FAS - Hispanic Languages and Literatures

The Hispanic Languages and Literatures Department offers programs leading to the MA and PhD degrees in Hispanic Languages and Literatures. Candidates for the MA and the PhD may also earn certificates in Latin American Studies, Cultural Studies, and/or Film Studies. See the Graduate Student Handbook for further details.

Contact Information

Department Chair: Mabel E. MoraÒa

Main Office: 1309 Cathedral of Learning

Phone: (412) 624-5225

Fax: (412) 624-8505

E-mail: hispan+@pitt.edu

Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~hispan

Admissions

In general, students accepted into the graduate program must meet the following criteria:

1. They should have completed an undergraduate major (or the equivalent) in the language and either tinguistics associated with the fields they propose to study at the graduate level
2. They should be able to enroll in courses that are taught entirely in Spanish and/or Portuguese. This presupposes a high level of skill in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in their major language.

Degree Requirements

The minimal requirements established by the Graduate Faculty of the University, as described under General Academic Regulations, and any additional requirements of FAS Graduate Studies described under FAS Degree Requirements, should be read in conjunction with department-specific degree requirements described in the following sections.

Requirements for the Master of Arts in Hispanic Languages and Literatures

The department offers a common Master of Arts program in Hispanic Languages and Literatures allowing major field concentration on:

On entrance into the department, the student is initially advised by the Director of Graduate Studies. After the first term the student may request a member of the Graduate Faculty with whom the student wishes to work toward completion of the graduate degree to serve as that student's advisor. Students are urged to maintain a close and continuing contact with their advisors, and at the same time, should familiarize themselves with the policy statements of the department which are contained in the Graduate Student Handbook. Copies of the handbook are available in the departmental office.

The MA degree requires a minimum of 30 credits. The courses representing these 30 credits will be chosen by the student in consultation with his/her advisor. The guiding principle will be that of ensuring that the student achieves a general background in the major field, while allowing the student some freedom to focus on areas of his/her special interests or needs. A maximum of two 1000-level, one Independent Reading, and one Directed Study courses may be taken toward the MA degree, except for students majoring in Latin American culture and literature, who may take two 1000-level courses in Portuguese beyond this maximum.

Specific degree requirements, in addition to the minimum of 30 credits, are as follows:

Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows new to the department are required to take appropriate courses in methodology and language learning to assist them in teaching.

Students are required to take a minimum number of substantive courses within the department. Those who are pursuing a terminal MA degree must take 24 credits of course work in the department, of the total 30 credits that are required for the degree. The remaining six credits may comprise courses taken outside the department (including transfer credits), a maximum of three credits of Directed Study (Spanish 2902), and three credits of MA Comprehensive/PhD Preliminary Exam preparation (Spanish 2990).

Those who are working toward both the MA and the PhD degrees in the Hispanic Department must take a total of 48 credits of substantive courses in the department, of the 72 credits required for the PhD. The remaining 24 credits may consist of:

Students who enter the department with a master's degree from another institution must complete 30 credits of substantive course work in the department out of the 72 total credits required for the PhD degree. The remaining 42 credits may be distributed among credits transferred from the institution from which they earned their MA degree, course work taken at the University of Pittsburgh in departments (or programs) other than Hispanic Languages and Literatures, up to three credits of PhD Preliminary Exam preparation (Spanish 2990), up to nine credits of PhD Comprehensive Exam/Overview (Spanish 3910), and up to a maximum of 12 credits of PhD Dissertation (Spanish 3000).

Language Requirement

For the MA degree, no foreign language other than Spanish is required. However, Latin American culture and literature majors are strongly urged to study Portuguese. Native speakers of Spanish must pass a speaking examination in English. All students are strongly advised to study a second language; Portuguese is particularly recommended.

MA Program in Spanish with Certification for Teaching in Pennsylvania

As this is a joint program, students choosing this program must fulfill the entrance requirements and be admitted to the School of Education, the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures, and FAS. Students will take a minimum of 24 credits in the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures, plus specific courses indicated by the School of Education. The program is not open to students who already hold certification.

Students should consult the departmental advisor in drawing up their program and in preparing for the MA examination.

Requirements for the PhD Degree

The PhD program in the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures is available in Spanish culture and literature; Latin American culture and literature, Brazilian culture and literature; Spanish linguistics; or methodology and applied linguistics. At the discretion of the major advisor, candidates may take a certain amount of coursework in other fields or interdisciplinary programs. The following special requirements must be met by all departmental aspirants to candidacy:

1. Each student must take a preliminary examination before he or she can officially become a doctoral candidate. Details about this examination may be found in the Graduate Student Handbook.
2. Each student must complete at least one graduate course in literature and one graduate course in linguistics.
3. After completing 60 credits of course work and passing the foreign language requirement and the PhD comprehensive examinations as described in the Graduate Student Handbook, each student will devote the final stage of his/her program to the preparation of a dissertation as prescribed by FAS Graduate Studies. An additional 12 credits must be earned in dissertation research or independent study.

Language Requirement

Candidates for the PhD degree must give evidence of their ability to read one language other than their major language. PhD candidates in Latin American culture and literature must meet a proficiency requirement in Portuguese.

Course Listings

Courses numbered in the 1000s are advanced undergraduate courses but may be taken by graduate students with the permission of the graduate advisor. Graduate courses numbered 2000 and higher vary greatly from term to term. The following courses are usually offered in rotation over a period of two or three years. Students should consult the Schedule of Classes and the Course Descriptions published prior to the term in which they are registering.

SPAN 2190 Literary Translation

SPAN 2192 Topics in Translation

SPAN 2195 Professional Translation 1

SPAN 2196 Professional Translation 2

SPAN 2224 Special Topics in Latin American Cultural Studies

SPAN 2225 Seminar: Special Topics Cultural Analysis

SPAN 2226 Readings in Critical Theory

SPAN 2301 Advanced Grammar

SPAN 2302 History of the Language

SPAN 2303 Structure of Modern Spanish

SPAN 2304 Dialectology

SPAN 2305 Morphology

SPAN 2306 Spanish Applied Linguistics

SPAN 2307 Methods of Teaching Spanish

SPAN 2308 Syntax

SPAN 2309 Phonology

SPAN 2310 Semantics

SPAN 2311 Hispanic Sociolinguistics

SPAN 2312 Pragmatics

SPAN 2313 Computerized Linguistic Studies

SPAN 2314 Special Topics in Linguistics

SPAN 2315 Seminar: Linguistics and Methodology

SPAN 2316 Theory and Practicum: Foreign Language Teaching

SPAN 2317 Research and Field Methods in Spanish Sociolinguistics and Applied Linguistics

SPAN 2318 Seminar: Applied Socio-pragmatics

SPAN 2404 Pre-Columbian Topics

SPAN 2414 Discovery and Conquest Topics

SPAN 2421 Colonial Literature

SPAN 2422 Colonial Topics

SPAN 2423 Seminar: Colonial Literature

SPAN 2426 Latin American Romanticism

SPAN 2428 Latin American 19th-century Topics

SPAN 2429 Seminar: Latin American 19th-century Topics

SPAN 2430 Modernism

SPAN 2434 Modernism: Topics

SPAN 2435 Seminar: Modernism

SPAN 2440 Vanguard

SPAN 2444 Vanguard Topics

SPAN 2445 Seminar: Vanguard

SPAN 2450 Contemporary Latin American Narrative

SPAN 2452 Contemporary Latin American Film

SPAN 2460 Latin American Drama

SPAN 2461 Latin American Novel

SPAN 2462 Latin American Poetry

SPAN 2463 Latin American Short Story

SPAN 2464 Latin American 20th-century Topics

SPAN 2465 Seminar: 20th-century Topics

SPAN 2469 Latin American Essay

SPAN 2470 U.S. Latino Literature and Culture

SPAN 2475 19th-century Brazilian Novel

SPAN 2476 Latin American Novel

SPAN 2570 Contemporary Hispanic Literature

SPAN 2580 Contemporary Hispanic Film

SPAN 2602 Medieval Spanish Topics

SPAN 2610 Renaissance

SPAN 2614 Renaissance Topics

SPAN 2615 Seminar: Renaissance Topics

SPAN 2620 Golden Age and Baroque Survey

SPAN 2621 Spanish Literature of Golden Age Drama

SPAN 2623 Don Quijote

SPAN 2624 Golden Age Topics

SPAN 2634 Baroque Topics

SPAN 2635 Seminar: Baroque

SPAN 2644 Enlightenment Topics

SPAN 2657 19th-century Topics

SPAN 2660 Realist and Naturalist Narrative

SPAN 2670 Generation of ‘98

SPAN 2680 Generation of ‘27

SPAN 2690 Contemporary Peninsular Literature

SPAN 2694 20th-century Peninsular Topics

SPAN 2695 Seminar: 20th Century

SPAN 2700 Literary Criticism

SPAN 2702 Introduction to Literary Studies

SPAN 2704 Special Topics in Literary Criticism

SPAN 2705 Seminar: Literary Criticism

SPAN 2706 Analysis of Hispanic Literary Texts: Spanish Literature Survey

SPAN 2707 Latin American Literary Criticism

SPAN 2902 MA Directed Study

SPAN 2970 Professional Translation Internship

SPAN 2990 MA Comprehensive Independent

SPAN 3000 Research and Dissertation for the PhD Degree

SPAN 3902 PhD Directed Study

SPAN 3910 PhD Comprehensive Examination

SPAN 3990 PhD Independent Study