Graduate Programs
Graduate Programs
The Graduate Reading Exam in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish will be given on Monday, April 2 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in Room 204 O'Shaughnessy Hall. Please fill in this form and send or bring to Linda Rule at linda.rule@nd.edu (343 O'Shaughnessy Hall) or you may send me an email with the same information.
The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures offers the M.A. degree in French and Francophone Studies, Italian Studies, and Iberian and Latin American Studies. The primary aim of the master's program is to provide students with a comprehensive background in the literary and cultural achievements of French-, Italian- and Spanish-speaking countries from an interdisciplinary approach. Our course of study is especially well-suited to those students desiring close contact with scholars in the field, whether for guidance or for more focused study.
Applications must be completed online using the Graduate School's Apply Yourself website. Please go to the Graduate School's website link to apply.
Students interested in pursuing the Ph.D. with French and Francophone, Iberian and Latin American or Italian Studies as a primary field may consider the Ph.D. program in Literature, which focuses on the study of literature from a transnational and intercultural perspective. The Medieval Institute also offers opportunities for doctoral-level study in Romance Languages.
General Program Requirements
All candidates are expected to take a minimum of 30 credit hours in their field of specialization, including required courses in literary criticism and comparative literature. Students preparing for a career in teaching have the opportunity to teach several language courses before completion of the master's degree. A preliminary workshop, "Methods of Foreign Language Teaching" and "Practicum in Teaching" are required of all graduate teaching assistants.
During the second semester of the first year of study, students must pass an oral qualifying examination. The candidate will choose from a selection of texts and demonstrate competency in the analysis of a literary text in the language of specialization. The Master's Program is concluded at the end of the second year with a comprehensive written examination based on a reading list given to the student upon arrival. Before taking the comprehensive exam, students must demonstrate competency in a second foreign language by passing a reading exam or through successful completion of appropriate course work. Students are encourage to fulfill the departmental language requirement by studying another Romance language.
For more information on our graduate programs, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies. For individual program requirements, please click on the relevant link to the left.
