Ph.D. Program in Hispanic Studies
Below is a summary of the principal requirements of the doctoral program in Hispanic Studies. A detailed account of the program's timeline, structure, and procedures can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook. 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 must complete satisfactorily a total of seventeen (17) course units. Normally a student will take eight courses during the first year, six courses during the second year, and three courses in the third year. The third year will be devoted to two regular courses and one independent research course in which the student will prepare for the M.Phil. examinations. During the first two years, students take at least one course in each of the five broad periods of Hispanic culture, namely: Medieval, Early Modern Peninsular, Modern Peninsular, Colonial, and Modern Latin American. All seventeen courses must be taken for a letter grade. Two courses are required of all students: Spanish G6000, Didactics of Spanish Language and Culture, and Spanish G9901, Graduate Seminar on Literary and Cultural Theory.
A typical program of courses during the first three years of graduate work resembles the following:
First year |
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Second year |
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Third year |
1 independent study |
Students write two papers per semester during the first two years (and one per semester in the third year) and they will choose the courses for which they will write them. For the remaining course(s) the students will take an examination as the final exercise for the course.
After a student's first year in the program, he or she may apply to receive credit for graduate courses taken at another institution. The number of credits received for work done elsewhere will be determined on an ad-hoc basis, but may not exceed six courses.
II. Language requirement
Students must acquire reading ability in two foreign languages appropriate to their prospective field of specialization. Students who are planning to specialize in Latin American culture should choose Portuguese as one of their languages. The requirement is typically satisfied by passing a reading-proficiency examination administered by the relevant department. The language requirement may also be fulfilled by passing a one-semester course in the chosen language with a minimum grade of B+. Students must pass one of the language requirements during the first year in order to be eligible to receive the Master's degree.
III. Master's evaluation
At the end of the student's first year the faculty evaluates all aspects of a student's work during the year. If the student's performance is judged to be satisfactory and he or she has fulfilled one of the language requirements, the student will be recommended for receipt of the Master's degree.
IV. The M.Phil.
The M.Phil. consists of three parts: two written examinations on the student's field of specialization and an oral examination of the student's dissertation prospectus. The two written examinations are based on the works included in two reading lists that are prepared by the student in consultation with faculty members. The lists are prepared and their related exams taken during the third year of study. The oral examination of the prospectus will take place no later than the end of the first semester of the fourth year.
For the first list, the student will choose a broad period or area and will compose a comprehensive list of primary, critical and theoretical works pertaining to it. Examples of possible areas and periods are: Colonial Culture, the Caribbean, Theater of the Early Modern period, post-Civil War Spanish culture, etc. The intention of this list is to allow students to read widely in the chosen period or area in order to acquire a sense of its critical boundaries, main problematics, and the critical discourse on it in order to contextualize their future work. The first list should consist of no fewer than 75 items.
The second list will be a more focused list of primary, critical and theoretical works within the period studied in the first list. Ideally, for the second list students will have narrowed their interest to the broad outline of their dissertation topic. The second list should consist of no fewer that 30 items.
The examinations are based on the works included in the two lists.
Upon successful completion of the written examinations, the student chooses a dissertation sponsor. The prospectus is prepared in consultation with the sponsor. The oral examination of the prospectus consists of a two-hour oral exercise in which the student defends the prospectus before the prospectus defense committee.
V. Dissertation
Upon approval of the prospectus, the student embarks on the preparation of the dissertation. Students who wish to write the dissertation in Spanish must request permission to do so from the GSAS. Such requests are routinely granted.
VI. Dissertation defense
The dissertation defense is the final requirement for the Ph.D. degree. Present at the defense will be: the student, the sponsor, two other internal members of the dissertation committee and two external members of the committee.
The table below summarizes the expectations and deadlines of a typical graduate career in the department:
First year |
Graduate Fellowship |
First language examination Graduate Fellowship |
Second year |
Teaching assignment |
Second language examination Teaching assignment |
Third year |
1 independent study List I examination Teaching assignment |
List II examination Teaching assignment |
Fourth year |
M.Phil. prospectus oral defense Teaching assignment |
ABD Teaching assignment |
Fifth year |
ABD Dissertation Writing Fellowship |
ABD Dissertation Writing Fellowship Dissertation defense |