BA to MA in Spanish
The Department of Anthropology and Languages offers an accelerated BA/MA program for its most talented undergraduates in the Spanish BA program. This accelerated program gives outstanding bachelor's degree students in Spanish a "fast-track" option to pursue graduate-level coursework towards the Master of Arts degree beginning in the third year of undergraduate coursework, and will count up to 12 credits of that coursework towards completion of the bachelor's degree. Graduates will receive separate BA and MA degrees, as noted on their transcripts. The program is designed to be completed in five years of full-time study, with students taking some 5500-level electives in their third or fourth year of undergraduate study along with their undergraduate coursework, and taking the remaining 5500 and 6600-level courses in their fifth and final year. For details on application and admission into the Accelerated program in Spanish, please see (Spanish).
General Requirements
The Master of Arts in Spanish requires a minimum of 30 semester credits in courses approved by the Department of Anthropology and Languages. Students must take at least 15 of these credits in courses at the 6600-level or higher.
Program Admissions Requirements
Suggested Preparatory Courses: Applicants to the combined BA/MA should plan on having completed the following courses before applying: Span 3300, Span 3301, and Span 3302.
Declared Spanish majors may apply to the program after having successfully completed 75 credits at the undergraduate level. Applications for admission must be made to the Spanish Graduate Program, and students must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for admission:
- An overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher, out of a 4.0 scale OR a GPA of 3.0 using the most recent degree-seeking GPA OR a GPA of 3.0 as calculated using the grades from the most recent 60 credits of accredited college coursework.
- A 3-5 minute video Statement of Intent spoken in the Spanish language addressing a) your experience with the language, b) your goals, and c) how this program will help you reach those goals.
- A Writing Sample in Spanish of at least 2.0 pages (approximately 1,000 words) that conforms to the traditional 5-paragraph essay structure.
- Emails of two (2) references (non-family members).
Program Performance and Progression Requirements:
- Upon admission to the BA/MA program in Spanish, students will enroll in Span 5500, offered in the spring semester, or 5501, offered in the fall semester. Either 5500 or 5501 should be taken prior to taking other graduate coursework. Students who satisfactorily complete either Span 5500 or 5501 will be allowed to enroll in up to 9 additional credits of graduate coursework during their undergraduate studies, as indicated below.
- For graduate coursework to count towards completion of the MA program, students must receive a grade of B- or better in the course.
- BA/MA pathway students who receive two grades below a B- in graduate coursework in the BA/MA program will be redirected to the traditional Spanish BA program to complete their undergraduate Spanish degree, and will be dropped from the accelerated program pathway.
Sample Accelerated Program Course Progression:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| SPAN 5501 | Graduate Discourse | 3 |
| SPAN 4400/SPAN 5500 | 3 | |
| SPAN 3341/SPAN 5541 | 3 | |
| SPAN 3342 | Survey of Latin American Cultures | 3 |
| OR | ||
| SPAN 5542 | Survey of Latin American Literature and Civilization | 3 |
| Select at least 6 credits of elective coursework from SPAN, LANG, or GLBL, which could include: | ||
| SPAN 3375/SPAN 6675 | 3 | |
| SPAN 6676 | Topics in Culture and Literatures II | 3 |
| Total Credits: | 43 | |
Accelerated program students may take a MAXIMUM of 12 credits at the graduate level during their undergraduate studies.
All required courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C- (C minus) for the BA degree in Spanish.
All courses must be completed with a minimum of a B- (B minus) or better to count toward the MA degree in Spanish.
Graduate coursework in which a student receives a grade lower than a B- (B minus) but higher than a C- (C minus) will count toward successful completion of the BA degree in Spanish, but will not count toward the MA degree in Spanish.