PhD Program

Mission

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.

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