Graduate Programs

Our two graduate programs stress the development of analytical, scholarly, and creative abilities through small seminars; formal pedagogical training is also a key component. Graduate students (both domestic and international) are encouraged to present their work at scholarly meetings and to publish in refereed media, often in collaboration with faculty members. The Department has had considerable success in placing its graduates in tenure-track jobs in many major educational institutions in the United States and abroad.

The Department works with The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to support new students entering our doctoral programs every year in Linguistics and Literature and Cultural Studies. All fellows entering the doctoral programs receive a stipend, health insurance, and a tuition waiver for five years. You can apply here. Please note that to be eligible for a fellowship you must apply directly to the Ph.D. Program. A previous MA or MS is not required to apply directly to the Ph.D. program.

The Spanish Linguistics program, one of the strongest in the U.S., includes courses in Applied Linguistics, Semantics, Pragmatics, Syntax, Phonology, Dialectology, Lexicography, Textual Edition, Corpus Linguistics, and Sociolinguistics. The program is offered in close collaboration with the Department of Linguistics. 

Our program in Literature and Cultural Studies emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach in which attention to primary texts and critical theory is combined with audiovisual, historical, and philosophical perspectives so that students can develop their research skills to the fullest. Our faculty cover all traditional areas – Medieval, Early Modern, Modern Spain, Colonial Latin America, Modern Latin America, and Luso-Brazilian Studies – as well as less traditional or emerging fields such as Transatlantic/Transpacific Studies, and Film and Media Studies.