Coursework:
A total of sixteen courses at the graduate level is required. Nine correspond to requirements of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and seven to those of the Renaissance Studies Program. Of the nine courses taken in Spanish and Portuguese, two are required: Spanish 790, Methodologies of Modern Foreign Language Teaching, and Spanish 500, History of the Spanish Language. Of the remaining seven, three or four will be in Spanish and/or Portuguese literature from the medieval period through the seventeenth century, and the balance (four or three) will be in the literature of Spain’s and/or Portugal’s ultramarine possessions. The student doing the combined degree program may elect to devote his or her departmental course work to either Hispanic or Luso-Brazilian literatures or do a combination of both in a distribution to be determined by the student in consultation with his or her departmental advisor(s). Of the seven courses taken in Renaissance Studies, two will be term courses of the Renaissance Studies Core Course. Of the five additional courses in Renaissance Studies, two will be in a literature or literatures other than Spanish and/or Portuguese and three will be taken in other departments (History, History of Art, Religious Studies, Philosophy, etc.)
Language Requirements:
Students selecting this option are expected to have a strong command of Spanish and/or Portuguese as well as English. In addition, the following requirements must be met:
Latin, as set by the Renaissance Studies program (passing a one-hour translation examination in Renaissance Latin prose);Italian, as set by the Renaissance Studies program (successful completion of a one-hour translation exam in sixteenth-century Italian prose and a one-hour translation exam in modern Italian scholarship);Demonstration of reading/translation proficiency in one of the following languages: French, German, Greek, Portuguese (available to students doing departmental course work exclusively in Spanish), Spanish (available to students doing departmental course work exclusively in Portuguese), or another language relevant to the student’s specialization. Students doing their departmental course work in a combination of Spanish-language and Portuguese-language courses will be understood to have satisfied this third reading knowledge requirement so long as the courses are taught and the readings done in the relevant Romance language. If the course work in either Hispanic or Luso-Brazilian literatures is done in English, then the student will be expected to demonstrate proficiency by taking a one-hour translation exam in the sixteenth-century prose of the relevant language.
One language requirement must be satisfied by the end of the first year of study, if not upon entrance into the program (preferably Latin or Italian); the remaining requirement (for students doing both Spanish- and Portuguese-language literatures) or requirements (for the student working exclusively in either Spanish or Portuguese) must be satisfied by the end of the second year.
Qualifying Examination:
Written component: 1) a two-hour examination in peninsular Spanish and/or Portuguese literatures, 2) a two-hour exam in the ultramarine literatures of Spain and/or Portugal.
Oral component: Eight 15-minute questions, distributed as follows: four in Spanish/Portuguese peninsular/ultramarine literatures (medieval period through the seventeenth century), and four in Renaissance Studies (two questions on a non-Spanish/Portuguese literature, and two questions from extra-literary fields such as History, History of Art, Religious Studies, etc.).
Prospectus:
In this combined Spanish and Portuguese/Renaissance Studies program, the dissertation project should be carefully planned with faculty members from the relevant departments specializing in the respective areas. The prospectus should meet the approval of the student’s advisor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Renaissance Studies Program member advising the student. The prospectus must include a presentation of the topic to be investigated, an explanation of the reasons for its significance, and a description of the theoretical and methodological framework to be employed. The prospectus must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, who will circulate it to the departmental faculty for their review and approval; the prospectus will likewise be submitted to the Renaissance Studies Program for review and approval by the faculty member(s) working with the student. The prospectus must be submitted and approved by the faculty by the beginning of the seventh semester of enrollment. Failure to meet this deadline will result in suspension of registration privileges by the Graduate School. The deadline for the submission of the dissertation prospectus in either semester is the Monday of the final week of classes.
Dissertation:
The dissertation is to achieve a strong disciplinary (i.e., Spanish, Portuguese, or Spanish/Portuguese) identity while at the same time projecting a clear Renaissance Studies profile. The dissertation normally will be directed from within the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and there will be at least one reader from the Renaissance Studies Executive Committee