Hispanic Studies, MA

Admission Requirements

We require a B.A. in Hispanic Studies or a related area, demonstrated fluency in Spanish and English, strong letters of reference and a representative research essay from the candidate’s prior academic work. Graduate Record Examination scores are required for admission. Foreign students must pass the TOEFL with the minimum required score of 79 on the Internet/IBT version. Supervised teaching experience within the department is a requirement for both the M.A. and Doctoral degrees. 

Degree Requirements  

36 credit hours total. Reading knowledge of one foreign language in addition to Spanish and/or English; successful completion of SPA 553 TEACHING OF SPANISH , SPA 600 INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH LINGUISTICS , SPA 606 INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THEORY AND CULTURAL STUDIES  and SPA 770 INTRODUCTION TO HISPANIC STUDIES . Successful completion of an additional 24 hours of credits of which 6 may be taken at the 500 level (24 credits must be taken at the 600 level or above). The M.A. is granted to a student who has successfully passed a written and oral examination after completing the required coursework. One half of the exam is designed to test the candidate’s knowledge of the M.A. Reading List (located at https://hs.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Post-May%202015%20MA%20Reading%20List.pdf) and the other half is based on the candidate’s graduate-level coursework. A student who plans to complete only the M.A. degree (or is not admitted into the Ph.D. program) has four semesters to complete the coursework towards the MA. M.A. exams are given in August and January.  

NOTE: Students who are admitted into the Ph.D. program during the fourth semester of coursework are not required to take an M.A. exam after four semesters. The M.A. degree will be conferred to them upon successful completion of the doctoral Qualifying Exam. Students who enter the program with an M.A. from another institution will be evaluated by the Graduate Studies Committee at the beginning of the third semester of coursework. If the committee deems the student’s work acceptable, the student may then go on to complete the PhD requirement. If the work is deemed unacceptable, the student will be required to pass the MA exam before proceeding on to the Ph.D