The School of International Letters and Cultures offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree in two concentrations:
Students will be admitted for a Ph.D. at large. Within the second semester of their studies, they will have to declare their Concentration and propose a tentative program of studies; at that time, specific deficiencies may be declared (in addition to those established prior to admission).
The Ph.D. in Spanish consists of 30 semester hours of graduate level work (10 graduate courses) beyond the M.A. plus 24 research credits. 30 hours of graduate course work are considered the minimum for a doctoral program and must be taken at ASU. Depending on the student’s educational experience, the Graduate Committee or Doctoral Supervisory Committee may request that s/he take more credits to correct deficiencies.
The intent of the Ph.D. program in Spanish is to be as flexible as possible. Recognizing the many demands put upon the scholar in the modern world and the wide variety of specialized interests, every attempt will be made to plan a program of study that will best prepare the candidate for a productive career in the discipline of Hispanic studies. Thus, rather than specifying a general and rigid program of courses, broad areas of competence, to be measured by the written and oral comprehensive examination administered at the end of formal course work and prior to the execution of the dissertation, have been established. It will be the student's responsibility to prepare these areas, through formal course work, through reading and conference courses, and through guided independent study in consultation with his/her committee and with the graduate faculty in general.
Admission Requirements
All candidates for the Ph.D. degree in Spanish must fulfill the general requirements of the Graduate College concerning admission and residence. Candidates for the doctorate in Spanish will be required to demonstrate a near-native oral proficiency in Spanish and to show that they have developed a high order of expository prose in English and Spanish by presenting a term paper or a chapter of the M.A. thesis. The Spanish Graduate Program requires a 3.75 overall grade point average (4.0 = A). Admission to the Spanish doctoral program requires the candidate to present a M.A. in Spanish or equivalent from an accredited institution. The committee may request letters of recommendation regarding the applicant's command of Spanish and potential for doctoral work. A personal interview may also be appropriate. It is recommended, but not required, that students applying for admission to the M.A. or Ph.D. program submit scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) ; this is especially advisable for the applicants for Spanish Graduate Fellowship Award.
For further information on admissions and applications click here.
Spanish Graduate Fellowship Awards
The Spanish program, through a special initiative made available by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will offer the Spanish Graduate Fellowship Award (SGFA) as a stipend to be awarded annually in addition to the Teaching Associateship to one or two of the most outstanding applicants to Ph.D. program in Spanish. The combined stipend and Teaching Associateship total $20,000. For more information click here.
Language Reading Knowledge Requirement
Each prospective candidate is expected to demonstrate a reading knowledge of two languages other than Spanish. One of these languages should be Portuguese.