PURPOSE
The Ph.D. Program provides preparation for teaching and research in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian languages and literatures.
ADMISSION
An M.A. degree is required prior to work on the Ph.D. The Department will determine whether work completed for the M.A. degree at Tulane or elsewhere qualifies the student for admission; if no thesis was written for the M.A., a copy of a graduate research paper must be submitted to the Department at the time of application for consideration by a departmental committee. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for all applicants, and in addition the TOEFL is required for foreign applicants. Applications must be complete by February 1 for admission with a teaching assistantship.
REQUIREMENT FOR CONTINUATION
For students completing the M.A. degree at Tulane, admission to further study leading to the doctorate is subject to three conditions:
1. successful performance on the M.A. examination,
2. favorable vote of the faculty, taking into account the exam, the student's completed course work,
and an assessment of the student’s potential for performing independent research.
RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT
Tulane Graduate School Regulations call for the minimum payment of tuition and fees equivalent to the total due for three years (six semesters) in full-time residence status. Up to one year (24 hours) full tuition and fees may be waived by transfer from graduate work done elsewhere; students who completed the M.A. in the department at Tulane will transfer 30 hours to the Ph.D.
TRANSFER CREDIT
Up to 24 hours of graduate credit may be accepted from another university (30 hours from Tulane), subject to the candidate's satisfactory completion of one semester of work in the department.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A minimum of 51 hours (17 courses), including M.A. course work, are required. For students entering with an M.A. completed elsewhere, a minimum of 27 hours (9 courses) must be completed. Required courses include the following:
SPAN 610 Literary Theory
3 courses in a secondary field (see below)
2 700-level seminars (711-799) beyond the M.A. level
3 electives in the Department
Secondary field: All Ph.D. students are required to do a certain amount of work in one additional field. Secondary fields may be taken in another department or program such as Portuguese, Latin American Studies, Women's Studies, Linguistics, Film Studies or Literary Theory. With the exception of the 700-level seminar requirement, students will not be able to count a course for two different categories. For example, a course on Spanish American literature will not be counted both for a major in that area and for a secondary field in Latin American Studies.
GRADES
Attention is called to the grading system as described in the Graduate Bulletin. "I" or incomplete grades automatically become "U" unless the work is made up within 30 days of the end of the semester in which reported. Graduate School policy is that a combination of two "B-" or "U" grades usually indicates that a student's work is unsatisfactory and that he or she should discontinue graduate study. Graduate students must maintain a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 or above. A students whose GPA falls below 3.5 may be dropped from the program.
TIME LIMIT
If financial aid in any form is granted from funds controlled by Tulane it is for a maximum of five years to the Ph.D. for students who enter the Tulane graduate program without an M.A. Students who enter the Ph.D. program here after completing an M.A. elsewhere will have a maximum of four years of support at Tulane. Only in unusual cases, and with the approval of the department chair and the Dean of the Graduate School, will credit remain valid for courses taken more than six calendar years before the date of the Qualifying Examination. Students ordinarily must complete the requirements for the Ph.D. degree within seven years from the date of the first graduate registration.
TEACHING
All Ph.D. and M.A. candidates must demonstrate teaching competency as part of their training toward the degree. The amount and type of teaching required to attain competency will be determined by the department. Incoming students who have not studied teaching methodology are required to take Spanish 601 (Methods of Teaching). This applies to all Ph.D. and M.A. candidates, regardless of whether they are receiving financial support from the University. The form of teaching experience can vary with the individual. Teaching assistantships are not renewable after five years.
READING KNOWLEDGE EXAMINATIONS
For the Ph.D., reading knowledge is required of two languages other than English and the language studied. This requirement may be satisfied by passing a translation and reading-comprehension examination, or by successfully completing a 600- or 700-level course in the language.
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION
FACULTY COMMITTEE
Students who have just passed the M.A. exam in the fourth semester of study at Tulane, and students with an M.A. from elsewhere, now in their fourth semester at Tulane, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, will choose a faculty adviser for assistance in forming a three-member Faculty Committee to provide guidance in developing a dissertation project and in identifying pertinent related areas of study for inclusion on the Qualifying Examination. It is understood that the adviser and the Faculty Committee may be changed as the student gets a clearer idea or his or her interests.
DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS PLAN
During the fourth semester of study for students entering with a completed M.A. and the sixth semester of study for students who have passed the Tulane M.A. exam, in consultation with the Faculty Committee, the student will present a plan for the dissertation and a set of six topics, along with a rationale explaining the relationship of the topics to the dissertation. This will form the basis of the major section of the Qualifying Examination. The Committee will review the rationale and Examination topics and may provide suggestions for improvement. This must be completed by the end of the relevant semester. The topics to be presented to the Faculty Committee should include the following:
1. the title of the topic
2. a brief abstract (approximately one paragraph) explaining the topic and its pertinence to the dissertation
3. a Bibliography that includes a list of primary works and relevant critical/theoretical texts. (The Committee may also suggest pertinent critical texts)
MINOR FIELDS
At the same time, the student should present a list of three topics for each of the two minor field areas, along with a rationale explaining their relevance to the major area and to the dissertation. A similar requierement governs the minor fields: a title, a brief abstract, and a list of primary works and critical references. Where suitable, a minor may be done in Portuguese. At this point the list should be considered complete.
DEADLINES FOR MODIFICATIONS
Modifications to any of the three lists (the major and two minors) must be approved by the Committee no later than the last week of the semester before the Qualifying Examination semester.
PROSPECTUS
Two weeks after the student has completed her/his exams, an 8-10 page Dissertation Prospectus, including Bibliography, should be turned in to the Dissertation Committee. There will be an oral defense of the Prospectus by the candidate to her/his Dissertation Committee, one month after notification of successful exam results.
FAILURE OR POSTPONEMENT OF THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATIONS
If a student fails one or more questions on the Qualifying Examination, a make-up exam is required a month before the end of the semester. If the dissertation prospectus is not acceptable, it should be revised and filed by the end of the semester of the exams. Formal admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree is not granted until the student has completed course work, passed the Qualifying Examination, fulfilled the two foreign-language requirements, and submitted an acceptable prospectus of the dissertation. Only under exceptional circumstances will a postponement of the Qualifying Examination be permitted. These include physical ill health, mental or psychiatric problems (such as depression), or any kind of incapacitating injury. All such contingencies, however, must be documented by a recognized medical authority. The Guidelines covering such cases are the same as those established by the Federal Government. Other contingencies include a family catastrophe, the death of a close relative, or funeral at short notice related to such deaths. In all such circumstances the Director of Graduate Studies should be notified as soon as possible about the crisis. Changes in area of concentration, academic interest, or field of intended research do not constitute admissible grounds for a postponement. All cases of requests for postponement will be reviewed on a person-by-person basis.
DISSERTATION
A dissertation prospectus must be submitted as part of the Qualifying Examination, as explained above. For other regulations governing the dissertation, see the general description in the Graduate Catalog. The finished dissertation should be submitted to the committee no later than four years after the qualifying exam has been passed.
DISSERTATION DEFENSE
This examination will be primarily a defense of the dissertation and a discussion of the candidate's field of specialization. It can be scheduled only after the dissertation has been approved, and four weeks must be allowed for the reading of the dissertation by the committee. After the defense, students will be responsible for making any corrections that the committee deems necessary. See the calendar in the Graduate Bulletin for the last day for acceptance by the Graduate School of approved dissertations.
Revised Fall, 2001
Effective beginning the incoming class of Fall, 2001
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