• Contemporary Spanish American Novel
• Spanish American Historical Novel
• Spanish American Essay
• Prose and Poetry of Jorge Luis Borges
• Poetry of Pablo Neruda
• Eros in the Poetry of Spanish American Women Writers
• Spanish American Women Writers
• Hispanic Literature of the US
• Mexico in Poetry
• Literature of the Spanish Caribbean
• 19th Century Spanish Caribbean Literature
• Cuban Theater
• Cuban Narrative
• Prose and Poetry of José Martí
• Literature of Hispanics in the United States
• Medieval Spanish Literature
• The Renaissance in Spain
• Golden Age Prose
• Golden Age Poetry
• Spanish Romanticism and Neoclassicism
• Spanish Realism and Naturalism
• Seminar on Benito Pérez Galdós
• Generation of 98
• 20th Century Spanish Novel
• Poetry of Jorge Guillén
• Seminar on Federico García Lorca
• Seminar on Antonio Buero Vallejo
• Modern Spanish Women Writers
• Representation of Women in Spanish Literature and Film
• 20th Century Spanish Poetry

Doctorate (PhD) in Spanish

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers a comprehensive and innovative graduate program in the literature and cultures of the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian world. We offer courses that cover a range of chronological, geographical, and generic categories, including Peninsular and Latin American literature and visual culture from the pre-modern period to the present day, as well as courses in literary, aesthetic, and political theory. Our program is distinguished by cross-unit collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches. Our faculty is dynamic, professionally active, and committed to working closely with students to prepare them for careers in university teaching and research.

The PhD in Spanish prepares students for careers in university teaching and research through an integrated program of advanced course work and the preparation of a doctoral dissertation. Each program is flexible enough to provide for comprehensive coverage in the student's primary area while assuring ample coverage of the broad field of Hispanic literatures and cultures.

Recent Publications by Faculty in Literature & Cultural Studies

2022  Fraser, B. Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz . New York: Oxford University Press.

  2022  Fraser, B. Barcelona, City of Comics: Urbanism, Architecture and Design in Postdictatorial Spain . Foreword featuring original comic by Pere Joan. Albany: SUNY Press.

  2022  Fraser, B., Spalding, S. (eds). Transnational Railway Cultures: Trains in Music, Literature, Film and Visual Art. Series: Explorations in Mobility, vol. 6. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books.

2022 Murphy, Kaitlin and Yifat Gutman, Kerry Whigham, and Jenny Wüstenberg, et al. Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

2021 Arias, Santa, and Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, eds. The Routledge Hispanic Studies Companion to Colonial Latin America and the Caribbean (1492-1898). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

2021 Bezerra, K, Graciela Ravelli, and Teresa Barbosa. Representações do espaço público (Special volume). Revista Aletria 31.4.

2021  Fraser, B. Obsession, Urban Aesthetics and the Iberian City: The Partial Madness of Modern Urban Culture . Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.

2020 Harden, Faith. Arms and Letters: Military Life Writing in Early Modern Spain . University of Toronto Press.

2019  Fraser, B. Visible Cities, Global Comics: Urban Images and Spatial Form . Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

2019  Fraser, B. The Art of Pere Joan: Space, Landscape and Comics Form . Austin: University of Texas Press.

2018 Acosta, A. "Unsettling Coloniality: Readings and Interrogations". Special Issue edited by Abraham Acosta. Journal of Commonwealth and Postscolonial Studies.

2018  Fraser, B. Cognitive Disability Aesthetics: Visual Culture, Disability Representations, and the (In)Visibility of Cognitive Difference . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 

2018 Murphy, Kaitlin M. Mapping Memory: Visuality, Affect, and Embodied Politics in the Americas. Fordham Univ Press.

2017 Morales, Mónica. Reading Inebriation in Early Colonial Peru . (1st edition Ashgate 2012; 1st reprint edition Routledge 2017)

CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES :

2023 Arias, S. “La reinvención de la Isla San Juan de Puerto Rico bajo la Ilustración: desfronterización e imperialidad.” Cuadernos de Literatura en el Caribe Hispánico e Hispanoamérica . Special Issue: Colonialismo y Colonialidad en el Caribe. Forthcoming.

2023  Fraser, B. “La trisomia 21, la discapacitat intel·lectual i l’escriptura de la vida a Barcelona.” Catalan Review , pp. forthcoming.

  2023  Fraser, B. “‘Fraught with Background’: Narration, Monstration and Style in the Biblical Adaptations of R. Crumb and Chester Brown.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics , pp. preprint published online in 2021.

2022 Bezerra, K. “O sol se põe em São Paulo; Noções de pertencimento num mundo globalizado.” Revista ANPOLL (forthcoming).

2022 Bezerra, K. “Yde Blumenschein.” Memorial do Memoricídio . Vol.2. Ed. Constância Lima Duarte. (forthcoming 2022)

2022 Fitch, M. "The Latin American Novel and New Technologies". Oxford Handbook of the Latin American Novel . Ignacio López-Calvo and Juan E. de Castro, eds. Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, pp. 542-554.

2022  Fraser, B. “The Poetry of Snails: The Shown, the Intervened, and the Signified in Duelo de caracoles (2010) by Sonia Pulido and Pere Joan.” European Comic Art 15.2, forthcoming.

2022 Harden, Faith. “Estebanillo González.” A Companion to the Spanish Picaresque Novel . Edited by Edward H Friedman. London: Tamesis, pp. 135-146.

2022 Murphy, Kaitlin. “Memory Mapping as Activist Intervention.” In The Memory Activism Handbook, edited by Yifat Gutman, Jenny Wüstenberg, et al. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

  2022  Murphy, Kaitlin and Kerry Whigham. “Introduction to Memory Activism Practices.” In The Memory Activism Handbook, edited by Yifat Gutman, Jenny Wüstenberg, et al. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

2022 Bezerra, K. “Afterword.” Contemporary Brazilian Cities, Culture, and Resistance . Ed. Sophia Beal and Gustavo Prieto. Hispanic Issues On Line 28, pp.248-257.

2021 Arias, Santa, and Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel . “Between Colonialism and Coloniality: Colonial Latin American and Caribbean Studies Today.” The Routledge Hispanic Studies Companion to Colonial Latin America and the Caribbean (1492-1898). Edited by Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel and Santa Arias. Routledge. 1-40.

2021 Bezerra, K., Teresa Barbosa, and Graciela Ravetti. “Introduction” and “Afterword” to Special Issue. Representações do espaço público (Special volume). Eds. Kátia Bezerra, Graciela Ravelli, and Teresa Barbosa. Revista Aletria 31.4, pp. 9-21.

2021 Bezerra, K. “Adriana Lisboa: revisitando a cidade a partir de um espaço de enunciação fronteiriço.” Panoramas da literatura brasileira 2020: drama, poesia, prosa e outras escrituras . Org. Rafael Climent-Espino, and Michel Mingote. São Paulo: Editora PUC-São Paulo, pp.

2021 Fitch M. “Chilean Digital Literature” in The Cambridge History of Chilean Literature . Ed. Ignacio López-Calvo. Cambridge University Press. 612-626.

2021 Fitch, M. "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Hispanic Studies, New Technology and the Future of the Profession"  Language, Image, Power: Luso-Hispanic Cultural Studies. Susan Larson, ed. New York: Routledge. 171-190.

2021 Fitch, M. “In memoriam, David William Foster. The Conversation We Never Had” Chasqui: Revista de literatura latinoamericana 50.2. 

2021  Fraser, B. “The Sonic Force of the Machine Ensemble: Transnational Objectification in Steve Reich’s Different Trains (1988).” In Transnational Railway Cultures: Trains in Music, Literature, Film and Visual Art. Edited by B. Fraser, S. Spalding. Series: Explorations in Mobility, vol. 6. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books, pp. 46-63.

  2021  Fraser, B. “Down Syndrome Ensembles, Autonomy and Disability Rights in The Grown-Ups (2016) by Maite Alberdi.” Chasqui 50.2, pp. 233-52.

  2021  Fraser, B. “‘A Sort of Enchanted Place’: Town and Country Mysticism and the Architectural Façade in Seth’s Clyde Fans .” ImageText: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies 13.1

. https://imagetextjournal.com/a-sort-of-enchanted-place-town-and-country-mysticism-and-the-architectural-facade-in-seths-clyde-fans/ .

  2021  Fraser, B. “Tactile Comics, Disability Studies and the Mind’s Eye: On ‘A Boat Tour’ in Venice with Max.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 12.5, pp. 737-49.

  2021  Fraser, B. “Forging the Iberian Comic in Post-Dictatorial Barcelona: Space, Place and Nonplace in Pere Joan’s Passatger en trànsit (1984).” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 22.3, pp. 367-86.

  2021  Fraser, B. “El ingenio visual de Miguel Noguera: el noveno arte vs la literatura en el cómic ‘Camilo José Cela’ (2010).” Bulletin of Spanish Visual Studies 5.1, pp. 111-33.

  2021  Fraser, B. “Architecture, Urbanistic Ideology, and the Poetic-Analytic Documentary Mode in Mercado de futuros (2011) by Mercedes Álvarez.” In Architecture and the Urban in Spanish Film . Edited by Susan Larson. Bristol: Intellect. pp. 22-37.

2021 Geyer, Charlie. “Abject Failure and Utopian Longing in the Lower East Side: The Poetry and Performance of Miguel Piñero.” Centro Journal , 33(2), 4-35.

2021 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Fear and Loathing in Monuments: Rethinking the Politics and Practices of Monumentality and Monumentalization.” Memory Studies 14.6, pp. 1143-1158.

2021 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Art as Atrocity Prevention: The Auschwitz Institute, Artivism, and the 2019 Venice Biennale,” Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal 15.1, pp. 68–96.

  2020 Bezerra, K. “JR’s Morro da Providência Exhibit: A Politics of Cultural Intervention.” Luso-Brazilian Review 57.1, pp. 58-76.

2020 Fitch, M. “Los estudiantes huelen sinceridad” in Garate, Alberto Rivera, El profesorado frente a la pandemia: Relatos desde el curso del desastre . CETYS Universidad. Barcelona: Ediciones Octaedro, 2020. 69-76.

2020  Fraser, B. “Paco Roca’s graphic novel La casa (2015) as Architectural Elegy.” In Spanish Comics: Historical and Cultural Perspectives . Ed. Anne Magnussen. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books. pp. 182-201. [Reprint of 2018 journal article from European Comic Art ]

  2020  Fraser, B. “Tete Montoliu, Blindness and Barcelona in the Key of Modern Jazz.” Catalan Review 34, pp. 1-17.

  2020  Fraser, B. “Trains, Time and Technology: Teaching ‘Mecanópolis’ through Mobility and Science Fiction Studies.” Teaching the Works of Miguel de Unamuno . Ed. Luis Álvarez-Castro. New York: MLA. pp. 112-18.

2020 Morales, Mónica. "Se puede hablar de solidaridad y defensa en la narrativa de Guamán Poma sobre los Indios en Buen gobierno?" Letras . 91.133, pp. 211-232.

2020 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Braiding Borders”: Performance as Care and Resistance on the US-Mexico Border.” TDR: The Drama Review 64.4, pp. 72-83.

2020 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Witnessing the Past and the Present: Photography and Guatemala’s Fight for Historical Dialogue.” In Historical Dialogue and the Prevention of Mass Atrocities , edited by Elazar Barkan, Constantin Goschler, and James Waller, 235-252. London: Routledge Press.

2019   Arias, Santa.  “Raza, colonialidad e Ilustración: Caminando la Ciudad de los Reyes.” Bibliographica Americana: Revista Interdisciplinaria de Estudios Coloniales 15 (2019): 5-20. 

2019 Bezerra, K. “ A casa Cai: Unveiling Geographies of Exclusion and Violence.” Revista Diadorim 19, pp. 99-108.

2019 Bezerra, K. “Milton Hatoum: Redesenhando fronteiras em uma cidade em transição.” De Oriente a Ocidente: Estudos da Associação Internacional de Lusofonistas. vol. IV, pp. 205-218.

2019  Fraser, B. “On Polysemiotic Interactions, Visual Paratexts, and Image-Specific Translation: The Case of Rodolfo Santullo and Matías Bergara’s Dengue (2012/2015).” Studies in Comics 10.2, pp. 279-95.

  2019  Fraser, B. “Joaquim Jordà and Nuria Villazán’s Mones com la Becky [Monkeys Like Becky] (1999) and the New Global Disability Documentary Cinema.” Disability Studies Quarterly 39.2, no pag.

  2019  Fraser, B. “Obsessively Writing the Modern City: The Partial Madness of Urban Planning Culture and the Case of Arturo Soria y Mata in Madrid, Spain.” Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies 13.1, pp. 21-37.

2019 Geyer, Charlie. “Creolizing the Canon: Manuel Puig, Junot Díaz, and the Latino Poetics of Relation.” The Comparatist , 43 , 173–193.

2019 Murphy, Kaitlin M. “Against Precarious Abstraction: Bearing Witness to Migration Through Moysés Zúñiga Santiago’s “La Bestia” Photographs.” Journal of Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture 1.1, pp. 7-22.

2018 Acosta, A. “Crisis and Migration in Posthegemonic Times: Primitive Accumulation and Labor in La Bestia.” Dialectical Imaginaries: Materialist Approaches to U.S. Latino/a Literature in the Age of Neoliberalism . Marcial Gonzalez and Carlos Gallego editors. University of Michigan Press. Pages 241-262.

2018 Acosta, A. “The Posthegemonic Turn.” New Approaches to Latin American Studies: Culture and Power . Juan Poblete, editor. New York; London: Routledge. Pages 255-271.

2018  Acosta, A. Introduction to Special Issue, "Unsettling Coloniality: Readings and Interrogations". Edited by Abraham Acosta. Journal of Commonwealth and Postscolonial Studies . 6.1: 3-16.

2018 Bezerra, K. “Urban Space in the Lusophone World: Contesting Inequality and Constructing Citizenship.” Edited in collaboration with Leila Lehnen and Jeremy Lehnen. [Special section] Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies ..

2018  Fraser, B. “El lenguaje visual innovador de Pere Joan: el pictograma analógico frente a la cultura digital en el cómic español contemporáneo.” Romance Studies 36.4, pp. 180-95.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Urban Difference ‘On the Move’: Disabling Mobility in the Spanish Film El cochecito (Marco Ferreri, 1960).” Freakish Encounters . Ed. Sara Muñoz-Muriana and Analola Santana . Hispanic Issues Online , vol. 20, pp. 234-51.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Miguel Brieva, quincemayista : Art, Politics and Comics Form in the 15-M Graphic Novel Lo que (me) está pasando (2015).” Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World 8.1, pp. 42-62.

  2018  Fraser, B., A. Masterson-Algar and S. L. Vilaseca. “Cultural Studies, Behind the Scenes: Notes on the Craft of Interdisciplinary Scholarship.” Journal of Urban Cultural Studies 5.1, pp. 3-14.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Paco Roca’s graphic novel La casa (2015) as Architectural Elegy.” European Comic Art 11.1, pp. 87-106.

  2018  Fraser, B. “Visual/Geo-Spatial Knowledge and the Digital Library: On the ‘Mutaciones’ Section of Agustín Fernández Mallo’s  El hacedor (de Borges), Remake (2011).” Hispanic Studies Review 3.1, pp. 63-77.

  2018  Fraser, B. “The Public Animal in Barcelona: Urban Form, the Natural World and Socio-Spatial Transgression in the Comic “Un cocodril a l’Eixample” (1987) by Pere Joan and Emilio Manzano.” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 19.1, pp. 89-110.

2018 Geyer, Charlie. “Rethinking Todorov.” Chasqui , 47(2), 176-189.

2018 Harden, Faith. "Hacia una historia de la autobiografía militar del siglo XVII: el militar perfecto y las «vidas» de soldados." Aspectos actuales del hispanismo mundial . De Gruyter, pp. 317-324.

  EDITORS-IN-CHIEF OF ACADEMIC JOURNALS IN LITERATURE AND CULTURAL STUDIES

Arias, S. Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies Fitch, M. Studies in Latin American Popular Culture (University of Texas Press) Fraser, B. Hispania (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) Fraser, B. Journal of Urban Cultural Studies

BOOK SERIES EDITORS/DIRECTORS

Fitch, M. Co-director, Studies in Latin American Culture and Literature Series, Anthem Press.  Fraser, B. Founding Co-editor, Hispanic Urban Studies Book Series. Palgrave McMillan.

Spanish Linguistics, PHD

On this page:, at a glance: program details.

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Spanish Linguistics

The PhD program in Spanish linguistics offers advanced interdisciplinary graduate training that combines key areas in second language acquisition and teaching, applied linguistics, heritage language research and pedagogy, sociolinguistics and bilingualism. With the supportive guidance from their advisor, students are well prepared for a productive career in the discipline of Hispanic studies.

Focus Areas

Spanish heritage studies and sociolinguistics:  Advanced interdisciplinary graduate training that combines key areas in Spanish heritage language research and pedagogy, bilingualism and Spanish sociolinguistics

Second language acquisition and teaching: Advanced interdisciplinary graduate training that combines key areas in second language acquisition and teaching, applied linguistics, heritage language pedagogy and language program administration.

Courses and Electives

The coursework for each student is individualized and based upon the student's previous training, research goals and mentor and committee consensus. Our research-heavy program requires students to complete a written comprehensive exam, prospectus and dissertation.

The 84-hour program of study includes a written comprehensive exam, a prospectus, and a dissertation. Prospective doctoral candidates should have a passion and interest in Spanish linguistics.

Under-represented minorities

Students in phd programs, international students, degree requirements.

84 credit hours, a foreign language exam, a written comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (3 credit hours) SPA 543 Structure of Spanish (3)

Track (9 credit hours)

Electives or Research (41 credit hours)

Other Requirements (19 credit hours) COE 502 Introduction to Data Analysis (3) GRD 791 Seminar: Preparing Future Faculty and Scholars (PFx) (1) SPA 544 Spanish Phonology (3) SPA 546 Heritage Language Pedagogy (3) SPA 598 Topic: Research Methods for Linguists (3) SPA 598 Topic: Sociolinguistics (3) SPA 598 Topic: Spanish Second Language Acquisition (3)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) SPA 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information Students choose from two available tracks: Spanish heritage studies and sociolinguistics, or second language acquisition and teaching. Students should see the academic unit for the approved course list for each track.

Each candidate is expected to demonstrate a reading knowledge of one language other than English and Spanish. This language requirement must be satisfied before the candidate is eligible to take the comprehensive examination.

Other requirement courses may be substituted with approval of the academic unit.

When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used toward this degree. If students do not have a previously awarded master's degree, the 30 credit hours of coursework is made up of electives or research to reach the required 84 credit hours.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in Spanish or a related field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

Applicants are required to submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• two letters of recommendation
• written statement
• professional resume
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, career opportunities.

The doctoral program in Spanish linguistics prepares students for entrance into an academic profession (teacher, scholar) as well as for a profession outside of academia. Professionals with the valued skills developed through this degree program can confidently move into business, diplomatic, government and international fields.

Career examples include:

• foreign language and linguistics teachers and professors
• instructional design coordinators
• interpreters and translators
• reporters and correspondents
• social and community service managers
• teachers and professors of area, ethnic and cultural studies

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-6281

Application fee waiver

Applicants facing financial hardship may request a waiver for their application fee. Please complete the online application up to the fee payment page. Please send both Ashley Lawless ([email protected]) and Xiaoqiao Ling ([email protected]) a brief essay (about 150 words) describing why paying the application fee is difficult in your situation, along with your application ID number. If your request is accepted, we will let you know that you can submit your application without paying the fee. The School of International Letters and Cultures has established a limited budget for these waivers. Requests will be considered as they are received until the budget is spent.

• Skip to Main
• Faculty Bookshelf
• Administration / Staff
• Language Placement
• Majors & Minors
• Writing Center
• Honors Program
• Internships
• Esferas Undergraduate Journal
• PhD Program
• Information for Graduating PhD Students
• Advanced Certificate in Creative Writing in Spanish
• Recent PhD Job Placements
• Office Hours
• Financial Aid
• Frequently Asked Questions
• How to Apply to the Program
• M.F.A. Program Content And Requirements
• Archivo Digital de KJCC Poetry Series y CWS Series
• UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
• MFA PROGRAM COURSES
• PhD PROGRAM COURSES
• Graduate Events
• Crooked Plow: Brazil Revealed in Translation
• Book Launch: Handbook of Latin American Environmental Aesthetics
• A conversation about "Entranced Earth: Art, Extractivism, and the End of Landscape" by Jens Andermann
• De Quiltras, Chuchas y otras Perras: Lectura y Coloquio alrededor del Feminismo
• Fridays on the Patio: A Conversation about Race in Spain, Italy, and the U.S.

PhD Program Overview

The application for fall 2024 will be available in September 2023. Please direct questions to [email protected] .

The doctoral program in Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literature comprises 72 credits of coursework, taken during the first three years in the program, followed by the Comprehensive Examination, the defense of the dissertation proposal and the completion of the dissertation. 

Coursework 

Students must complete 72 credits as part of the program requirements. Required courses include: Seminar in Theory SPAN-GA 2965.001; Professional Writing Practices I and II, SPAN-GA 2950.001, SPAN-GA 2953.001 (in the spring of Years 1 and 2 respectively); Foreign Language Teaching Methodology SPAN-GA 1120.001 (for all students choosing to teach); Dissertation Proposal Workshop SPAN-GA 3545.001 (two semesters in Year 3); and an Independent Study SPAN-GA 2891.001 in the fall of Year 3. 

Students typically take four courses each semester during their first year in the program (including Seminar in Theory SPAN-GA 2965.001, taken in the fall, and Professional Writing Practices I SPAN-GA 2950.001, taken in the spring); four courses each semester during the second year (including Foreign Language Teaching Methodology SPAN-GA 1120.001, taken in the fall by all graduate students teaching for the first time, who must teach a Spanish language course concurrently; and Professional Writing Practices II SPAN-GA 2953.001, taken in the spring); three courses during the fall semester of their third year (including the Dissertation Proposal Workshop SPAN-GA 3545.001 and Independent Study SPAN-GA 2891.001), and two courses in the spring semester of their third year (including the Dissertation Proposal Workshop). 

Subject to approval from the Director of Graduate Studies, one elective may be replaced with a four-credit Independent Study, preferably in Year 2. 

On a case by case basis, the Department will accept transfer credit from previous coursework taken as part of a Master's degree.  Students will meet with the Director of Graduate Studies during their first year to discuss credit transfers.

Students are encouraged to take courses outside the Department of Spanish and Portuguese that will compliment their training in a meaningful way.  Up to three courses may be taken outside the Department, per consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.  Often, courses with other departments such as Comparative Literature, American Studies, and Performance Studies are cross-listed with Spanish and Portuguese, so these would not count as outside courses. 

Students also have the option to take courses at other schools in the area, such as Columbia, CUNY, Rutgers, and Princeton, as part of the  Inter-University Doctoral Consortium , per approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Comprehensive Examination

In December of their third year in the program, all students will take the Comprehensive Examination. The Examination will be administered by a committee of three faculty members, chosen by the student, and will consist of a written and an oral examination on three individualized reading lists. Each list will cover one of three "fields" and will be elaborated by the student in collaboration with the three advisors (one advisor per list).  The reading lists are to be organized as follows:

• “Dissertation Field”: a list of 20-25 titles covering a particular critical perspective and/or historical or theoretical issues that will provide the groundwork for the Dissertation Proposal. This includes "primary" and "secondary" readings of literary, critical, theoretical, historical materials that are directly relevant to the dissertation topic;
• "Theory Field”: a list of 20-25 titles referring to literary critical or theoretical areas that complement  and provide a larger context of debate for the issues discussed in the “Dissertation Field”;
• “Teaching Field”: a list of 40-50 titles based on the student’s teaching field.  This reading list entails a comprehensive approach to a field roughly corresponding to the broad designations found in the MLA job list, e.g., "Latin American Colonial Literature / Transatlantic Studies", or “Modern (19th-21st century) Peninsular Literature/Culture.” 

Students will take one Independent Study in the fall of their third year in order to elaborate and prepare the reading lists in collaboration with a member of the faculty who will serve as Chair of the Examination Committee, and two other faculty members, who will be the additional members of the committee.

Other Degree Requirements

In addition to completing 72 credits of coursework and passing the Comprehensive Examination, students must successfully defend a dissertation proposal and fulfill all language requirements.

Dissertation Proposal

Students are expected to defend their dissertation proposals in the spring of their third year in the program.  The dissertation proposal will be approved by a committee consisting of the student’s three advisors from the Comprehensive Examination.  In the summer following the successful defense of the dissertation proposal, students will receive a $5000 stipend from the department.

Language Requirements

Portuguese - All students are required to demonstrate advanced proficiency in both Spanish and Portuguese by the time of graduation.  For Spanish-speaking students, the Portuguese proficiency requirement can be satisfied by taking the zero-credit course “Portuguese for Spanish Speakers,” offered every spring.  This requirement may also be satisfied by prior coursework taken as part of an undergraduate or Master’s degree, or by completing an advanced undergraduate language course or graduate seminar conducted in Portuguese.

Additional Research Language - In addition to proficiency in Spanish and Portuguese, all students must demonstrate advanced reading knowledge of a third research language.  This requirement may be satisfied by completing an undergraduate language course at the Intermediate II level (or equivalent) or by passing the Graduate School’s Foreign Language Proficiency Exam, offered each year in March, August, and November.  On a case by case basis, language courses taken as part of an undergraduate degree may be accepted as proof of proficiency.  Common languages used to satisfy this requirement include French, Italian, and Latin.  Please note that advanced knowledge of English is a prerequisite for admission to NYU and will not satisfy this degree requirement. 

Doctoral Dissertation

Students are encouraged to maintain close contact with their dissertation advisors. Ideally, the dissertation should be submitted by the end of the second year following the successful presentation of the dissertation proposal.  Prior to the oral defense, the dissertation will be read and approved by the dissertation advisor and two readers from the faculty, who will submit written evaluations.  Two additional readers will also take part in the oral defense.

For further information about the structure of the Ph.D. program, please consult the  Graduate School of Arts and Science Bulletin.

This document contains a full description of the program's academic structure, requirements, policies, and procedures.

• University of Michigan Library
• Research Guides

Spanish Language and Literature

• Dissertations
• Getting Started
• Dictionaries
• Reference Works
• Digital Collections and Libraries
• Web Resources
• Dialnet: Tesis Repository of full text PhD dissertations from some 40 Spanish universities.
• Tesis Doctorales en Red / Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa Repository of full text PhD dissertations from the universities in Catalonia and other autonomous regions in Spain.
• Tesis Doctorales (TESEO) Catalog of PhD dissertations registered by the Spanish Ministry of Education. No full text.
• Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes: Tesis Doctorales Catalog of PhD dissertations written in Spanish at any university in the world. Not comprehensive.

Latin America

• Portal de Tesis Latinoamericanas Full text theses and dissertations from Latin American universities.
• Tesis de UNAM Catalog of dissertations since 1900, some in full text format.

International

• Global Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Search ETDs from more than 200 universities on all continents.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Descriptions, sometimes with full text, of doctoral dissertations & master theses from US, UK, Canada, Ireland, etc.
• WorldCat Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window A subset of WorldCat containing records of dissertations, theses, and published material based on theses; many international titles not included elsewhere.
• Dissertation Reviews Overviews of recently defended, unpublished doctoral dissertations in a wide variety of disciplines across the Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Center for Research Libraries: Dissertations Dissertations from universities outside the U.S. and Canada.

Spanish and Portuguese

Doctor of philosophy in spanish.

The Doctor of Philosophy program in Spanish requires a total of at least 72 s.h. of graduate credit. Students must maintain a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 3.00.

In this research-oriented degree, Ph.D. students choose from two different tracks: literatures/cultures and Hispanic linguistics. The literatures/cultures track trains students in textual analysis and literary history, criticism, and theory. The linguistics track provides training in linguistic analysis and theory. All courses taken to fulfill the semester hour requirement for the degree must be taken on a graded basis; no graduate credit is awarded for a grade lower than C-minus.

Both tracks require a specified number of semester hours of coursework, of which up to, but not more than, 30 s.h. (10 courses) may be counted from the M.A. in Spanish or the M.F.A. in Spanish creative writing at the University of Iowa or elsewhere, as approved by the director of graduate studies. The Ph.D. also requires 3-15 s.h. for the thesis in SPAN:6999 - Thesis . The degree also requires successful completion and defense of a dissertation representing original research or creative work.

No credit is awarded for coursework completed after the M.A. is granted and prior to entrance into the Ph.D. program. If, in the course of doctoral study, the advisory committee recommends a student take coursework at another institution, the student may petition the director of graduate studies well in advance of undertaking the coursework, for approval of up to 9 s.h. of transfer credit. At least 39 s.h. of the 72 s.h. required for the degree must be in coursework taken at the University of Iowa.

Listed below are the general categories of coursework required to earn the degree; for more specific information on courses, curriculum, and requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish visit the UI General Catalog .

Literatures/Cultures Track

Students must complete at least 36 s.h. (12 courses) beyond the master's degree (or 22 courses beyond the bachelor's degree). The following courses are required; courses taken for the M.A. may be used to meet part of this requirement.

Language Tool Requirement

Students in this track must complete the equivalent of three years of college-level study in one language.

Students who plan to write dissertations on topics in Spanish or Spanish American literature before 1700 are strongly encouraged to select Latin, Arabic, or an Amerindian language to satisfy this requirement; they should consult specialists in their field to determine which language is most appropriate. Students may take more than two languages if their coursework permits.

Language tool coursework below the third-year college level does not count toward the 72 s.h. required for the degree. Courses taken to fulfill the language tool requirements may be taken on a nongraded basis. If the language tool requirements are satisfied by examination, the exam results must be documented in a student's file.

Hispanic Linguistics Track

Students must earn at least 27 s.h. (9 courses) beyond the master's degree (or 19 courses beyond the bachelor's degree). The following courses are required; courses taken for the M.A. may be used to meet part of this requirement.

Language Tool and Additional Requirements

Students in this track must complete the equivalent of three years of college-level study of Portuguese, and the equivalent of one year of college-level study in each of two other languages. For students specializing in historical linguistics, one of those two languages must be Latin.

Students may satisfy the language tool requirement by examination or by coursework at the University of Iowa or at another accredited university. Courses taken to fulfill the language tool requirements may be taken on a nongraded basis. If the language tool requirements are satisfied by examination, the exam results must be documented in the student's file. The language tool coursework does not count toward the 57 s.h. of pre-thesis coursework required for the degree, except for the third-year-level coursework in Portuguese, which may be counted with the faculty advisor's approval if a student completed the course with a grade.

Students also must write two extended research papers and give two colloquium presentations based on these papers. The first paper must be in an area distinct from the intended dissertation research; it must be approved by a student's advisory committee by the end of fall semester of the second year of Ph.D. coursework in order for the student to continue in the track. The second paper must be in the dissertation research area, must be of publishable quality, and must be approved by the student's advisory committee no later than the beginning of the semester in which the student takes the comprehensive exam.

Important Deadlines

Application Deadline : January 15th (for financial support)

Admission decisions are based on prior academic performance, letters of reference, and the applicant's statement about background and purpose. Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the  Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College  on the Graduate College website. For more information, see the  Graduate Admissions Process  page.

Comprehensive Examinations

The purpose of the comprehensive examination is to determine whether students have gained sufficient breadth and depth of research knowledge in Hispanic literatures or linguistics to enter the profession as a teacher-scholar. The examining committee is composed of five departmental faculty members, or four departmental faculty members and a fifth faculty member from a related department.

Graduate students who plan to take the examination must file the departmental Notification of Intent to Take M.A. or Ph.D. Exams form with the graduate student academic coordinator by the third week of the relevant semester; see the  Graduate Program Manual . Students presenting the comprehensive exams cannot have more than one coursework requirement left to be completed, including courses for the fulfillment of the language tool requirements, after the semester in which the exams are presented. Generally, students either have finished their coursework requirements prior to presenting the comprehensive exams or they are completing them in the semester of their exams.

Dissertation

After the comprehensive examination is completed, a student submits a dissertation prospectus for the dissertation committee's approval. The dissertation committee is composed of five faculty members; at least four committee members must be from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

The dissertation, complete and in final form, must be submitted in the required electronic format to the Graduate College office by the first-deposit deadline date of the session in which the degree is to be conferred. The final deposit of the approved dissertation in electronic format must be deposited at the office by the appropriate deadline in a student's graduation semester.

Students must adhere to the Graduate College regulations regarding preparation of the dissertation copy; consult the  Graduate College . For information on the dissertation and final examinations, see the  Manual of Rules and Regulations  on the Graduate College website.

Additional Requirements

Only 3 s.h. earned for post-M.A. independent study may be applied toward the 72 s.h. required for the degree; the department discourages students from including independent study as a part of their coursework. Exceptions are made under extraordinary circumstances, but must be preapproved by the director of graduate studies. For consideration of a request for independent study credit, students must complete the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Independent Study Contract for Graduate Students form obtained from the director of graduate studies, then secure the approval of the director of graduate studies and the chair of the department, and submit a copy of the form to the graduate student academic coordinator before the first day of the semester. Only students in good academic standing may enroll in an independent study course.

PhD in Spanish (General Catalog)

NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity working to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its full disclosure statement.

PhD Program

The mission of the doctoral program of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese is to educate and train graduate students to develop new knowledge about the languages, literatures and cultures of the Latin American and Iberian regions, their related diasporas, and their Indigenous, African, and Afro-descendant cultures. Our graduates will acquire the competence to engage in critical discussions of major trends in their field of study, and to apply this knowledge in meaningful endeavors. To help our graduates achieve their goals, our program introduces students to a diverse body of theoretical approaches and methodological procedures that are instrumental to their respective disciplines.

Iberian and Latin American Literatures and Cultures

Enter your paragraph text here.

Card Block Headline

Addresses the broad range of linguistic and cultural contacts that currently comprise our field.  Allows students to complete their primary coursework in Portuguese or Spanish, and then choose a second specialization in the literature and culture in a language that is not Spanish or Portuguese.

Luso-Brazilian Cultural and Media Studies

Designed for students who wish to acquire the cultural capital and critical thinking skills crucial to a global understanding of Brazil, Portugal, and the Portuguese-speaking populations of Africa and Asia.

Iberian and Latin American Linguistics

Students pursue coursework in areas that bridge theoretical and applied approaches in the study of the structural and meaning-bearing properties of standardized and local languages, the sociolinguistics of the Ibero-American world, the development of second languages in natural and academic settings, and the qualitative and quantitative analysis of speech samples collected in the field and in the laboratory. 

Areas of Study

Graduate work in Iberian and Latin American Languages and Cultures is offered in three tracks: Iberian and Latin American Literatures and Cultures, Luso-Brazilian Cultural and Media Studies, and Iberian and Latin American Linguistics.

Admission and Degree Requirements

Master of arts.

The Master of Arts (MA) degree is available only to students enrolled in the PhD degree program in Iberian and Latin American Languages and Cultures under two conditions. First, students who leave the program without obtaining their PhD, and who are approved by the Graduate Studies Committee after having successfully defended a doctoral qualifying paper in the fourth semester, may receive a terminal master's degree. Second, if the doctoral qualifying paper is deemed unacceptable, thus disqualifying them from continuing in the program, the student may still petition to receive the MA after successfully completing 30 semester credit hours. In these cases, the Graduate Studies Committee reviews the petitions, deciding whether to approve or deny the petition. 

Doctor of Philosophy

The entering student must hold a bachelor's degree with a major in Spanish or Portuguese or must demonstrate equivalent knowledge. In either case, all students must demonstrate reading proficiency in a second language prior to advancing to doctoral candidacy. In Tracks 1 and 3 (see above), the second language may be any language other than English that is relevant to the student's proposed field of study and is approved by the graduate advisor. Students in the second track must choose Spanish or Portuguese as the second language. This requirement may be fulfilled by exam, previous credit, or 10-12 hours of additional coursework.

Students seeking the PhD must earn a minimum of 54 hours of credit. Coursework includes the following required courses:  ILA 380 Introduction to Theory and Research of Literature and Culture (only students in Track 1 and 2), ILA 398T Supervised Teaching In Spanish and Portuguese, ILA 394 Supervised Teaching of the Qualifying Paper, ILA 385T Teaching Practicum, ILA 395 Supervised Preparation of the Dissertation Fields, ILA 396 Supervised Preparation of the Dissertation Proposal and ILA 399W, ILA 699W or 999W Dissertation. The remaining credit hours may be fulfilled through elective courses at the graduate level, as specified by the graduate advisor.  At least 15 of the 27 elective credit hours must come from courses offered by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. 

All graduate students must complete ILA 380 Introduction to Theory and Research of Literature and Culture (only students in Track 1 and 2) and ILA 398T Supervised Teaching in Spanish and Portuguese, as well as 9 nine hours of elective coursework in their first three long semesters. By the end of the third long semester, students must have selected or been assigned an advisor from among the department's graduate faculty. 

The fourth long semester will be dedicated to the elaboration of the Doctoral Qualifying Paper . In the first half of the semester, in consultation with the mentor and two additional readers appointed by the Graduate Adviser, each student must write and submit a paper demonstrating a mastery of a specialized topic, theoretical rigor, sophisticated research techniques, and a command of structure, academic style and organization. If all three readers deem the paper acceptable, the student will defend the paper before the committee during the second half of the semester.

Upon the successful completion of the Doctoral Qualifying Paper, students will enroll in 9 hours of additional elective coursework, generally in the fifth long semester.

The sixth and seventh long semesters will be dedicated to the Preparation of the Doctoral Dissertation Fields and Proposal .  In the sixth long semester, in consultation with a Dissertation Proposal Committee (consisting of the student's mentor and three other GSC faculty members, including one from outside the department), each student will prepare the Doctoral Dissertation Fields , which will include critical summaries of the field lists.  If the Dissertation Proposal Committee considers the lists and accompanying summaries acceptable, the student will develop a Doctoral Dissertation Proposal , under the supervision of his/her mentor, which the student will defend before the 12th week of the seventh long semester. The student will also enroll in the Teaching Practicum (ILA 385T) during the seventh long semester.

Graduate Courses and Curriculum

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For administrative matters and logistical inquiries: Graduate Coordinator: Josephine Foster

Concerning academic aspects of the program: Graduate Adviser Dr. Kelly McDonough

Mailing address:

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Spanish and Portuguese Graduate Program 150 W. 21st St., Stop B3700 Austin TX 78712

Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Ph.D. in Spanish

Below are the specific requirements to earn a Ph.D. in Spanish. Please also see the timetable to earn the degree and the checklist for course requirements .

Ph.D. in Spanish Requirements

• Maintaining good standing in the progress toward the degree
• Language requirement
• M.A. Thesis
• Selection of Academic Adviser
• Successful Comprehensive Exam
• Successful Qualifying Exam
• Successful Dissertation Defense

1. Student standing

Students must maintain a B+ average or better every semester in all graduate courses to remain in good standing. Students may request up to a maximum of two Incompletes (I) while enrolled at Vanderbilt and cannot carry an Incomplete (I) for more than one semester. Students must be conscientious classroom instructors and advance toward their degrees in a timely fashion. Students should participate actively in the academic life of the department, attending lectures, presentations, and other activities sponsored by the department. Only students in good standing may take the Comprehensive Exam, submit a dissertation proposal; and take the Qualifying Exam. Good standing is a prerequisite for financial assistance, including summer support, teaching assistantships, and dissertation fellowships.

2. Language requirement

As part of the M.A. students must demonstrate competence in Portuguese by taking PORT 5203 or a more advanced course taught in the target language. Other possibilities for meeting this requirement will be entertained and reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

3. Coursework

The Ph.D. in Spanish requires 63 credit hours of coursework, including the 30 credit hours earned for the M.A. at Vanderbilt.

Required courses (12 hours):

• SPAN 6010 Literary Analysis and Theory;
• SLS/SPAN 6030 Foreign Language Learning and Teaching;
• SPAN 6020 Ibero-Romance Philology (Students entering with a B.A. or Licenciatura should take SPAN 6020 in the 5 th semester of residence, if offered; students entering with an M.A. must take 6020 in the 3 rd semester of residence, if offered);
• SPAN 6040 Research and Grant Proposal Writing (Students entering with a B.A. or Licenciatura should take 6040 in the 5 th semester of residence, if offered; students entering with an M.A. should take 6040 in the 3 rd semester of residence, if offered).

Core courses (36 hours):

A minimum of 36 additional credit hours should be in graduate seminars in Spanish, numbered 7000 and above.  A maximum of 6 credit hours of Independent Study (SPAN 9560, 9660, 9670) may be applied to the Spanish requirements. Each Independent Study must be approved by the DGS upon the submission of a detailed syllabus prepared by the instructor. Note that SPAN 6080, a special graduate course to be used for Comprehensive Exam preparation, does not count toward these required credit hours.

Required minor (9 hours):

There is a mandatory minor for the Ph.D. in Spanish, which consists of a minimum of 9 credit hours. This minor is often Portuguese. After the Comprehensive Exam and within the following academic year, students will send their academic advisor in writing their plan to complete the minor. The academic advisor will assess the coherence and relevance of the minor and send the plan for the minor to the DGS. Some minors are pre-established and do not require prior approval; they must simply be declared. These minors are: 1. the Certificate in Latin American Studies issued by the Center for Latin American Studies, 2. the interdisciplinary minor in Philosophy and Literature; and 3. the Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies, issued by the Program of Women’s and Gender Studies (for details see the Graduate Catalog and contact the director of the program).

Electives (6 hours):

6 additional hours of graduate-level courses in Spanish, Portuguese or another discipline approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

4. M.A. Thesis

See Master of Arts in Spanish .

5. Selection of Academic Adviser

6. comprehensive exam.

A Comprehensive Exam is mandatory for all students (accepted with or without an M.A. from another institution) and will be completed by the end of the fourth semester of residence.

Preparation

• All students must take the Comprehensive Exam no later than the end of their fourth semester of residence.
• The Spanish Comprehensive Exam is based on both the Spanish Peninsular and Spanish American literature lists.
• Optional Comprehensive Research/Reading course: during their fourth semester, students may take a special graduate course to be used for Comprehensive Exam Preparation (SPAN 6080 Comprehensive Exam Study) for 3 credit hours. The course will not count toward the credit hours needed for completion of the M.A. or Ph.D. degrees. For this course, students will produce, in agreement with their academic advisors a list of works to be read during the semester.

Both parts of the Comprehensive Exam will be taken over spring break. One will cover the Spanish Peninsular list and the other will cover the Spanish American list. The questions for both parts will be sent to the student by 4:00 pm on the Friday before the beginning of Spring Break and the answers to all of the questions must be sent by email to the DGS by 9:00 am of the Monday following the end of Spring Break.

The exam is take-home and open book. The answers to all of the questions are expected to be fully original to each individual student. Examinees are expected to adhere to the Vanderbilt Honor Code: “Vanderbilt University students pursue all academic endeavors with integrity. They conduct themselves honorably, professionally and respectfully in all realms of their studies in order to promote and secure an atmosphere of dignity and trust. The keystone of our honor system is self-regulation, which requires cooperation and support from each member of the University community.”

• Identifications with Brief Analysis: Answer six out of eight questions involving identifications and analyses of elements from literary works on the lists. These elements may be a character, a quote, the title of a book, a literary phenomenon, trend or school, among other features of works or literary criticism. The answers may run from one to two pages. At least four of the answers should be in Spanish.
• Literary analysis in English: Answer one of two questions requiring literary analysis. This short essay should be written in English (four to five pages).Literary analysis in Spanish: Answer one of two questions with a longer essay written in Spanish (six to eight pages).

Comprehensive Exam committee

The Comprehensive Exam committee will be formed by three faculty members: the student’s academic advisor (chosen by the student during the third semester of study) and two other faculty members chosen by the DGS. If the student’s academic advisor is not available, a substitute member will be chosen by the DGS in consultation with the graduate student being examined. The Comprehensive Exam committee is ultimately responsible for the outcome of the Comprehensive Exam, and has the final say on the outcome of the exam. Exams will be made available to all Faculty members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese upon request.

Possible outcomes of the Comprehensive Exam:

• Pass with distinction and admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Pass with admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Fail with the automatic possibility of retaking the exam. The exam can only be retaken once. The retake will take place during the week immediately following the official final exam period of the same semester when the first exam is taken. The student will have one week to take the new exam under the same conditions as described above. The retake will be evaluated by the original committee. The outcome of the retake will be determined by the committee and will be final. The graduate student can opt out of retaking the exam, choosing instead to leave the program.

Possible outcomes of the retake of the Comprehensive Exam:

• Pass and admission to the Ph.D. program.
• Fail and dismissal from the program.

7. Qualifying Exam

• There are two reading lists for the Qualifying Exam: the Period List and the Specialized Research List.
• The Period List consists of primary and secondary works in all genres from a particular period that is directly related to the dissertation topic.
• The Specialized Research List consists of works based on the dissertation topic. The dissertation and resulting list may be organized around a genre, an issue, a theme, or any combination of these elements, as well as around a particular theoretical problem. The list should include primary works as well as theoretical, historical, and critical works. It may, as deemed necessary by the doctoral committee, include works from different periods, from both sides of the Atlantic, and from Africa, Asia, or any other part of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. Accompanying the Specialized Research List should be a two-page statement that explains and justifies it in relation to the dissertation topic and proposal.
• Each list consists of approximately 30 to 50 books, as well as complementary chapters of books, articles, and specific works of literature, theory, and criticism. Each list should be compiled by the student in consultation with his or her advisor and committee.
• The final proposal for the dissertation (including bibliography), approved by the student’s advisor, should be submitted to the dissertation committee and the DGS one month prior to the Qualifying Exam.
• The dissertation committee will consist of three faculty members from the department and one outside member chosen by the student in consultation with his or her advisor. The student must appoint the dissertation committee in the semester prior to the Qualifying Exam. After securing the agreement and permission of all parties involved, the student must provide the DGS with a list of the faculty members who will serve on the committee and indicate who will serve as committee chair.

Qualifying Exam format

• Written portion: The written exam will be designed by the student’s academic advisor and agreed upon in advance by the entire committee. It will be divided into two sections: one based on the Period List and the other on the Specialized Research List and the Proposal. The student will answer 3 of the 4 questions in each section. Each essay answer must be from 10 to 15 pages long (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point) and must demonstrate dedicated work and sophisticated thinking, and reflect the student’s readiness to begin work on the dissertation. Twelve days will be allotted for this exam. The dissertation advisor will distribute copies of the written exam to each member of the committee and the DGS.
• Oral portion: Five to fifteen days after the satisfactory completion of the written exam, the student will take an oral exam. During this oral exam, the student will present the dissertation proposal, discuss it with the committee, and answer questions regarding the written exam. The main purpose of the oral exam is: 1) to strengthen the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the proposal; 2) to discuss the material and content of the proposed dissertation; and 3) to define both a plan and a timetable for the completion of the dissertation.

Qualifying Exam outcomes

Possible outcomes of the Qualifying Exam:

• Pass with distinction and Candidacy for the Ph.D
• Pass and Candidacy for the Ph.D.
• Depending on the nature of the failure, the student may be asked to repeat either part or all of the exam. If the exam shows that the student is unlikely to be successful in future exams, he or she may not be given the option of additional testing.

8. Dissertation Defense

Students are required to attend an oral defense of their dissertation. The Department strongly recommends that the final draft of the dissertation be in the hands of the “readers” at least one month prior to the anticipated date for the defense. The student, in consultation with the DGS, the advisor and with the members of the Dissertation Committee, will schedule an oral defense of the dissertation after the Dissertation Committee has received it. The form to request a date for the defense must be signed by the DGS and delivered to the Graduate School at least two weeks in advance.

Restrictions

• Transfer credit from other institutions may not exceed 15 hours.
• No undergraduate courses in Spanish may be transferred.
• The Graduate School requires that the Qualifying Exam be taken within four years of admission to the Ph.D. program.
• The Graduate School also requires that the dissertation be completed within four years after the student has been admitted to Candidate status (successful completion of Qualifying Exam).
• The department considers these time limits to be reasonable and will not grant extensions except for compelling reasons related to issues of health.

College of Arts & Sciences

MS and PhD in Spanish Linguistics

Spanish linguistics.

M.S. Degree

 1. Director of Graduate Studies

Students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for Spanish Linguistics any time they have questions about the program. Students are responsible for checking with the DGS at least once per semester to make certain that they are not only taking the appropriate courses but are also following the correct sequence of courses. New students must meet with the DGS prior to the beginning of the Fall semester. Continuing students must meet with the DGS during pre-registration. All students must meet again with their DGS during add/drop period if changes to their registration are necessary, as students cannot change their course selection without prior approval from the DGS.

2. Course and Examination Requirements

The M.S. curriculum includes courses in the following five areas of specialization: Applied Linguistics, History/World Spanishes, Phonology/Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics & Pragmatics. Courses are divided into two Tiers. Students must take all courses in Tier I and four courses from Tier II. Tier I courses need to be taken before Tier II courses, except for History of the Spanish Language and World Spanishes, which can be taken in either order.

The following five courses from Tier I:

Spanish Teaching Methodology

History of the Spanish Language

Semantics & Pragmatics I (SPAN 431/531)

Phonology and Morphology I

Generative Syntax I

Any four courses from Tier II:

Instructed Second Language Acquisition

World Spanishes

Semantics & Pragmatics II

Phonology and Morphology II

Generative Syntax II

In addition to courses from Tiers I and II, students take one elective course in any field in linguistics or related area, such as philosophy, cognition, computer science, or bilingual education. In the fourth semester students wishing to write a Qualifying Paper in order to continue to the Ph.D. sign up for Continuous Registration (SPAN 999), in addition to two regular courses.

3. Qualifying  Paper

The purpose of the Qualifying Paper (QP) is to give the student an opportunity to show that he or she is able to conduct the kind of independent research that is necessary to write a doctoral dissertation. Students may consult faculty regarding the viability and originality of their proposed topics or any questions that come up along the way; faculty will not read drafts nor will they provide written feedback. The QP may be an original study or one that originated in a previous course but has not received written feedback from any member of the faculty; provision of written feedback disqualifies a paper from being considered. Documentation of the relationship between the QP and any prior paper previously submitted to fulfill a course requirement is required. In addition, if the QP is a conceptual replication of a previous study or is based in whole or in part on one of the faculty’s paradigms or databases, or even public databases (i.e., Childes), it needs to include minimally another independent variable with its pertinent review of the literature necessary to motivate its research question. The deadline for submission of the Qualifying Paper form, which includes a title, topic, reference list, and abstract is February 15th of the fourth semester of study. While it is not necessary to conduct an experiment involving IRB approval for the QP, students wishing to do so should consult the University’s Institutional Review Board web page and obtain approval before the February 15th deadline. The process of obtaining IRB approval usually requires two months. This means that students should have all procedures and materials ready for submission for IRB approval prior to the winter break.

The paper must be submitted by the end of the candidate’s fourth semester of coursework, or the last day of finals in the Spring semester. Students can apply for one extension, which must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and is only granted for medical reasons. The maximum time for an extension cannot exceed two weeks. The Qualifying Paper is evaluated by a committee made up of two Georgetown University faculty members with expertise in the subject area of the paper who, after evaluating the paper (cf. Summary Ranking attached), will provide students with written comments. Members of the committee are appointed by the Chair of the Department in consultation with the DGS; ideally both, but at least one of the members must be a member of the faculty in the Spanish and Portuguese Department. The committee’s decision is reported to the Director of Graduate Studies, who announces it to the student, the Chair, the Registrar, the faculty, and the Graduate School. Decisions are final. If the paper is satisfactory and the student has a general GPA higher than 3.5, and a GPA of 3.67 or higher in the chosen area of specialization, s/he is accepted into the Ph.D. Program. If the paper falls short of passing quality, and/or the minimum GPA has not been reached in both categories, the student is not allowed to continue to the Ph.D. program, but may be awarded a Master’s degree, provided all other requirements, including a minimum GPA of 3.0, are met. Students not wishing to continue to the Ph.D. program need not complete a Qualifying Paper. After successful completion of all requirements for the Master’s degree, students accepted into the Ph.D. program may apply to the Graduate School to obtain the degree of Master’s of Science in passing and participate in Commencement if they so wish.

4. Academic Standing

Students wishing to receive only a Master’s degree are expected to have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Students wishing to continue to the Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics should see below for prerequisites.

5. Language Requirement

All M.S. students must pass an oral proficiency exam in a language other than English or Spanish administered by a regular faculty member in one of the language departments. After the exam students should request the appropriate form from the DGS to register the result. Students typically have twenty minutes to read an article with the aid of a dictionary. The oral exam then consists of discussion of the article, which, if possible, should cover a linguistic topic or one related to language. The language requirement must be satisfied by the end of the fourth semester, but students should plan ahead and contact language departments early in the semester. Since oral proficiency in a foreign language requires considerable practice, students are advised to start preparing for this requirement from their first semester.

6. Annual Goal and Achie vement Reports

By the end of each academic year, every student must file/update a “statement” with the DGS. In the statement, the student lists achievements, including all courses taken, grades, examinations passed, publications and presentations, and services such as participation in student organizations and teaching. The student also details progress made towards the Qualifying Paper and dissertation. The information on this statement is kept on file for such purposes as writing letters of recommendation and teaching assignments and is considered by the Department’s Academic Progress Committee, which is then reported to the Department Chair. The Progress Committee meets every Spring and may recommend appropriate action.

Ph.D. degree

1.  Prerequisites

Students wishing to pursue the Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics must have successfully completed the ten courses for the M.S. They must have compiled a minimum GPA of 3.5 and 3.67 in their chosen area of specialization. They must also have successfully completed the Qualifying Paper (see 3 above for procedure). Students who hold a Master’s degree from another institution may apply for Advanced Standing and be exempted from taking a maximum of three courses from the list of courses included under A2 above, provided they can demonstrate mastery of course content. Students must supply documentation (syllabi, reading lists, research papers) to the Director of Graduate Studies and the appropriate faculty member. Students do not get credit for these courses; all students must complete 16 3-credit courses at the 400 level or above. 

2. Selection of a Graduate Adviser and a Dissertation  Director

By the end of the fourth semester in the program, the student must also select a graduate adviser. The student and the prospective graduate adviser will design a Ph.D. course plan (See B3). After completion of the 16 courses and before the student takes the Ph.D. exams, the student must also choose a dissertation director, who may or may not be the same person he or she had chosen as adviser. Every semester, students must have their coursework approved by either the DGS or by their adviser or by both the DGS and the adviser. 

3.  Courses

Students authorized to pursue the Ph.D. must complete six further content courses beyond the M.S. chosen in consultation with their graduate adviser for a total of 16 courses (48 credits) beyond the B.A. (excluding all enrollments in Thesis Research). At least three of these courses must be seminars, which are typically advanced courses in a field. Departments use different codes for seminars, as follows: for example, the term ‘Seminar’ appears in the title in Psychology and in Spanish and Portuguese, or the course requires two previous courses in the area (Syntax 3 requires Syntax 1 and 2), or the course code is in the 700s.  Students must have written approval from the DGS or their adviser.

4. Language Requirement

Prior to taking the Ph.D. Examination students must demonstrate reading proficiency in a language other than English, Spanish, and the one used to satisfy the language requirement for the Master’s degree. For protocol and additional information, please refer to 5 above.

5.  Ph. D . Examinations

By October 15th of the third semester in the Ph.D. program, the student will present the thesis director with a written proposal that comprises 1) a 350-word abstract that works as an executive summary of the thesis/topic, goals and motivation, and potential theoretical and practical implications; 2) a succinct review of the pertinent literature of selected independent variable(s) or social (external) and linguistic (internal) factors to be accounted for; 3) potential research questions; 4) a potential research design that includes the dependent variable(s) or main phenomenon to be investigated; and 5) a comprehensive reference list.  The length of the proposal should be 10 to 15 pages maximum plus references.  The thesis director uses this proposal to shape the questions for the two written exams. The first exam should be the first attempt to write Chapter 1 (the Statement of the Problem) of the dissertation and will ask the student to contextualize their research by providing a comprehensive overview of previous and current research and to identify potential future areas of research in the specific strand(s) they wish to pursue.  The second exam is the first draft of Chapters 2 and 3 of the dissertation.  This exam asks for more elaboration on the selected independent variable(s) of such future research and comprises a review of the literature, research questions, and a research design to address the independent variable(s).  Chapters 1-3 make up the Dissertation Proposal.  The two four-day take-home exams must be a maximum of 20 pages (theoretical, historical, and sociolinguistics) or 30 pages (Applied Linguistics) in length, not including references, appendices etc., and double-spaced.  The exams will be taken during the last month of the third semester in the Ph.D. program after the student has submitted the department’s “Ph.D. examination form” to the DGS. The examinations are graded by the thesis director and one other professor appointed by the Chair. To pass the Ph.D. Examination, the student must obtain a minimum grade of B+. Students are allowed one rewrite.

6. Dissertation Committee

After successful completion of the Ph.D. exams, the student chooses a dissertation committee, which must consist minimally of three faculty members: a director and two readers. Co-mentorship is also possible albeit exceptional. At least two of the three faculty members must be tenure-line Georgetown faculty, and one must be in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. The readers may be from outside the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, either from another Georgetown department or program or from outside Georgetown University. Such outside readers are recommended whenever feasible. Readers from outside the University must hold a doctoral degree. They must also either be members of the faculty of another university or hold a professional appointment in a non-academic research institution that is equivalent to the academic rank of assistant professor or above. When the student chooses the dissertation committee, he or she must file the appropriate form with the DGS. Changes to the dissertation committee require GSAS’s approval.

7. Dissertation Proposal

One semester after successful completion of the two Ph.D. exams, the student will draft a dissertation proposal to be defended publicly before the established dissertation committee. All committee members must be present, either in person, on Zoom or Skype, or on a conference call. At least one week prior to the defense of the proposal, students must submit to the DGS the “Proposal Defense Form” in addition to submitting the appropriate form, which includes a detailed abstract, to the graduate school. The proposal will be more than an overview of the topic; considerable research on the subject must be evident so that rigorous discussion may take place. For Theoretical Linguistics, the dissertation proposal comprises an Abstract, a Review of the literature, a Statement of the Problem with clearly formulated research questions, a discussion of the methodology used for data collection (if relevant), and a sketch of the proposed solution. For Applied Linguistics, the dissertation proposal comprises an Abstract, Introduction, and Statement of the Problem, Review of the Literature with research questions, and a defendable Research Design and Methodology section to address the research questions. All treatment and testing materials must be included in the appendices. Upon approval of the proposal by the dissertation committee, the student will enroll in two successive semesters of Thesis Research in the last year of study, during which period the dissertation will be written. Once a student has defended his or her dissertation proposal, the student is considered ABD.

8. Dissertation Defense

Upon completion of the dissertation, and before a dissertation defense can be scheduled, the student’s committee must certify unanimously one week before the defense date that the dissertation is ready for defense, that is, that there is a reasonable expectation both a) that the student will be able to address any questions about or shortcomings in the dissertation, and b) that only minor revisions will be required after the defense. After the committee’s unanimous decision that the dissertation is ready for defense as certified by their signatures on the Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Reviewers’ Report Form, there will be a public presentation and defense of the dissertation in order to satisfy fully the requirements for conferral of the doctorate. The Graduate School requires that the defense be publicized through its web page and that the Doctoral Dissertation Reviewers’ Report Form be filed at least one week prior to the defense. All committee members must be present, either in person, on   Zoom or   Skype, or on conference call at the defense for the entire session. The candidate will be considered to have passed the dissertation defense when the committee certifies by majority vote that the defense was “successful.” That is, the committee must certify that the candidate has satisfactorily addressed any questions about and shortcomings in the dissertation and that no major revisions are required. If a student’s dissertation has not been successfully defended and accepted by the Graduate School by the end of either the five or seven-year time limit (see Section 1.3 of the Graduate Student Handbook), the student will be terminated from the graduate program, unless an extension of time to complete the degree has been approved by the GSAS.

A student’s Ph.D. program will typically be structured as follows (after completion of the M.S. requirements):

Semester I: 3 courses Semester II: 3 courses Semester III: By October 15th: Student submits dissertation proposal for Ph.D. exams End of the semester: Ph.D. Take-Home Exam #1 Ph.D. Take-Home Exam #2 Semester IV : Student proposes Dissertation Committee Student works on Proposal Public defense of Dissertation Proposal Semester V or VI: Public defense of Doctoral Dissertation

9. Teaching  Requirement

Before graduation, all Ph.D. students are required to show proof of teaching experience. This requirement serves the purpose of furthering students’ educational and professional development. Teaching experience is defined as two semesters of instruction at an institution of higher learning. This requirement may be fulfilled prior to entering or during the Ph.D. program and can be completed at Georgetown University or at another institution. High school teaching or acting as an assistant to a professor cannot be used to fulfill the requirement. Students requiring a waiver must submit a letter to the DGS and provide appropriate documentation. GSAS fellows are required to serve the Department either as research assistants or as instructors. Usually, first-year graduate students are assigned to work with faculty as research assistants (RA) and then to teach one course per semester. Courses could be language courses or upper-level courses in linguistics depending on preparation and availability. The goal is to prepare students to be the best possible professionals within the teacher/scholar model. This means they excel as researchers and as communicators in at least two languages.

10. Deadline Extens ions and Leaves of Absence

Students may petition their graduate program and the Graduate School for an extension of the deadline to complete the Ph.D. The Graduate School will readily grant a first extension of up to one year on the recommendation of both the student’s mentor and the program’s Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Further extensions will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances, and only on the recommendation of the mentor, the DGS, and a standing committee to be appointed by the Dean to review all such requests. Once candidacy has been achieved, the Graduate School will consider requests for a personal Leave of Absence (LOA) only if the reasons for requesting the leave would prevent the student from making significant progress on the dissertation. An LOA will not be granted simply for the purpose of extending the time permitted to complete the dissertation. “Personal Leave of Absence” is defined as any LOA other than one granted for medical reasons or to perform military service.

11. Annual Goal and Achievement  Reports

By the end of each academic year, every student must file/update a “statement” or “progress report” with the DGS. A copy should also be provided to the student’s thesis director. In the statement, the student lists achievements, including all courses taken, examinations passed, publications and presentations and service such as participation in student organizations, as well as teaching responsibilities. The student also details progress made towards the Qualifying Paper and dissertation. The information on this statement is kept on file for such purposes as writing letters of recommendation and teaching assignments and is considered by the Department’s Academic Progress Committee, which is then reported to the Department Chair. This committee meets every Spring and may recommend appropriate action.

Current and Recent Dissertations

The following Doctoral Dissertations, organized by graduation year, reflect the breadth and depth that characterize the research of our graduate students. Digital access is provided through the  University of California Digital Library , our institutional repository. Additionally, the abstracts of theses and dissertations worldwide are indexed by  ProQuest . 

For Dissertations since 2000, click here .

Dissertations In Progress

Recent dissertations – 2012 to 2023.

Madison Felman-Panagotacos,  Hagiographies of Maternal Bodies: Corporality, Abortion, and Citizenship  in Argentina. [ Advisor: Adriana Bergero] (June 2023)

Julia Gonzalez Calderon,  Negra memoria: la narrativa policial centroamericana en la era del neoliberalismo.  [Advisor: Patricia Arroyo-Calderon]  (June 2023)

Isaac Gimenez,  Crise autoral e apropriações textuais: Corpo e poesia performativa no Brasil, 1920-2020. [ Advisors: Patricia Lino & Jose Luiz Passos]   (June 2023)

Tania Varela,  Adapting Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso for Iberian Readerships: Jerónimo de Urrea’s Spanish Translation and its Sephardic Adaptation (Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS. Canon. Or. 6)  [Advisor: John Dagenais] (June 2023)

João Paulo Temporão Albuquerque, Postcolonial (Mock-)Epic Narratives: Reading Mário de Andrade with Jorge Luis Borges.   [Advisor: Jose Luiz Passos] (March 2022)

Esther Claudio, Historical Memory in Post-Francoist Spanish Graphic Narrative [Advisor: Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2022)

Roxana Colon-Cosm e, “Dezir quiero de Granada, todo quanto he visto en ella”: A Geocritical Approach to Sixteenth Century Iberian pliegos sueltos. [Advisor: John Dagenais] (June 2022)

Audrey Larkin, Lunar Wastelands to Fertile Fields: Representations of the Landscape in Mexican Novels, Illustrations, and Film Adaptations (1899-2019) [Advisor: Maarten van Delden] (June 2022)

Chak Han (Laura) Lee, Modernity in Transition: Roberto Arlt’s Aguafuertes porteñas.   [Advisor: Veronica Cortinez] (March 2022)

Adelmar Ramirez, Ficciones especulares: formas intermediadas de representación y exégesis de la violencia en la literatura contemporánea mexicana y argentina. [Advisors: Adriana Bergero and Jorge Marturano] (June 2022)

Gemma Repiso Puigdelliura, The Development of Cross-linguistic Transfer: The Case of  Word-External Repairs of Empty Onsets in Spanish Heritage Speakers. [Advisor: Ji Young Kim] (June 2022)

Jesus Jose Silveyra, An e-Learning Lesson on the First Commercial Spanish Theaters. A Non-Traditional Dissertation [Advisor: Barbara Fuchs] (Fall 2022)

Carolina Beltran,  Nature, Nation and Animality in the Discourse of Literary Indigenismo: Case Studies in Peru, Mexico & the American Southwest, 1920-1974   .  [Advisor: Efrain Kristal] (March 2021)

Juliana Espinal,  Representaciones de la violencia paramilitar en la Colombia del siglo XXI.  [Advisor: Veronica Cortinez] (June 2021)

Barbara Galindo,  Vidas Huérfanas, Ciudades Torturadas y Derechos Humanos Ecosociales: Representaciones Culturales del Terror Minero en los Andes.  [Advisor: Adriana Bergero] (June 2021)

Jesus Galleres,  Ira, humillación, Deseo De Venganza y Luchas De Prestigio: Un Acercamiento Al Papel De Las Pasiones En Las Novelas políticas De Mario Vargas Llosa y Alonso Cueto Que Tratan épocas Dictatoriales y De insurrección.  [Advisor: Efrain Kristal] (March 2021)

Laura Muñoz Franco,  Communities of Playmaking: Guillén de Castro in the Development of the Comedia.   [Advisor: Barbara Fuchs] (June 2021)

Paula Thomas,  El espacio público y el derecho a la ciudad en el Santiago de Alberto Fuguet.  [Advisor: Veronica Cortinez] (June 2021)

Benjamin Burt,  Cities of Dreams and Despair: Utopia and Dystopia in Contemporary Brazilian Film and Literature.  [Advisors: Randal Johnson and Jose Luiz Passos] (June 2020)

Veronica Garcia Moreno,  España transfigurada en el Magreb: Construcciones identitarias en la literatura sobre la guerra de África de 1859.  [Advisor: Prof. Jesus Torrecilla] (June 2020)

Natassia Hott,  Rethinking Sterotypes: Representations of Gender in Brazilian Comedies of the Post-Remotada.     [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (June 2020)

Alexandra Lawn,  The Varying Roles of Morphosyntax in Memory and Sentence Processing: Retrieval and Encoding Interference in Brazilian Portuguese.   [Advisors: Carlos Quicoli and Jesse Harris] (June 2020)

Maria Teresa Monroe,  Indocumentados en tránsito: Representaciones contemporáneas de precariedad, muerte y resistencia.  [Advisor: Marten van Delden] (June 2020)

Renee Rivera,  Masculinities at Work: Men, Masculinities, and Employment in the Spanish Popular Comedies of the Late-Francoist and Transition Eras.  [Advisor: Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2020)

Lourdes Arevalo,  Dos o tres cosas sobre la novela de la violencia y las violencias en Colombia.  [Advisor: Prof. Veronica Cortinez] (March 2019)

Maricela Becerra,  “2 de octubre no se olvida”: la (pos)memorialización de Tlatelolco 68  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2019)

Kristal Bivona,  Transitional Justice in Post-Dictatorship South American Film.  [Advisors: Prof. Randal Johnson and Adriana Bergero] (June 2019)

Francesca Gambini,  La producción cultural del Perú ante la comisión de la verdad y reconciliación.  [Advisor: Prof. Veronica Cortinez] (June 2019)

Jennifer Monti,  Imagining Cuba: Emigration, Tourism, and Imperialist Nostalgia in the Work of Spanish Women Writers and Photographers (1992-2015).  [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2019)

Cristian Yanai Bermudez,  Black Mexico’s Sites of Struggles across Borders: The Problem of the Color Line . [Advisor: Prof. Hector Calderon] (June 2018)

Franny Brogan,  Signs of our Times: Language Contact and Attitudes in the Linguistic Landscape of Southeast Los Angeles  [Advisors: Carlos Quicoli and Norma Mendoza-Denton] (June 2018)

Paul Cella,  Contemporary Republicanism in Spain: Dialogues with Liberalism and the Left . [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2018)

Adrian Collado,  Caricaturas del otro: contra-representaciones satíricas de la inmigración en la literatura y la cultura visual Española contemporánea (1993-2017).  [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2018)

Daniel Cooper,  The Roots of Transformation: Octavio Paz and the Radical Americanist Awakening of Pablo Neruda.  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2018)

Nitzaira Delgado-Garcia,  Historiografía y ficción: la construcción del discurso en la estoria de España (NS7586) de Alfonso X . [Advisor: Prof. John Dagenais] (June 2018)

Armando Guerrero,  The Mexican Diaspora: On constructing and Negotiating Mexicanidad in México City.  [Advisor: Prof. Carlos Quicoli] (June 2018)

Payton Phillips,  Imperial Occlusions: Mestizaje and Marian Mechanisms in Early Modern Andalucía and the Andes.  [Advisor: Prof. Barbara Fuchs] (June 2018)

Alejandro Ramirez-Mendez,  Trans-Urban Narratives: Literary Cartographies and Global Cities in the Urban Imagination of Mexico and the U.S. .  [Advisor: Prof. Hector Calderon] (June 2018)

Rafael Ramirez Mendoza,  Transformar el mundo, cambiar la vida: el surrealismo en el Perú y los proyectos de renovación sociocultural de Jose Carlos Mariategui, Xavier Abril, y Cesar Moro. .  [Advisor: Prof. Efrain Kristal] (August 2018)

Jyeun Son,  Acquisition of Spanish Intonation by Native Korean Speakers . [Advisors: Prof. Carlos Quicoli and Sun-Ah Jun] (June 2018)

Ezequiel Trautenberg,  A Porous Cinema: Cosmopolitanism and Cinephilia in Chilean Art Film (2005-2015).   [Advisor: Prof. Veronica Cortinez] (June 2018)

Elizabeth Warren,  The Aesthetic of the Grotesque in Post-Franco Spain .    [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2018)

Mariska Bolyanatz,  Plural Production and Perception in Santiago Spanish  [Advisors: Profs. Ji Young Kim and Norma Mendoza-Denton] (June 2017)

Isaura Contreras,  El diario de escritor en la literatura latinoamericana del siglo XX  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2017)

Jhonni Carr,  Signs of Our Times: Language Contact and Attitudes in the Linguistic Landscape of Southeast Los Angeles  [Advisor: Prof. Carlos Quicoli] (June 2017)

Wendy Kurtz,  Mass Graves and Remembering through Ritual: Historical Memory in Contemporary Peninsular Literature, Documentary Film, and Digital Culture  [Advisor: Prof. Maite Zubiaurre] (June 2017)

Magdalena Matuskova,  Cuban Cinema in a Global Context: The Impact of Eastern European Cinema on the Cuban Film Industry in the 1960s  [Advisor: Prof. Jorge Marturano] (June 2017)

David Ramirez Prieto,  José Lezama Lima y las redes intelectuales antimodernas: escritores, revistas, editoriales  (1920-1956) [Advisor: Prof. Jorge Marturano] (June 2017)

Cheri Robinson,  Representations of Transnational Violence: Children in Contemporary Latin American Film, Literature, and Drawings  [Advisor: Prof. Adriana Bergero] (May 2017)

Maria Gabriela Venegas,  La novela del Ecuador desde el espacio anfibio de la ciudad portuaria y su relación con el liberalismo ecuatoriano: tres casos representativos entre 1855 y 1944  [Advisor: Prof. Efrain Kristal] (March 2017)

Daniel Whitesell,  Debates ideológicos y estilísticos en torno a la Revolución Cubana, 1963-1966  [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2017)

Inês Cordeiro da Silva Dias, Film and Politics in the Lusophone World (1960s— 1970s) [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (June 2016)

Julio P. García, Ignacio Padilla, México, y el legado de la tradición literaria latinoamericana (1985-2015). [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2016)

Willivaldo Delgadillo, Fabulando Juárez: Marcos de guerra, memoria y los foros por venir. [Advisor: Prof. Maarten van Delden] (June 2016)

Audrey A. Harris, De lo más lindo y de lo más pobre: Transnational Borges and Sandra Cisneros. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (June 2016)

Isabel Gomez,  Reciprocity in Literary Translation: Gift Exchange Theory and Translation Praxis in Brazil and Mexico (1968-2015) [Advisors: Profs. Efraín Kristal and José Luiz Passos]

Bryan Kirschen,  Judeo-Spanish Encounters Modern Spanish: Language Contact and Diglosia among the Sephardim of Los Angeles and New York City. [Advisors: Profs. Claudia Parodi and A. Carlos Quicoli] (June 2015)

Ian Romain,  A Phase Approach to Spanish Object Clitics . [Advisor: Profs. Claudia Parodi and A. Carlos Quicoli] (April 2015)

Juan Jesús Payán,  La magia postergada: género fantástico e identidad nacional en la España del XIX. [Advisor: Prof. Jesús Torrecilla] (May 2015)

Eilene Jamie Powell,  Hurts so good: representation of sadomasochism in Spnaish novels (1883-2012) [Advisors: Profs. Jesús Torrecilla and Silvia Bermudez] (May 2015)

Luiz Santos,  Literatura da Bagunça: a carnavalização nos romances da contracultura brasileira [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (March 2015)

Sandra Ruiz, Escrito con Tinta Roja: The Mexicana Feminist Detective in the Fiction of Maria Elvira Bermudez, Myriam Laurini, and Patricia Valladres. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (September 2014)

Armando Enrique Cerpa, Cifrado gótico en Santa Evita de Tomás Eloy Martínez y Una casa vacía de Carlos Cerda: espacios subterráneos, espectros e insepultos de las dictaduras. [Advisor: Prof. Adriana J. Bergero] (June 2014)

Carolyn González, Las Insometidas de la Ciudad de México: The Novel of Prostitution in Antonia Mora, Sara Sefchovich, and Cristina Rivera Garza. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (June 2014)

Belén MacGregor Villarreal, Dialect Contact among Spanish-Speaking Children in Los Angeles. [Advisor: Profs. Claudia Parodi] (June 2014)

Chase Wesley Raymond, On the Sequential Negotiation of Identity in Spanish-Language Discourse: Mobilizing Linguistic Resources in the Service of Social Action. [Advisor: Prof. Claudia Parodi and John Heritage] (Winter 2014)

Vanessa Marie Fernández, A Transatlantic Dialogue: Argentina, Mexico, Spain, and the Literary Magazines that Bridged the Atlantic (1920-1930). [Advisor: Profs. Maarten van Delden and Michelle Clayton] (Summer 2013)

Yeon Mi Lee, De milongas a la Casa Rosada: contribuciones y representaciones de la mujer en la industria del espectáculo popular argentino (1930-1950). [Advisor: Prof. Adriana J. Bergero] (Spring 2013)

Luis Francisco Cuesta Muniz, El estadio y la palabra: deporte y literatura en la Edad de Plata. [Advisor: Profs. Maite Zubiaurre and Roberta L. Johnson] (Spring 2013)

Bethany Renee Beyer, Performable Nations: Music and Literature in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. [Advisor: Prof. Elizabeth Marchant] (Spring 2013)

Eli Lee Carter, Luiz Fernando Carvalho: An Auteur of Brazilian Television. [Advisor: Prof. Randal Johnson] (Spring 2013) Brenda Liz Ortiz-Loyola, En busca de la solidaridad: feminismo y nación en el Caribe hispano, 1880-1940. [Advisor: Profs. Roberta L. Johnson and Jorge Marturano] (Spring 2013)

Polina Vasiliev, The Initial State for Californian English Learners of Spanish and Portuguese Vowels. [Advisor: Prof. A. Carlos Quicoli] (Spring 2013)

Joanna Dávila, Sexualidad, género y sociedad en la literatura del Caribe hispanohablante (1950-2000). [Advisor: Prof. Jorge Marturano] (Spring 2013)

Edward Chauca, El lugar de la locura: La construcción de la nación desde lo insano en la narrativa peruana. [Advisor: Prof. Efraín Kristal] (Fall 2012)

Alvaro Molina, Sacred, Epic and Picaresque: Violence and Genre in Cervantes. [Advisor: Profs. Efraín Kristal and Teófilo Ruiz] (Summer 2012)

Bryan David Green, Forging an Ascetic Planet: Jesuit Lives and Virtues on the Mission Frontier of Eighteenth-Century New Spain. [Advisor: Prof. Anna H. More] (Summer 2012)

Argelia Andrade, Segmental and Intonational Evidence for a Los Angeles Chicano Spanish Vernacular. [Advisor: Profs. Claudia Parodi and A. Carlos Quicoli] (Spring 2012)

Jamie Diane Fudacz, The Decadent City: Urban Space in Latin American Dirty Realist Fiction. [Advisor: Profs. Jorge Marturano and Maarten van Delden] (Spring 2012)

María Covadonga Lamar Prieto, El español de California en el XIX. [Advisor: Prof. Claudia Parodi] (Spring 2012)

Claudia Villegas-Silva, Tecnologías en escena: Del teatro multimedia al teatro cibernético en España y las Américas. [Advisor: Prof. Verónica Cortínez] (Spring 2012)

Oriel María Siu, Novelas de la diáspora centroamericana y la colonialidad del poder: Hacia una aproximación de-colonial al estudio de las literaturas centroamericanas. [Advisor: Prof. Héctor Calderón] (Spring 2012)

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Undergraduate courses
• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Postgraduate courses
• How to apply
• Postgraduate events
• Fees and funding
• International students
• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Term dates and calendars
• Visiting the University
• Annual reports
• Equality and diversity
• A global university
• Public engagement
• Give to Cambridge
• For Cambridge students
• For our researchers
• Business and enterprise
• Colleges & departments
• Email & phone search
• Museums & collections
• Course Directory

PhD in Spanish

Postgraduate Study

• Why Cambridge overview
• Chat with our students
• Cambridge explained overview
• The supervision system
• Student life overview
• In and around Cambridge
• Leisure activities
• Student unions
• Music awards
• Student support overview
• Mental health and wellbeing
• Disabled students
• Accommodation
• Language tuition
• Skills training
• Support for refugees
• Courses overview
• Department directory
• Qualification types
• Funded studentships
• Part-time study
• Research degrees
• Visiting students
• Finance overview
• Fees overview
• What is my fee status?
• Part-time fees
• Application fee
• Living costs
• Funding overview
• Funding search
• How to apply for funding
• University funding overview
• Research Councils (UKRI)
• External funding and loans overview
• Funding searches
• External scholarships
• Charities and the voluntary sector
• Funding for disabled students
• Widening participation in funding
• Colleges overview
• What is a College?
• Choosing a College
• Terms of Residence
• Applying overview
• Before you apply
• Entry requirements
• Application deadlines
• How do I apply? overview
• Application fee overview
• Application fee waiver
• Life Science courses
• Terms and conditions
• Continuing students
• Disabled applicants
• Supporting documents overview
• Academic documents
• Finance documents
• Evidence of competence in English
• Terms and Conditions
• Applicant portal and self-service
• After you apply overview
• Confirmation of admission
• Student registry
• Previous criminal convictions
• Deferring an application
• Updating your personal details
• Appeals and Complaints
• Widening participation
• Postgraduate admissions fraud
• International overview
• Immigration overview
• ATAS overview
• Applying for an ATAS certificate
• Current Cambridge students
• International qualifications
• Competence in English overview
• What tests are accepted?
• International events
• International student views overview
• Akhila’s story
• Alex’s story
• Huijie’s story
• Kelsey’s story
• Nilesh’s story
• Get in touch!
• Events overview
• Upcoming events
• Postgraduate Open Days overview
• Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD Study webinars
• Virtual tour
• Research Internships
• How we use participant data
• Postgraduate Newsletter

Primary tabs

• Overview (active tab)
• Requirements
• How To Apply

The Spanish and Portuguese Section offers undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan. It is unique in its commitment to exploring the trans-historical and cross-cultural interrelations between all these language areas and their corresponding cultural formations. The research interests of its academic staff thus span a wide range of areas including Medieval and Golden Age Spanish cultures and their consolidation in dialogue with the diverse cultures and faith systems of Africa and the "New World"; the literature, art and cinema of Portugal, Brazil and Lusophone Africa; the literature of modern Spain and its relationship with the Enlightenment, colonialism, and modernity; the cinema of the Ibero-American world from early silent film through to its avant-garde, indigenous, popular and transnational dimensions today; and the culture of Catalonia from its rebirth in the Renaixença, through its resistance to Franquismo in literature and film, to its vibrant contemporary artistic, architectural and cinematographic expressions.

The Section also has one of the largest contingents of Latin American specialists in the United Kingdom, whose interests span the poetry and chronicles of the colonial period; the formation of national cultures in post-Independence Spanish America and Brazil; the experimental literatures of the Spanish American "Boom"; and the literature, cinema, and visual art produced in the interlocking contexts of post-dictatorship, mass urbanisation, narcotráfico and neo-liberal globalisation. The intellectual vitality of the Section is further evidenced by a dynamic research culture of public lectures, section seminars, postgraduate workshops and conferences, all of which add to a close-knit system of graduate supervision and mentoring that encourages both individual and collective endeavour within the section.

In British universities, the PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy) is traditionally awarded solely on the basis of a thesis, a substantial piece of writing which reports original research into a closely defined area of enquiry. The completion of the PhD thesis is generally expected to take three to four years, and most funding is based on this assumption. It's also possible to take a part-time route through research degrees, the expected timeframe for which would be five years.

During your research, you will have the opportunity to work closely with a supervisor who is a specialist in your research area.  In addition to your supervisor, you will normally also be able to draw on the help and support of other members of the Section with expertise in your field of study

In addition to the specialist supervising provided by the Section, the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics runs a programme of professional training for the benefit of all research students. The programme includes seminars and workshops on library resources, giving conference papers, publishing, applications and interviews, and teaching skills. The School of Arts and Humanities runs a central programme covering a range of skills relevant to doctoral students. Doctoral students may also be offered opportunities to do small group teaching for the undergraduate colleges and, in some cases, language teaching for the Faculty.

The Spanish and Portuguese Section and the Centre of Latin American Studies are pleased to details of a Consortium in Latin American Cultural Studies for PhD students. This new flexible arrangement will foster a greater exchange of ideas between students and scholars in the Section and the Centre and provide more opportunities for them to access relevant training, funding and other resources. Please visit the Latin American Cultural Studies Consortium page on the Department of Modern and Medieval Languages website for further information.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme, candidates will have acquired excellent skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or another related profession.

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Advanced Study to PhD, the minimum academic requirement is an overall distinction in the MPhil.

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Thesis to PhD, the usual academic requirement is a pass in the MPhil.

All applications are judged on their own merits and students must demonstrate their suitability to undertake doctoral level research.

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Departments

This course is advertised in the following departments:

• Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics
• Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of spanish and portuguese this course is advertised in multiple departments. please see the overview tab for more details., course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Michaelmas 2024

Funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• European, Latin American and Comparative Literatures and Cultures by Advanced Study MPhil
• European, Latin American and Comparative Literatures and Cultures by thesis MPhil
• English Studies MPhil
• Latin American Studies PhD
• Latin American Studies MPhil

Postgraduate Admissions Office

• Admissions Statistics
• Start an Application
• Applicant Self-Service

At a glance

• Bringing a family
• Current Postgraduates
• Cambridge Students' Union (SU)

University Policy and Guidelines

Privacy Policy

Information compliance

Equality and Diversity

Terms of Study

About this site

About our website

Privacy policy

© 2024 University of Cambridge

• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Privacy policy and cookies
• Statement on Modern Slavery
• University A-Z
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Research news
• About research at Cambridge
• Spotlight on...

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Doctoral Dissertations in Spanish Universities. Bibliographic Control and Access

2000, LIBER Quarterly

Related Papers

Dipak Sarma

Tatjana Stanisavljevic

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

Dragana Stolić

Sultan Muhammad

Library Philosophy and Practice

D Lib Magazine

Gail McMillan

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Habib Jaffri , Dr. Muhammad Tariq

The main objectives of the study were to acquire knowledge about the Information Sources used in LIS Doctoral research, to explore the use of impact factor research sources in their research productivity, to find out the used Pakistani journals fall in HEC criteria (W, X, Y, Z), to know the citation style which is mostly used and to know the geographical affiliations of journals and other resources. This research deals with Quantitative research design, in this research. Researchers used statistical methods with help of an excel sheet to check the sources used by Ph.D. researchers. Sources of Journals, books, theses, websites, conference proceedings, newspaper articles, reports, and online databases were evaluated according to Geographical Location, author Pattern (single author, co-authors are multiple authors), chronologically (Decade wise). Findings of the study reveal that 93 Websites were cited having different domains like gov, edu, org, and com. Pakistani websites were mostly used and other counties' websites are also used like USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and India. 56 Conference proceedings were cited, mostly used during the year 2005 to 2014, Conferences were organized in Pakistan and the USA mostly. 8 Newspaper articles were cited from only two countries, 6 articles from Pakistan and 2 from the USA. 103 Reports were cited from different countries mostly used from USA (40.7%), Pakistan (33.9%), and France (4.8%). However, (14.5%) data was used from other different countries, and (4.8%) data not identifying the country. these reports are mostly published from 2004-2013. 10 Online Databases the Library & Information Science Ph.D. Scholars have also used many online databases like Emerald Insight, Elsevier, SAGE Publications, etc. It is observed that the four databases are mostly cited. The database Emerald Insight has been cited the maximum number of times which is covering 49.22% (222) of the total database citations out of 451 database citations. Elsevier database has been placed at 2nd position by 19% (85), SAGE Publications placed at 3rd position 17% (77) and Taylor & Francis Group placed at 4th position 14% (60).

Turkish Journal of Education

ömer açıkgöz

Teja Koler-Povh

The keynote provides an overview on the field of research data produced by PhD students, in the context of open science, open access to research results, e-Science and the handling of electronic theses and dissertations. The keynote includes recent empirical results and recommendations for good practice and further research. In particular, the paper is based on an assessment of 864 print and electronic dissertations in sciences, social sciences and humanities from the Universities of Lille (France) and Ljubljana (Slovenia), submitted between 1987 and 2015, and on a survey on data management with 270 scientists in social sciences and humanities of the University of Lille 3. The keynote starts with an introduction into data-driven science, data life cycle and data publishing. It then moves on to research data management by PhD students, their practice, their needs and their willingness to disseminate and share their data. After this qualitative analysis of information behaviour, we pr...

Carol amara Okoro

RELATED PAPERS

Fernando Costa Oliveira

FEBS Letters

Georg Varga

PoLAR: Political <html_ent glyph="@lt;" ascii="&lt;"/>html_ent glyph="@amp;" ascii="<html_ent glyph="@amp;" ascii="&amp;"/>"/<html_ent glyph="@gt;" ascii="&gt;"/> Legal Anthropology Review

A. Lynn Smith

Advances in Language and Literary Studies

Hessam Agheshteh

INCOSE International Symposium

Swaminathan Natarajan

solange vereza

The Journal of Immunology

Igor Dozmorov

Journal of Institute of Science and Technology

Bishnu Hari Subedi

Western Journal of Emergency Medicine

andrew herring

The Review of Politics

Christopher McClure

Annals of Surgery

mohamed El malt

Nature nanotechnology

Jose Tomas Arjona Celis

International Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances

Jarlath Umoh

Annals of African Medicine

Victor Mapulanga

International Journal of Cancer

Minh Thuận Mai

CIC. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Marta Pérez

Journal of Infection and Public Health

arXiv (Cornell University)

Filippos Christou

Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children

aimé vazquez

Toxicology Letters

Mahmut Coskun

Everton Luis Krabbe

Computational Science and Techniques

Vitalij Denisov

Karakalpak Türkçesi grameri

KAZIM MİRŞAN

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

dissertation

• Pronunciation

THE BEST SPANISH-ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Get more than a translation, written by experts, translate with confidence, spanish and english example sentences, examples for everything, regional translations, say it like a local.

Making educational experiences better for everyone.

Immersive learning for 25 languages

Marketplace for millions of educator-created resources

Fast, easy, reliable language certification

Fun educational games for kids

Comprehensive K-12 personalized learning

Trusted tutors for 300+ subjects

35,000+ worksheets, games, and lesson plans

Adaptive learning for English vocabulary

Doctoral student in Hispanic Linguistics awarded research grant

María González-Ferrer has been selected as a recipient of a 2024 Sigma Delta Pi (SDP) Graduate Research Grant Award among a very competitive pool of applicants nationwide. This will be a huge help in funding María's dissertation research project on clitic doubling in the Spanish of Spain, Argentina, and Mexico. ¡Enhorabuena, María!

Personnel in this Article

María gonzález-ferrer.

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.  Click here to learn more about giving .

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.

Social Media

• MyUHart MyUHart Blackboard Self-Service Hawkmail Compass UNotes UHartHub
• Healthy Hawks
• Self-Service

Doctoral Dissertation: Educational Leadership for Social Justice

Join us for this doctoral dissertation presentation, titled "Development of Intercultural Communication Skills: Lessons Learned From Early-Career Professionals Who Interned in Germany" by Ina Marshall on  Tuesday, April 16, from  1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m., via   Teams .

Graduate School Summer Funding Competition Awards Announced

Seventy-one scholars are the recipients of dissertation and pre-dissertation fellowship awards through The Graduate School’s Summer Funding Competition . The $4,500 awards are given annually to a select group of outstanding doctoral students to support progress to degree and dissertation completion. The awards are part of an expansion of funding and benefits programs announced by the Office of the Provost last spring.   

This year’s awards provide funding for summer research and writing to students in 43 different programs.   

  Dissertation fellowships were awarded to: 

• Carlos Ramirez Arenas, religion   
• Emily Beauparlant, social psychology   
• Chelsea Bouldin, cultural foundations of education   
• John Brigham, earth sciences     
• Semaj Campbell-Blakes, history   
• Stephen Caviness, teaching and curriculum   
• Ahmet Celik, religion   
• Shreyas Aralumallige Chandregowda, civil engineering   
• Sicong Chen, computer engineering and information science    
• Joseph Colbert, biology   
• Nicholas Croce, social science   
• Amber Ford, chemistry   
• Lerie Gabriel, composition and cultural rhetoric   
• Nicole Yeannine Moller Gonzalez, geography   
• Xiaoxia Huang, political science   
• Jianqing Jia, mathematics   
• Linghua Jiang, human development and family science   
• Kelly Kearns, counseling and counselor education   
• Marie Kramer, mathematics   
• Qingyang Liu, human development and family science   
• Yang Liu, instructional design, development and evaluation    
• Michael McCall, political science   
• Catherine Montgomery, clinical psychology   
• Katherine Mott, sociology   
• Zakery Munoz, composition and cultural rhetoric   
• Brian Odiwuor, mathematics education   
• David Okanlawon, anthropology   
• Felipe Oliveira, philosophy   
• Madeline Olley, English   
• Zhijuan Niu, instructional design, development and evaluation    
• Jared Rosenberg, exercise science   
• Sarah Souders, public administration   
• Sarah Stegeman, history   
• Nimisha Thakur, anthropology   
• Sidney Turner, composition and cultural rhetoric   
• Renci Xie, Doctor of Juridical Science    
• Dong Zheng, civil engineering   

 Pre-Dissertation fellowships were awarded to:  

• Aleyna Akyuz, physics   
• Md Mahbubul Alam, chemistry   
• Karisa Bridgelal, composition and cultural rhetoric   
• Fatma Celik, religion Amanda Kingston, cultural foundations of education   
• Nelson Donkor, chemical engineering   
• Luanxin Gao, economics   
• Si Gao, counseling and counselor education   
• Falak Hadi, political science   
• Antonia Hamilton, clinical psychology   
• Sadam Hussain, anthropology   
• Geoffrey Huyck, composition and cultural rhetoric   
• Joanne Kim, public administration   
• Amanda Kingston, cultural foundations of education   
• Kaia Kirk, political science   
• Fasika Melese, instructional design, development and evaluation    
• Arda Oz, English   
• Eunji Park, counseling and counselor education   
• Abdul Bashir Pazhwak, social science   
• David Peters, mass communications   
• Caroline Plecki, biology   
• Vatya Raina, anthropology   
• Hannah Rembrandt, speech-language pathology   
• Karie Schmitz, mathematics   
• Soham Sinha, English   
• Ilariac Siriner, cognitive psychology   
• Paige Spencer, religion   
• Aditya Srinivasan, social science   
• Xihe Tian, counseling and counselor education   
• Nathalie Uwamahoro, electrical and computer engineering   
• Benjamin Valen, social psychology   
• Bryce Whitwam, mass communications   
• Jiahe Xing, economics   
• Zonglin Yang, earth sciences    
• Shuo Zhang, economics   

Diane Stirling

• Graduate School Presents 39 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards Tuesday, April 16, 2024, By Diane Stirling
• PITCH: Legal Analysis of Hush Money Trial facing former President Donald Trump Tuesday, April 16, 2024, By Ellen Mbuqe
• Lender Center Postdoctoral Fellow Examines the Impact of Gentrification and Displacement in Western and Central New York Tuesday, April 16, 2024, By Diane Stirling
• Giving for a Common Good: Fraternities and Sororities Compete for the Inaugural Hendricks Cup Monday, April 15, 2024, By Dara Harper
• Libraries’ Read and Publish Agreement With Springer Allows Easier Open Access for Researchers Monday, April 15, 2024, By Cristina Hatem

More In Campus & Community

Graduate school presents 39 outstanding teaching assistant awards.

Teaching assistants are essential to the educational enterprise at Syracuse University. To recognize their critical role and their valuable contributions to undergraduate and graduate education, the Graduate School annually presents Outstanding Teaching Assistant awards. The honor cites demonstrated excellence in…

Lender Center Postdoctoral Fellow Examines the Impact of Gentrification and Displacement in Western and Central New York

Growing up in Rochester and attending the University of Buffalo, Lender Center for Social Justice Postdoctoral Fellow J Coley saw firsthand how gentrification and displacement impacted those communities.   Now, Coley (they/them) studies how the policies and actions of local, state…

Giving for a Common Good: Fraternities and Sororities Compete for the Inaugural Hendricks Cup

On March 27 there was energy in the air for Syracuse University’s 2024 Giving Day. This year, for the first time, Hendricks Chapel partnered with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and the Interfraternity Council to gather support for…

Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Italy, to Address Syracuse University Graduates During 2024 Commencement

The Mayor of Florence, Italy, Dario Nardella, will deliver Syracuse University’s 2024 Commencement address Sunday, May 12, in the JMA Wireless Dome. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. Nardella was first elected in 2014 and is currently serving his…

Libraries’ Read and Publish Agreement With Springer Allows Easier Open Access for Researchers

Syracuse University Libraries recently signed its 12th ‘read and publish’ open access agreement, this time with major academic publisher Springer, expanding the reach of researchers’ scholarly contributions by enabling all University-affiliated authors the ability to publish their work open access in…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact [email protected] .

Connect With Us

For the media.

• Why Study WLC?
• Undergraduate
• Arabic Studies
• Asian Language Concentration
• Chinese Studies
• Classical Studies
• Foreign Language Education
• French Studies
• German Studies
• Hindi-Urdu Studies
• Italian Studies
• Japanese and Japan Studies
• Portuguese Studies
• Russian Studies
• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• World Literatures and Cultures
• Accelerated BA/MA Program
• MA in French Language and Literature
• MA in Spanish Language and Literature
• MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
• Research and Engagement
• Translators and Interpreters
• Voluntarios Ahora en Raleigh (VOLAR)

Language Intensive Courses are Great Option for New Learners

After their 5-week Arabic intensive, students Evan Martin and Jasmin De La Sierra share their experiences with learning a new language.

Evan Martin was completely new to Arabic when he took the intensive course in summer 2023, and even the alphabet is different, so he and other students were truly starting a new language from scratch. He told me at first it was intimidating and he looked at this new alphabet and asked himself “what have I done?” But he said that quickly changes and he now feels comfortable with the letters and sounds. Now he feels inspired enough to look into study abroad programs in Jordan or other places where the language is spoken.

Jasmine De La Sierra was also very new to Arabic and described the beginning as “intense,” a common reaction when beginning a new language, particularly in the summer. “[But] It’s worth it, it’s better than taking it in a regular session. You think you’re not soaking it in, and looking back on it now I thought to myself “there’s no way,” but seeing now and practicing everything I learned–I feel confident. It’s definitely worth it.”

Jasmine wants to continue taking Arabic classes as far as NCState will let her, and she knows it will help her achieve her goals of getting into the FBI, and she urges any student that is nervous about taking a language class to go the intensive route and to surprise themselves. In the future, she hopes to travel with her classmates and to go on to bigger dreams of career success. “My curiosity with the Middle East and my career field of Criminal Justice is what interested me in Arabic, and having this under my belt will definitely help me,” she explained. “The Professors were really helpful too, they’ll help more than you think they will. They make you feel included, and are welcoming to questions.”

Come see what doors can be opened for you in World Languages & Cultures!

More From Department of World Languages and Cultures

World Languages & Cultures Graduate Students Present at 3 Minute Thesis Event 

WLC Grad Students and Faculty Present Cutting-Edge Research at the Spanish Linguistics in the Southeast Conference 

A Mesmerizing Night of Hindi-Urdu/Asian Culture at NC State 

• Support Dal
• Current Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Family & Friends
• Agricultural Campus (Truro)
• Halifax Campuses
• Campus Maps
• Brightspace

Dalhousie University

• Student Life
• Media Centre
• DAL Magazine

Most Commented

News archive.

• February 2024
• January 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023

From nitrogen to activism: Unveiling Dalhousie’s 2024 Doctoral Thesis Award winners

Stephen Oshilaja - April 16, 2024

Dalhousie doctoral graduates Joseph Bedard and Tari Ajadi have been named the 2024 recipients of the Dalhousie Doctoral Thesis Awards, an annual honour that recognizes dissertations that have made significant and original contributions to the academic community and Canadian society.

The awards, presented by the Faculty of Graduate Studies for more than 25 years now, recognize exceptional theses submitted by PhD students.

Dr. Bedard’s ground-breaking research in the Department of Chemistry centered on making plastics out of nitrogen and phosphorus. He hopes his work lays the foundation for the development and commercialization of atmospheric nitrogen-derived plastics, but also that it challenges basic assumptions in the way chemicals that can be used as building blocks for synthetic materials are identified.

“Joe took on the most ambitious project in our group with global impact and systematically developed the tools needed to tackle it,” says Dr. Saurabh Chitnis, who served as his doctoral supervisor. “His curiosity, enthusiasm, and persistence are models for all graduate students undertaking high-risk, high-reward research. I am thrilled to see it recognized in this way and to have been part of his scientific journey.” 

Dr. Bedard was also recently crowned the winner of Falling Walls Lab Pitches competition in Berlin , Germany, for his presentation “Breaking the Wall of Alternative Plastics.”

Dr. Ajadi’s thesis sheds light on the remarkable efforts of African Nova Scotian community organizations and activists in shaping policies related to health and policing, historically and in the present. He hopes his work informs future attempts at transformational change that will and are currently unfolding by chronicling some of the successes (and failures) of the past. The work also pushes back against the erasure of Black political organizing in contemporary discussions around Canadian politics.

"Tari’s research on African Nova Scotian activism in policing and public health is path-breaking in the field of Canadian political science,” says Dr. Kristin Good, his former supervisor in the Department of Political Science .

“His work is conceptually and methodologically innovative in its exploration of African Nova Scotians’ long history of resistance to structural racism and of community organizing in Halifax, conceptualizing its organizations and networks as part of a competing racial order united by a commitment to self-determination and driven by an ethic of care. Methodologically, his work breaks new ground by including autoethnography as part of his toolkit, which allows him to reflect upon his personal experience as an activist in the analysis. I learned a lot from supervising Tari’s thesis and look forward to following his academic career.”

As this year’s winners, Drs. Bedard and Ajadi will also be Dal’s nominees for the CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, which will be awarded by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) later this year.

For more insights into their impactful work, explore the Q&A below.

Dr. Joseph Bedard, Chemistry PhD

My thesis is concerned with making synthetic polymers (i.e. plastics) out of nitrogen and phosphorus. Right now, about 85% of the plastics we make are derived from petrochemicals. As our society is shifting away from fossil fuels towards alternative energy sources, we also must consider alternative materials sources as well. The work in my thesis is an entrant into the arena of non-petroleum-based plastics. I discovered a way to convert chemicals, derived from the nitrogen in our atmosphere, into polymers and networks with an incredibly unique molecular structure (nitrogen and phosphorus cages), the likes of which had not been discovered before. My thesis details the exploration of the fundamental properties for these new materials, as well as the physical properties of the plastics I can make from them. 

What impact do you hope to make with your research?

My hope is that the work I have done during my PhD not only lays the groundwork for the development and commercialization of atmospheric nitrogen-derived plastics, but also really encourages a paradigm shift in terms of the way we identify the chemicals that can be used as building blocks for synthetic materials. From a more zoomed-in perspective, I'm looking forward to seeing the chemistry research community build further on the concept of stringing together molecular cages to make polymers, and ultimately, materials. 

Tell me about a defining moment you had at Dalhousie.

In the fourth year of my PhD, through the encouragement of my principal investigator, prof. Saurabh Chitnis, I entered a regional competition called Falling Walls Lab Atlantic. I did not know too much about it at the time, but as I prepared my 3-minute pitch for the competition, I was encouraged to really think about the potential societal impact of my research. It is not often that synthetic chemists working on innovative, fundamental projects think about our work on such a scale. Doing so allowed me to realize that my research was actually a lot closer to having a material impact on our society than I'd thought. I went on to finish runner-up in the Atlantic competition and got a chance to go to Berlin to compete in the international competition, which I was lucky enough to end up winning. 

What are you doing now?

Right now, I have moved to Montreal, where I have traded the Maritime fog for the city smog (Willy's poutine holds up pretty well!). I am currently exploring opportunities that align best with my expertise and passion for chemistry and "big bet" science.

Dr. Tari Ajadi, Political Science PhD

My doctoral thesis is about the incredible work that African Nova Scotian community organizations and activists do (and have done, historically) to transform policy related to health and policing. It argues that Black organizers in Halifax engage in “worldmaking” via centuries-long lineage of resistance, institution-building, and advocacy. This worldmaking moves towards the idea of self-determination: being able to decide for oneself the trajectory of one’s community. As part of this lineage, organizers foster a distinct political identity that can facilitate solidarity across difference despite the significant barriers they may face in transforming the status quo.

I hope to inform future attempts at transformational change that will and are currently unfolding by chronicling some of the successes (and failures) of the past. I also intend to push back against the erasure of Black political organizing in contemporary discussions around Canadian politics.

The defining moments of my time at Dalhousie were the everyday acts of kindness and care that my close friends and mentors showed me throughout the years I spent at Dal– these moments have shaped who I am today. 

What are you doing now? 

I am an Assistant Professor in Black Politics at McGill University.

Dal News welcomes discussion from members of the Dalhousie community and beyond, but urge comment writers to be respectful and refrain from personal attacks. False or unsubstantiated allegations, libellous statements and offensive language are not allowed. External links must be appropriate and relevant to the subject being discussed.

We encourage commenters to use their real first and last names.

Please note that comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of Dal News or Dalhousie University but only of the comment writer. The editors reserve the right to post, or not to post comments, edit or not edit, at their discretion.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada  B3H 4R2 1-902-494-2211

Agricultural Campus Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada  B2N 5E3 1-902-893-6600

• Campus Directory
• Student Career Services
• Employment with Dalhousie
• For Parents
• For Employers
• Privacy Statement
• Terms of Use

Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2 1.902.494.2211