M.A. in Hispanic Cultural Studies
Introduction
The Master's in Hispanic Cultural Studies program is a free-standing, one-year course of study that aims to provide students with a rigorous foundation on the critical issues attendant to Hispanic cultural production. The Master's program may be undertaken as a preparatory degree to apply subsequently to doctoral programs in the field, but also as a terminal degree by those interested in pursuing careers in education, government, business, journalism, non-profit organizations, etc.
The M.A. program is built around two core academic experiences:
- a thorough professional training in the discipline that includes: a seminar on literary and cultural theory, and the research and writing of a Master's Essay under the supervision of the graduate faculty. Interested students may also elect to take a graduate course on the methodologies of teaching Spanish language and culture
- six electives that address the cultural production of the Hispanic world from a transatlantic and interdisciplinary perspective. Two of these electives must be taken outside the department in related disciplines such as Anthropology, History, Women Studies, History of Art, Teacher's College, Music, etc.
The required and elective courses offered in the department are taught by its graduate faculty—internationally recognized scholars in the fields of Hispanic cultural studies. All graduate classes are taught in Spanish and all requirements are in that language as well. Master's students can register in any course taught in the department at the graduate level.
See our pages on admission requirements to the graduate program, and on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about graduate admissions in the department.
Applicants are admitted as full-time students only and are expected to fulfill all requirements of the program in one year. There is no financial aid from either the department or the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to pursue the M.A. in Hispanic Cultural Studies. For information about the costs associated with this program see the relevant page in the GSAS web site.
The deadline for applying for admission for the 2014-2015 academic year is April 1st, 2014.
For more information, contact the department's Director of Graduate Studies.
M.A. in Hispanic Cultural Studies
Below is a summary of the principal requirements of the M.A. in Hispanic Cultural Studies. For more information, contact the department's Director of Graduate Studies and the page on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about graduate admissions.
I. Course work
Students enrolled in the Master's in Hispanic Cultural Studies program must complete satisfactorily a total of eight (8) course units in one year. Normally a student takes four courses during the fall semester and four in the spring. Classes are taught in Spanish and all requirements are in that language as well. Master's students can register in any course taught in the department at the graduate level.
Two courses are required of all students:
Spanish G6005, Introduction to Cultural Theory, and SPAN G9810, Supervised Research for the Master's Essay.
The graduate seminar on Introduction to Cultural Theory provides students with an understanding of fundamental concepts, categories, and problems related to the study of cultural production in the Hispanic world. For Supervised Research for the Master's Essay, see the description of the Master's Essay below.
The remaining courses are electives, two of which must be taken outside the department in related disciplines such as Anthropology, History, Women Studies, History of Art, Teacher's College, Music, etc. A maximum of four electives may be taken outside the department. For the departmental electives students choose among all of the courses taught by the graduate faculty.
II. Master's Essay
During the spring semester students devote time to the preparation of a Master's Essay that fulfills the research component for the Master's degree. To fulfill this requirement they expand and rewrite an essay that they wrote in the fall or propose a new topic for the exercise. In the latter instance they must receive approval for the topic from the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).
The Master's Essay is written under the supervision of a faculty member and in the context of an independent study that carries the course designation SPAN G9810 (Supervised Research for the Master's Essay). The essay is about 25 pages in length, is written in Spanish, and is evaluated by the adviser and a second faculty member chosen by the DGS.
A typical course of study for the Master's in Hispanic Cultural Studies would resemble the following:
FALL |
SPAN G6005: Introduction to Cultural Theory |
SPRING |
SPAN G9810: Supervised Research for the Master's Essay |