(Downlad the information on this page in PDF format) The University of New Mexico 2007 – 2008 The University of New Mexico offers the M.A. degree in Spanish with three areas of concentration: Hispanic Literature, Hispanic Linguistics, and Hispanic Southwest Studies. Also offered is an M.A. degree in Portuguese. Departmental financial assistance in the form of teaching assistantships is available for the most highly qualified candidates. Teaching Assistants in the M.A. program are normally guaranteed four semesters of support, as long as they remain in good academic standing. A small number of summer teaching assistantships are available on a competitive basis. All applicants should complete an application either on-line or paper forms, a residency form, an official transcript and the application fee, which should be sent the Office of Graduate Admissions at The University of New Mexico. International students should contact the office of International Admissions for a list of required material and deadlines. Copies of materials sent the Office of Graduate Admissions and all other material should be sent to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. The deadline for application for regular admission is July 30 for Fall; November 30 for Spring; and May 30 for Summer. Financial assistance is awarded for Fall only with an application deadline of January 15 for first consideration. All application material can be found on the web at http://www.unm.edu/~grad/admissions/admissions.html or at www.unm.edu/~spanport/. Acceptance into the M.A. program is based on an evaluation of the following items:
The M.A. is offered under plan I (thesis) and plan II (coursework). Plan I requires a minimum of 27 hours of coursework, comprehensive examination, and a thesis. Plan II requires 33 hours of coursework and comprehensive examinations. Under plan I, a thesis proposal must be submitted to the student’s thesis committee no later than the semester before the beginning of the fourth semester of study when the student will register for 6 hours of thesis credit. Minimum semester hour requirements for TAs under both plans are 9, 9, 9, and 6. All Spanish coursework counted toward M.A. credit requirements must be in courses approved by the Department at the 500-level or above with the exception of SPAN 423 (Cervantes’ Quijote), and SPAN 438 (Mexican Literature). All Portuguese coursework counted toward M.A. credit requirements must be in courses approved by the Department at the PORT 400-level or above. Relevant electives outside of the Department may be taken only if pre-approved by the departmental Graduate Committee. 18 hours of Hispanic Literature approximately evenly divided between Spanish American and Peninsular Spanish courses. SPAN 601 (Literary Theory) may be included. 3 hours of Hispanic Linguistics (teaching methodology class, e.g., SPAN 541Research Methodology for Teachers and SPAN 549 Recent Research Methods for Teaching Spanish as a Heritage Language, may not be included). 3 hours of Portuguese* or Hispanic Southwest Studies. 3 hours of Portuguese* or Hispanic Southwest Studies. SPAN 502 Research and Critical Methods to be taken during the first semester of graduate study. SPAN 541 Recent Research on the Teaching of Spanish or SPAN 549 Recent Research Methods for Teaching Spanish as a Heritage Language (required of TAs and to be taken during the TA’s first Fall semester). 3 – 6 hours (depending on whether a teaching methodology class is taken) of electives or thesis. All Spanish coursework counted toward M.A. credit requirements must be in courses approved by the Department at the 500-level or above with the exception of SPAN 423 (Cervantes’ Quijote) and SPAN 438 (Mexican Literature). Relevant electives outside of the Department may be taken only if pre-approved by the departmental Graduate Committee. * Graduate students in Spanish with an interest in Portuguese should consider enrolling first in Port. 461, a graduate level intensive language and culture class. The class is designed to prepare students with the necessary skills to take Portuguese content courses in literature and culture. The Portuguese language, as well as Brazilian literature and culture, share many similarities with the Spanish language and Spanish American literature and culture. Coursework in Portuguese will enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of both languages and of the literatures and cultures of Latin America. 21 hours in Hispanic linguistics (See MA Courses: Hispanic linguistics). 3 hours of Hispanic Literature. 3 hours of Portuguese or Hispanic Southwest Studies. SPAN 541 Recent Research on the Teaching of Spanish or SPAN 549 Recent Research Methods for Teaching Spanish as a Heritage Language (required of TA’s and to be taken during the TAs first Fall semester). 3 hours of electives or 6 hours of thesis. All Spanish coursework counted toward M.A. credit requirements must be in courses approved by the Department at the 500 level or above with the exception of SPAN 423 (Cervantes’ Quijote) and SPAN 438 (Mexican Literature). Relevant electives outside of the Department may be taken only if pre-approved by the departmental Graduate Committee. 6 hours of Hispanic Linguistics (must include at least one course on Southwest Spanish; teaching methodology class, e.g., SPAN 541, does not satisfy Hispanic Linguistics requirement). 12 hours of Hispanic Southwest Studies taken in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. SPAN 502 Research and Critical Methods. 6 hours of Hispanic/Portuguese* literature from outside the Southwest. SPAN 541 Recent Research on the Teaching of Spanish or SPAN 549 Recent Research Methods for Teaching Spanish as a Heritage Language (required of TAs and to be taken during the TAs first fall semester). 6 hours of relevant electives (depending on whether teaching methodology class, e.g., SPAN 541, is taken) in the Department or outside (e.g., History, Linguistics, Social Sciences) or thesis. All Spanish coursework counted toward M.A. credit requirements must be in courses approved by the Department at the 500 level or above with the exception of SPAN 423 (Cervantes’ Quijote) and SPAN 438 (Mexican Literature). Relevant electives outside of the Department may be taken only if pre-approved by the departmental Graduate Committee. * Graduate students in Spanish with an interest in Portuguese should consider enrolling first in Port. 461, a graduate level intensive language and culture class. The class is designed to prepare students with the necessary skills to take Portuguese content courses in literature and culture. The Portuguese language, as well as Brazilian literature and culture, share many similarities with the Spanish language and Spanish American literature and culture. Coursework in Portuguese will enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of both languages and of the literatures and cultures of Latin America. 15 hours in Portuguese at 400-level or above. 12 hours of Hispanic/Southwest/Portuguese Literature and/or Hispanic/Southwest/Portuguese Linguistics. 6 hours of electives or thesis. All Portuguese coursework counted toward M.A. credit requirements must be in courses approved by the Department at the PORT 400-level or above. All Spanish coursework counted toward M.A. credit requirements must be in courses approved by the Department at the 500 level or above with the exception of SPAN 423 (Cervantes’ Quijote) and SPAN 438 (Mexican Literature). Relevant electives outside of the Department may be taken only if pre-approved by the departmental Graduate Committee. Research at the graduate and professional levels is enhanced by the mastery of several languages. Students are advised to consider their professional goals in selecting a language to fulfill the department’s requirement. All M.A. Spanish or Portuguese candidates must demonstrate proficiency equivalent to one year of university-level study in one language apart from English and the student’s language of major study. This proficiency is normally demonstrated by completing, in consultation with the department graduate advisor, a second semester or above numbered language course with a grade of B or better. This requirement can be met through coursework done as part of the B.A. The M.A. comprehensive examination will normally be given during the student’s third (plan I) or fourth (plan II) semester of graduate study at times specified by the Department. The examination will be administered by an examination committee and will be based on the reading list designed for each concentration. THE STATEMENT OF INTENT All applicants must submit a narrative statement of intent. This document is one of the most important components of the application and should be prepared thoughtfully. The statement should include a description of their undergraduate studies in Spanish and/or Portuguese and related areas, any additional experiences which bear on their qualifications or interest in graduate studies, and a clear indication of the reasons for pursuing a graduate degree. Applicants should describe their specific interests within the programs offered by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and should indicate why they have chosen the University of New Mexico. In addition, applicants should outline their future career plans in as much detail as possible. Simply stating “I have always enjoyed Spanish,” “I want to learn more about Spanish/improve my abilities,” or “Portuguese is my native language” is not adequate. The M.A. is a professional degree, and applicants need to indicate why they are qualified to undertake this professional training and how they intend to use it in the future. TEACHING ASSISTANT SUPPORT Those students in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese who receive a teaching assistantship will (unless the letter of offer stipulates otherwise) normally be assured of two years (4 semesters) of TA support (exclusive of summer teaching), contingent upon academic progress in departmentally approved classes and satisfactory teaching. There will be no extensions to the four-semester limit of assistant support. Due to the limited number of teaching assistantships, not all students admitted to the M.A. program can be offered an assistantship. We do keep a teaching assistantship waiting list for all qualified students. Students on the waiting list are notified as soon as a position becomes available Candidates seeking a Teaching Assistantship must submit a taped autobiography following departmental guidelines. The tape will be in Spanish or Portuguese, whichever language the candidate is applying to teach. Native speakers of languages other than English must also provide a taped statement in English of equal length. The tape should be 5 – 10 minutes long, and should consist of free, spontaneous narration. Appropriate topics include a brief biographical sketch, accounts of travel or other experiences that bear on graduate study in Spanish and Portuguese, reasons for deciding to pursue a graduate career, specific research interests, and awareness of the programs and resources offered by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of New Mexico. Applicants should try to use as wide a range of grammatical structures as possible, including past, present, future and hypothetical reference, and an appropriately professional vocabulary. No portion of the recording should be read or memorized, nor should the tape be edited in any way. If the submitted recording does not adequately demonstrate the candidate’s linguistic abilities, additional demonstration may be required, such as a supplemental tape, or a telephone or personal interview. |
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