Modern Foreign Languages Major, PhD

The PhD with a major in modern foreign languages requires advanced training in a major language (French, German, Spanish) and either a second language (French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish), applied linguistics or Latin American Studies.

Admission

Applicants must have completed a BA in French, German or Spanish to be accepted into this program. Both graduates of institutions in the United States and those with undergraduate degrees from institutions outside the United States must have a grade point average of at least 3.0. Consideration will also be given to applicants who do not have an undergraduate degree in one of the three foreign languages but do have the equivalent of an undergraduate major in one of them.

Requirements

Candidates must complete a minimum of 63 hours of course work beyond the bachelor’s degree in addition to 24 hours of doctoral research and dissertation.

For candidates with French or Spanish as a first concentration, two tracks are available.

• Track I. The course work for Track I must be distributed as follows: at least 39 hours in the first concentration; at least 18 hours in the second concentration; and at least 6 hours in a cognate field or in either the first or second concentration as approved by the student’s graduate committee. 
• Track II. The course work for Track II must be distributed in this way: at least 45 hours in the first concentration; at least 12 hours in the second concentration; and at least 6 hours in a cognate field or in either the first or second concentration as approved by the student’s graduate committee. Students choosing Latin American Studies as their second concentration will take 6 graduate hours in an appropriate language area that is outside their primary concentration (either French, Portuguese, or Spanish), and in addition 12 graduate hours in Latin American Studies classes outside of the primary concentration.

Please note: Graduate students who select Track II and do not combine their cognate field (6 hours) and the field of the second concentration (12 hours) will normally not be eligible to teach their field of the second concentration at institutions which follow SACS guidelines for college foreign language teaching. SACS requires a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours for eligibility to teach a given field at the college level. Students who choose to combine the second concentration (Track II) with the 6 hours in the cognate field will have a minimum of 18 hours in the field of the second concentration, and they will therefore be eligible to teach the field of the second concentration at institutions that follow SACS guidelines.

The course work for all concentrations must be distributed as follows:

• First Concentration: German. A minimum of 39 hours of German courses beyond the bachelor’s degree, distributed as follows.
  
  • 400 level – A maximum of 6 hours of 400-level classes taken for the MA may be applied. 
  • 500 level – A minimum of 21 hours must be taken. These must include MFLL 512 , GERM 519  and GERM 560 . Thesis hours are excluded. If MFLL 512 is used as part of a second concentration in applied linguistics, another course must be substituted in the first concentration. 
  • 600 level – A minimum of 12 hours must be taken, exclusive of dissertation hours.
• First Concentration: French or Spanish. A minimum of either 39 (Track I) or 45 (Track II) hours of French or Spanish courses beyond the bachelor’s degree, distributed as follows.
  
  • 400 level – A maximum of 6 hours of 400-level classes taken for the MA may be applied. 
  • 500 level – A minimum of 21 (Track I) or 27 (Track II) hours must be taken. These must include MFLL 512 , FREN 519 , FREN 584  for students with a first concentration in French, or MFLL 512  and SPAN 550  for students with a concentration in Spanish. Thesis hours are excluded. If MFLL 512 is used as part of a second concentration in applied linguistics, another course must be substituted in the first concentration. 
  • 600 level – A minimum of 12 hours must be taken, exclusive of dissertation hours.
• Second Concentration. A minimum of 18 (German or Track I) or 12 (Track II) hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, taken in the field of Latin American Studies, applied linguistics or in a second language, either French,  German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish. For Track I and German, 12 of these hours must be at the 500 level or above. For Track II, 3 of these hours must be at the 500 level or above.
  
  • French students choosing applied linguistics must take French FREN 421 ; FREN 425 ; MFLL 512 ; and 9 (Track I) or 3 (Track II) hours of appropriate electives in English or French. The student’s graduate advisor must approve the electives chosen. 
  • German students choosing applied linguistics must take GERM 425 , GERM 435  or GERM 510 , MFLL 512 , 3 hours of German linguistics, such as GERM 426 , GERM 436 , GERM 631 , or GERM 632 , and 6 hours of linguistics  electives in English or German. The student’s graduate advisor must approve the electives chosen. 
  • Spanish students choosing applied linguistics must take SPAN 421 , SPAN 425 ; MFLL 512 ; and 9 (Track I) or 3 (Track II) hours of appropriate electives in English or Spanish. The student’s graduate advisor must approve the electives chosen. 
  • Second concentration in Latin American Studies. The second concentration in Latin American Studies combines the current second concentration of Track II (12 hours) and the cognate area (6 hours). Students choosing Latin American Studies as their second concentration will take 6 graduate hours in an appropriate language area that is outside their primary concentration (either French, Portuguese, or Spanish), and in addition 12 graduate hours in Latin American Studies classes outside of the primary concentration. This combination reinforces a student’s first concentration that requires 45 credit hours beyond the BA degree in the primary language and literature area. Although the principal target audience consists of doctoral students in Spanish, and especially those with a Latin American specialization, the second concentration in Latin American Studies is available to all Ph.D. Students in Modern Foreign Languages.
    
    The 18-hour concentration in Latin American Studies consists of the following requirements:
    
    
    • Two courses (6 credit hours) at the 400 or 500 level in French, Portuguese, or Spanish, but outside of the student’s first concentration language. Both classes must be taken in the same language area and need to be conducted in the target language. 
    • History 475 (Studies in Latin American History) (3 credit hours); 
    • Three additional graduate courses in at least 2 disciplines outside of the student’s primary concentration. (e.g., Cinema Studies, French, History, Political Science, Portuguese, Sociology, Spanish). These courses must be approved by the student’s graduate advisor, and at least one of these three courses (a minimum of three graduate credit hours) must be taken at the 500 level. Consult with the Chair of Latin American Studies for course selection and approval.
• Cognate Field. Six hours in graduate courses numbered 400 and above in a field outside the department or language family of the first concentration but related to the student’s principal area of research. Students choosing applied linguistics as a second concentration are strongly urged to take their cognate work in a second language, and students choosing Latin American Studies as a second concentration are required to take 6 graduate credit hours outside their primary concentration in either French, Portuguese or Spanish in lieu of the cognate area. Students who select applied linguistics, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish as their area of second concentration may seek the approval of their graduate committee to substitute the 6 hours in the cognate field by 6 hours in either the first or second concentration. 
• Additional requirements. For any languages taken as a first or second concentration, a student must demonstrate competence by taking a test. The test will include reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and should be completed by the time the student reaches 40 hours of study beyond the bachelor’s degree. Standardized examinations that may be used for this purpose include applicable portions of either the National Teachers Examination, the MLA Examination for Teachers and Advanced Students, or the proficiency standards of the United States Foreign Service Institute (FSI).

For students choosing applied linguistics as an area of second concentration, reading competence in a second language is required. Competence will be determined by translation of a text from the foreign language into English, the test will be administered by the department.

A comprehensive examination must be passed before the student may be admitted to candidacy. The candidate is required to defend his/her dissertation in an oral examination. Central emphasis is put on the doctoral dissertation as a final test of the candidate’s scholarly qualifications.

Graduate Teaching Assistants with a second concentration in another language should have the opportunity and will be strongly encouraged to instruct in the languages of both their first and second concentration, subject to staffing needs.

Doctoral students are strongly encouraged to reside and study abroad and will be assisted in identifying potential sources of financial support (e.g., Fulbright, McClure, Rotary fellowships).