Spanish, MS

Modality

On Campus

Program URL

https://spanport.georgetown.edu/graduate/

The Master of Science program in Spanish stresses the development of analytical, scholarly, and creative abilities through small seminars and formal pedagogical training. Graduate students are encouraged to present their work at scholarly meetings and to publish in refereed media, often in collaboration with faculty members.

Academic Policies

The academic policies and procedures of the Spanish program are those specified in the department handbook and Georgetown University’s Graduate Bulletin.

Program Requirements

Master’s students are required to complete 33 credits of coursework, pass a language proficiency exam in a language other than English or Spanish, and complete a thesis in order to successfully complete the program. Students focus their coursework through a specific area of study.

Degree requirements for each area of study is outlined below.

Spanish Linguistics

All students take the following Tier I courses:

• Spanish Teaching Methodology (3 credits)
• History of the Spanish Language (3 credits)
• Semantics & Pragmatics (3 credits)
• Phonology and Morphology, I (3 credits)
• Generative Syntax I (3 credits)

Students must also take any four courses from Tier I:

• Instructed Second Language Acquisition (3 credits)
• World Spanishes (3 credits)
• Semantics and Pragmatics II (3 credits)
• Phonology and Morphology II (3 credits)
• Generative Syntax II (3 credits)

In additional 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.

Spanish Literature and Cultural Studies

All students req required to take:

• Introduction to Critical Theory (3 credits)
• Spanish Teaching Methodology (3 credits)
• Two electives (6 credits)
• One department course in six of the following fields (18 credits):
  • Medieval to Peninsular to 1500
  • Early Modern Peninsular to 1700
  • Modern Peninsular
  • Colonial Latin American
  • Modern Latin American
  • Luso-Brazilian
  • Transatlantic
  • Film and Media Studies

Required Examinations

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 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 of Science in passing and participate in Commencement if they so wish.

Thesis Requirements

The Qualifying Paper serves as a master’s thesis.