Admission
The applicant must hold, or anticipate completing by the time of admission, a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university or the equivalent degree from a foreign university. The applicant is expected to have a minimum of one advanced Spanish grammar course and one advanced Spanish conversation and composition course; to have a minimum of 9 semester hours in areas including Spanish phonetics and pronunciation, advanced Spanish syntax, and general linguistic theory or their equivalent; to have a minimum grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4-point scale overall; and to have a minimum of 3.4 on a 4-point scale in Spanish.

Requirements
Upon entering the program, the student establishes his/her degree study program in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. The student is required to complete a minimum of 31 graduate units in Hispanic Linguistics distributed as follows:

(1) Nine units in General Introductory Hispanic Linguistics

(2) Nine units in Second Language Theories and Applications

(3) Nine units in Linguistic Theories and Applications

(4) One 3-unit seminar in Hispanic linguistics (SPAN-696D)

(5) A 1-unit Pro-Seminar taken in the first semester of residence

(6) Graduate Assistants in Teaching (GATs) in Spanish and Portuguese are required to complete a language teaching methodology course (SPAN-581) before or during their first semester of classroom teaching. This course counts as one of the student's requirements in Second Language Theories and Applications.

In addition, the student must pass a comprehensive written examination in the field of Hispanic linguistics taken upon completion of all course work or write and defend an M.A. Thesis.

Foreign Language Requirement
In addition to the above requirements, all students entering the M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics program in January 2003 and later are required to pass a proficiency exam in a language other than English or Spanish prior to taking their comprehensive exams.

(Approved: April 5, 2002)

It is a necessary academic requirement that all M.A. candidates in Hispanic Linguistics demonstrate "reading knowledge" of a natural language other than Spanish and English, preferably a Romance language (otherwise, a language that has a direct bearing on the candidate's research and/or studies). The level of proficiency expected is that of passing an advanced 300-level grammar and writing course with a grade of B or higher.

The candidate must meet this language requirement BEFORE--and as a condition towards--taking the written Comprehensive Exams.

The foreign language requirement may be met in one of the following ways:

1. For students who complete the requirement at the University of Arizona: Successful completion of course work to the advanced level in a language other than English or Spanish, with an average grade of B or higher. The course work must include a 300-level intermediate/advanced grammar course taught and examined in the target language (typically xxxx-325 or 305, depending on the department).*

2. For students with course work in a language other than English or Spanish from an accredited institution: The student will meet with the Graduate Advisor to determine whether or not the course work satisfies the foreign language requirement. The Graduate Advisor may require, at his/her discretion, that the student take additional course work and/or pass a proficiency exam in the language of choice. The format and content of the exam will be determined in conjunction with the Graduate Advisor and a qualified instructor of the chosen language.

3. Students who are native speakers of a language other than English and Spanish may have this requirement waived with the approval of the Graduate Advisor.

*Note: Students that enter the M.A. program in Hispanic Linguistics without any formal instruction in a language other than English or Spanish may complete the foreign language requirement in two semesters if they choose to study Portuguese. In this case, the student must complete the following courses with an average grade of B or higher:

PORT-305: Portuguese for Spanish Speakers

PORT-325: Intermediate Grammar and Conversation