THE
DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND
LITERATURES
PROGRAM GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
Admission requirements for graduate study
at UTSA are designed so that students admitted will have a high probability of
success in graduate‑level academic work.
Graduate study is much more than a mere continuation of undergraduate
work; graduate students should develop the capacity for independent thought and
investigation. All applicants for
admission and students admitted to UTSA should be familiar with the current
Applicants to the Master of Arts Degree
Program in Spanish are responsible for the following.
• Submitting
an Application for Graduate Admission to the Office of Graduate Studies.
• Submitting
official copies of transcripts from all institutions attended to the Office of
Graduate Studies. Please note that Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are
not required for applicants to the MA program in Spanish.
·
Submitting a one page letter in Spanish
describing the objectives of proposed graduate study.
·
Additionally,
submitting a 1-2 page composition written in Spanish previously for a course in
literature, language, or culture.
·
Submitting
at least one letter of recommendation from a prior teacher or professional
colleague.
After
receiving all application materials, including the payment of all applicable fees,
the University proceeds as follows.
• The Office of Graduate Studies transmits the
applicant's file to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research in the
• The materials received from the Associate
Dean are reviewed by the Graduate Program Committee for the Spanish MA Program
or its subcommittee on admissions. After
review, the Chair of the Graduate Program Committee recommends one of four
actions to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research.
1. Unconditional
admission to the program.
2. Conditional admission to the program.
Admission conditions will be stated as specific coursework and/or grade‑point
average requirements that are to be met within a stated period of time, usually
one or two semesters or at the completion of 12 Graduate Credit Hours. (If the
undergraduate major did not include at least 15 hours of upper-division
coursework in Spanish, the student must seek admission as a Special
Undergraduate to meet deficiencies.)
3. Admission as Special Graduate. This
classification is for non-degree seeking students. Please note: no more than 12
credit hours earned as a Special Graduate Student may be applied to a graduate
program at UTSA. Hours earned as a
Special Undergraduate Student do not apply to graduate programs.
4. Denial
of admission to the graduate program.
• The Chair of the Graduate Program Committee
transmits the Committee's recommendation to the Associate Dean for Graduate
Studies and Research in the
II. LANGUAGE
PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS
The minimum
proficiency requirements for exit from the Master's program in Spanish consist of
demonstrably adequate productive (speaking, writing)
and receptive (reading, understanding) proficiencies in an academic register of
Spanish. This will be done informally by
the Graduate Advisor of Record and faculty in the program. The letter of application and other materials
submitted will also be informally evaluated.
As the program requires coursework in Spanish, the student is expected
to read and write in an academically acceptable register. Recommendations for
skills improvement may be made to the student on the basis of these informal evaluations; persons for whom
improvement is suggested will need to be re‑evaluated before taking the
Comprehensive Examination for the Master's Degree.
III. BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES
At
the end of the MA Program in Spanish students should be able to demonstrate the
following abilities.
1.
Read
critically and defend or refute ideas.
2.
Synthesize
ideas and draw conclusions across readings and across courses.
3.
4.
Prepare,
write, and document scholarly research papers correctly in Spanish.
Students should incorporate and
demonstrate all of the skills cited in 1‑4 above in the exit requirements, such as a
Comprehensive Examination. The exit requirements may include recognizing and
discussing works, authors, movements, events, terms, and general concepts in
particular areas of study.
IV. PROGRAM
PLANNING AND COURSE SELECTION
Following
either unconditional or conditional admission, the student consults with the
Graduate Advisor of Record concerning a particular course
of study for a given semester.
Initially, this may be done in person or via telephone. An official Program of Study prepared in
consultation with the Graduate Advisor of Record no later than upon the
completion of 12 graduate hours in the program.
Courses in culture, language, and literature are offered on a regular
basis, typically on a 1-1/2 year rotation. The Program of Study charts the
student’s progress towards the MA degree and is later filed as proof of completion
of degree requirements. It is
important to meet with the Graduate Advisor early in one’s studies to establish
one’s Program.
Students
should be familiar with the program requirements as stated in the Graduate
Catalog in effect at the time of their initial enrollment. Specific attention is directed to the
following.
• Students must take SPN 5373, Introduction to
Graduate Spanish Studies, early in their program. This course emphasizes critical writing and
research skills, including bibliography and the use of electronic media in
graduate studies. It is designed to have
extensive cross‑program applications and benefits, and it can be counted
in a student's program as an elective for any concentration.
• The student must complete the degree requirements
described in the section on the Master of Arts Degree in Spanish of the Catalog
in effect at the time the student is admitted or of a subsequent Catalog.
Students must petition for a change of Catalog if
such a change is desiired.
• Only graduate‑level courses (courses
numbered 5000 and higher) are counted toward the MA in Spanish. With the prior approval of the Committee on
Graduate Studies, a student may request that a maximum of six semester hours of
undergraduate, upper‑division courses completed at UTSA with the grades
of " A " or " B " be counted as credit toward the required
minimum credit hours in the program. Courses that have counted toward another
degree are not eligible, however. Such
requests must also be approved by the Department Chair, the Associate Dean for
Graduate Studies in
the
• Graduate‑level Independent Study
courses (SPN 6951-3), up to a maximum of six semester hours, may be included in
the Program of Study with the prior approval of the Graduate Advisor of Record,
the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research of the College of Liberal
and Fine Arts, and the Dean for Graduate Studies.
• Graduate‑level Special Problems courses
(SPN 6971-3) may be included in the Program of Study upon the approval of the
Graduate Advisor of Record. No more than
six semester hours, regardless of discipline, will apply to the Master's
degree.
• A maximum of 12 hours of credit earned as a
Special Graduate Student may be applied toward a graduate degree. Prior credits may be counted toward degree
requirements only if the student has been admitted as a Degree‑Seeking
Graduate Student, and the credits have been evaluated and approved for this
purpose by the Committee on Graduate Studies and the Associate Dean for
Graduate Studies and Research.
• A student admitted as a Transient Graduate
Student may not apply earned credit hours toward a graduate degree.
The
Comprehensive Examination allows a student to display mastery of the material
studied in the concentration. The
student is expected to show critical thought and synthesis as well as objective
knowledge of factual material. Only
those students who have complied with the following requirements are allowed to
take the Comprehensive Examination.
1. All
conditions of admission must be satisfied.
2. Must be classified as a student in good academic standing and
registered during the semester of the examination. If no other coursework is required to
complete the academic program, students enroll in SPN 6961: Comprehensive
Examination; however, this is not necessary if the student has concurrent
enrollment in another course at UTSA.
3. An acceptable Program of Study must be
on file with the Graduate Advisor of Record and Associate Dean for Graduate
Studies and Research.
4. Students must inform the Graduate Advisor of Record in writing of
their intent to take the examination no later than the published Census Date for
the semester in which the examination is to betaken.
5. If a thesis is to be written, a supervising professor, thesis
Committee, and acceptable thesis topic must be approved by the Graduate Program Committee.
6. Exit
objectives for oral and written proficiency in Spanish must be completed (see
II).
A. Reading
Lists
B. Examination
Format and Procedures
The
Comprehensive Examination for the MA Degree in Spanish consists of a single
Spanish language text (several options will be given) which the examinee will
analyze in terms of one or a combination of the three areas of the Program:
language, culture, and/or literature.
The student will have a total of four hours to consider the
question--two hours for outlining and preparation and two for writing. (Students whose catalogue of entry is 2003-05
or earlier may opt for the traditional examination in their concentration area
instead, i.e., two, three‑hour sessions to prepare four examination
questions devoted to the student's area of concentration. Questions for the
Examination are based on the Reading List for the student's area of
concentration and on the student's coursework in that area. NB:
Any examination in which one or more of the four questions is/are not
addressed will not be considered.) The written examination will reflect a
comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the student's course of study in
the Program and will exhibit the objectives listed in III of these Guidelines.
Students are encouraged to prepare broadly across topics.
The
Examination consists of questions that are prepared by a subcommittee of the Graduate
Program Committee and is administered on campus by a representative of the
Graduate Program Committee. The same
subcommittee evaluates the examination, prepares written commentary documenting
its evaluation of the examination, and forwards the evaluation and its
recommendation of
C. Timetable
for the Comprehensive Examination
The Comprehensive Examination should
normally be taken in the Fall or Spring semester in
which a student expects to complete all coursework required for the degree or
in the Fall or Spring semester after the student has completed all
coursework. Whenever the student takes
the Comprehensive Examination he or she must be registered. If the student is registered for no other
course, he or she must register for SPN 6961: Comprehensive Examination.
Comprehensive Examinations are
administered twice each year: usually between the ninth and eleventh week of
the Fall and Spring semesters. Students must inform the Graduate Advisor of
Record in writing of their intent to take the Comprehensive
Examination, which is to be received by the Graduate Advisor of Record no later than the published Census Date
for the semester in which the examination is to be taken. The
Graduate Advisor of Record is responsible for scheduling the Comprehensive
Examination and informing students of the time and location of the
examination. If a student has informed
the Graduate Advisor of her or his intent to take the examination in a given
semester and decides not to do so, this decision must be communicated in
writing and received by the Graduate Advisor no later than ten days before the
scheduled examination.
Students are allowed a maximum of two
opportunities to retake the Comprehensive Examination if it is not passed on
the first attempt. If a student does not
take the examination and does not inform the Graduate Advisor within the
deadlines stated above, such a failure to appear will be counted as failing the
examination.
VI. THE
THESIS OPTION
Students seeking the MA Degree in
Spanish who plan to continue graduate study beyond the Master's level and
others interested in developing their research and writing skills are
encouraged to select the Thesis Option (Option I as discussed in the current UTSA
Graduate Catalog). The Master's Thesis
presents a unique opportunity to work closely with an individual faculty member
(the thesis director) and to pursue a particular topic or idea of special
interest to the student in some depth.
Students interested in the Thesis Option should consult the Graduate
Advisor of Record for guidance concerning members of the faculty prepared to
direct a particular thesis topic.
Students must register for SPN 6983: Master's Thesis, each semester they
work with the thesis director. Although
students may enroll for more than two semesters in the Thesis course, only six
hours of thesis credit are counted toward the MA Degree.
Students who choose not to write a
thesis must enroll in a total of thirty‑six semester hours of course work
(Option II as described in the current UTSA Graduate Catalog) for the Master of
Arts Degree in Spanish. The six hours of
coursework that substitute for a thesis must be in Spanish (designated SPN)
graduate courses and must be approved by the Graduate Advisor of Record.
·
Guidelines for Thesis
Proposals
It
is the student's responsibility to apply officially for his or her degree at
the Office of Admissions and Registrar no later than October 1 for the Fall
Semester; February 1 for the Spring Semester; or June 15 for the Summer
Session. The degree will not be awarded unless the student submits such an
application in a timely fashion. An
application submitted after the established deadlines for that semester will be
processed for graduation in the following semester. Students who apply for the degree in a given
semester but do not fulfill all requirements must file a new degree application
(on or before the appropriate deadline) for the term in which they intend to
graduate. An application fee is required
for all degree applications.