GRADUATE STUDY IN SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AT YALE

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Yale University offers one of the nation's top graduate programs in Spanish, Latin American, and Luso-Brazilian literature. The department is respected not only for its academic excellence in Iberian peninsular and Latin American literatures but also for its training in critical and theoretical approaches.

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese takes as its mission the training of doctoral students not only in the areas of research and scholarship but also in those of teaching and pedagogy. In recognition of the ever-increasing demands of a highly competitive job market, the Department seeks to offer its students the best possible preparation in the discipline of literary studies, and, in addition, a level of training in the theories and skills that will allow them to become productive and successful classroom teachers. Our graduates pursue careers as university teachers and also in a broad range of professional endeavors.

FIELDS OF STUDY

The Department offers the Ph.D. in Spanish peninsular literature, Latin American literature, and a combination of Luso-Brazilian and Spanish/Spanish American literatures, as indicated below, that allow the student to tailor the program to his or her interests.

There are five fields in Spanish: Medieval; Renaissance and Golden Age; Modern Spanish Peninsular (18th through 20th centuries); Spanish American Colonial; Spanish American Contemporary (19th and 20th centuries). Each has a separate required reading list.

There is one field in Portuguese, consisting of Portuguese and Brazilian literatures. Although Luso-Brazilian literature is considered as one field of study, Portuguese and Brazilian literatures have their respective lists of required readings.

DOCTORAL PROGRAM OPTIONS

The doctoral program offers: 1) a Spanish major concentrating in a single field of study (Medieval, Renaissance-Golden Age, Modern Spanish Peninsular, Spanish American Colonial, Spanish American Contemporary); 2) a combined major in Spanish and Portuguese which offers the student the opportunity to work in both Luso-Brazilian and Spanish/Spanish American literatures. In addition, the department participates in: 1) a combined Ph.D. program in Spanish and Portuguese and African American Studies offered in conjunction with the African American Studies Program; and 2) a combined Ph.D. program in Spanish and Portuguese and Renaissance Studies offered in conjunction with the Renaissance Studies Program.

M.A., M. PHIL. DEGREES "en route"

The department does not offer a separate Master's degree program, but doctoral students may earn the M.A. and the M. Phil. degrees "en route" to the Ph.D. The M.A. is awarded upon the satisfactory completion of eight term courses and two of the three language requirements (Latin and one other language). The M. Phil. is awarded upon satisfactory completion of all requirements for the Ph.D. except the prospectus and dissertation.

ADMISSIONS

Applicants should have a thorough command of the language in which they plan to specialize and a background in its literature. They should also be competent in at least one, preferably two, of the three additional languages that they will need to fulfill the requirements. All applicants must complete the general application requirements as stated in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application booklet. This includes a personal statement of 500-1000 words, which should provide a sketch of the applicant's intellectual interests, as well as his or her objectives in pursuing a graduate degree program. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English must submit scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). All applicants must submit an academic writing sample written in the language of proposed specialization; this writing sample should not exceed 25 pages in length.

UNIVERSITY AND DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP AWARDS

All applicants should complete the financial statement form provided in the application brochure. The completion of this form ensures the applicant automatic consideration for all Yale University fellowships.

Students admitted to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and who apply for financial aid typically receive five years of University Fellowship support, the first four of which currently amount to full tuition benefits and an annual stipend ($17,000 for 2006-2006) with a fifth year of support on a University Dissertation Fellowship. Notification of admission and financial aid awards are mailed during the month of March. Additionally, students are eligible for a $3,500 fellowship for summer study in each of two summers during the first five years. After achieving doctoral candidacy, the student may apply for a variety of competitive summer fellowships offered by Yale. All financial aid is contingent upon the student's remaining in good academic standing.

No teaching is done during the two years of course work. Upon completion of the required course Span 790 Methodologies of Modern Foreign Language Teaching, students normally teach one language course per semester during the third and fourth years of study. To qualify for a teaching appointment, subject always to the guidance and advice of the department faculty, a student must be registered in the Graduate School and demonstrate fluency in English.

Contingent upon being in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress on the dissertation, the student may elect either to use the Dissertation Fellowship in the fifth year or continue in the teaching program in the fifth year and take the Dissertation Fellowship in the sixth year. The Dissertation Fellowship is an academic-year fellowship that may not be held concurrently with a Yale teaching appointment of any kind. It is granted for one year only.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Application for admission should be initiated in the summer or fall before the proposed academic year of registration. Applications may be obtained from July 1 through December 12, by writing to the Graduate School Admissions Office, Yale University. P.O. Box 208236, New Haven, CT 06520-8236. All completed materials (application form, transcript(s), personal statement, academic writing sample, three letters of recommendation and recent GRE Scores and TOEFL Scores, when appropriate) should be sent to the Graduate School Admissions Office by January 2.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PH.D.

The department requires two years of course work, sixteen term courses (two of which are to be taken outside the department) with a grade of Honors in at least two courses. Course work includes two required courses: Spanish 500, History of the Spanish Language, and Spanish 790, Methodologies of Modern Foreign Language Teaching. Also required are a reading knowledge of Latin and a second language as well as a third language-literature minor. In the third year, the student is expected to pass the qualifying examination (oral and written components) and submit and receive approval of the dissertation prospectus. Upon completion of all pre-dissertation requirements, including the prospectus, students are admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. The entire program, including the dissertation, can be completed in five years.

Participation in the department's teaching and pedagogy program is a degree requirement. It consists of taking the required SPAN 790 in the second year and teaching one section per semester of a course in the beginning language sequence during the third and fourth years of study. Viewed as an integral part of the course of study for the doctorate, this program includes supervision by the director of the language program and course directors.

QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

Designed according to the student's choice of program option and area of specialization, the qualifying examination consists of written and oral components and must be completed by the end of the first semester of the third year.

PROSPECTUS

The prospectus is a preliminary statement that outlines the topic of the dissertation, discusses the reasons for its pursuit, and sets forth its theoretical and methodological framework. The prospectus must be approved by the end of the third year in the program.

DISSERTATION

The dissertation is the culmination of the student's graduate career and demonstrates the student's capability for independent and original research. The program is designed to permit the student to complete the dissertation by the end of the fifth or sixth year of study. The Dissertation Fellowship is customarily offered in either the fifth or sixth year to all students in good academic standing who are making satisfactory progress on the dissertation. This fellowship offers full support so that the student may devote full time to the completion of the dissertation.