Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

www.sip.uiuc.edu

(Including Catalan)

Head of the Department: J. C. Wilcox
Director of Graduate Studies: L. E. Delgado
4080 Foreign Languages Building
707 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-3390
E-mail: SIP@uiuc.edu

Graduate Degree Programs

The Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese offers work leading to the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish, in Italian, and in Portuguese, and to a Certificate of Advanced Study in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE) in Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese. Fields of concentration are Spanish linguistics, Romance linguistics, Spanish literature, Latin American literature, Italian linguistics, Italian literature, and Portuguese language and literature. A graduate course in Catalan literature is available. Also, the department is affiliated with the Latina/Latino Studies Program. Students in the area of Latina/Latino studies may be able to work with experts in the other disciplines in Latina/Latino studies such as anthropology, history, political science, sociology, and so forth in order to design and complete a program of studies in a particular area.

Admission

The Graduate College admission requirements apply. The normal prerequisite for a graduate major is an undergraduate major in the corresponding Romance language or consent of the department. Students doing graduate work for any advanced degree in Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese must possess a command of the language. Applicants living in the United States are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. International applicants must have a minimum paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 570 (computer-based TOEFL score of 230). Students are not normally admitted in the spring.

The programs offered are described below. For additional information, consult the department.

Graduate Teaching Experience

Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, this department usually requires Ph.D. candidates to do some teaching as part of their academic work. Such experience is considered a vital part of the graduate program.

Master of Arts

In addition to fulfilling the general requirements of the Graduate College, candidates must pass a comprehensive examination based on coursework and a general reading list. Areas of specialization offered in Spanish are Spanish and Spanish American literature, Spanish linguistics, and U.S. Latina/Latino literature. Areas of specialization offered in Italian are Italian literature, Italian linguistics, and applied Italian linguistics. Areas of specialization offered in Portuguese are Brazilian literature and Portuguese literature. Detailed statements of the requirements for each specialization may be obtained from the department.

Doctor of Philosophy

Areas of specialization offered in Spanish are Medieval literature, Renaissance and Golden Age literature, Spanish literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Spanish American colonial literature, Spanish American modern and contemporary literature, Spanish linguistics (with various subfield specializations), and Romance linguistics (with various subfield specializations). Areas of specialization offered in Italian are Medieval literature, Renaissance literature, Baroque literature, Enlightenment and Romanticism, modern literature, Italian linguistics (with various subfield specializations), and Romance linguistics. Areas of specialization offered in Portuguese are Medieval literature, Renaissance literature, modern literature, Brazilian literature (through Romanticism or after 1881), and Romance linguistics.

Certificate of Advanced Study

The option in SLATE is available to candidates with an appropriate master’s degree in Spanish (linguistics or applied linguistics), Italian (linguistics or applied linguistics), or Portuguese, and at least one year of experience teaching in a second language context. Candidates selecting this option are required to complete courses in linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and second language acquisition, in addition to advanced study in Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese linguistics. Also required are 8 graduate hours in research methodology.

Financial Aid

The department offers fellowships to outstanding applicants to the graduate program and regularly provides a large number of teaching assistantships and research assistantships. The Graduate College Fellowship competition is open for qualified minority candidates. Other fellowships and grants are available in campuswide competitions (Latin American Center grants, dissertation research grants, summer fellowships, and other types of awards).