Program Overview

Hispanic Studies

The Department of Hispanic Studies offers a range of programs for undergraduate and graduate students.

Graduate Programs

• Ph.D. in Spanish with a Concentration in Linguistics or Literature (FACE-TO-FACE)
• Ph.D. in Spanish with a Concentration in Creative Writing
• Ph.D. in Spanish with a Concentration in US Latino Literature, Language, and Culture (FACE-TO-FACE)
• M.A. with a concentration in Spanish Linguistics and/or Literature (FACE-TO-FACE)
• Online M.A. in U.S. Hispanic Studies
• Online Graduate Certificate in Spanish as a Heritage Language

Online Graduate Certificate in Spanish as a Heritage Language

The online Graduate Certificate in Spanish as a Heritage Language is a twelve (12) credit concentration open to students in all graduate, professional degree, and post-baccalaureate programs. It requires the successful completion of four (4) Hispanic Studies graduate courses (12 credit hours), including:

• SPAN 6389: Methods of Teaching Spanish to Heritage Learners
• SPAN 6397: U.S. Hispanic Culture and Civilization
• SPAN 6344: U.S. Hispanic Literature
• SPAN 6352: Sociolinguistic Aspects of U.S. Spanish

Course Descriptions

SPAN 6389: Teaching Spanish to Spanish Speakers

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the field of heritage language education (HLE), with an emphasis on the bilingual English-Spanish student of Hispanic heritage. Diverse aspects of heritage language development will be explored as well as relevant sociolinguistic and pedagogical issues.

SPAN 6352: Sociolinguistic Aspects of U.S. Spanish

The course offers students a first approach to the knowledge of basic linguistic concepts as applied to the study of the live varieties of the Spanish language spoken in the United States.

SPAN 6344: U.S. Hispanic Literature

The course will teach students how to manage the technological, bibliographic, and text resources for understanding Hispanic literature and culture of the United States, within an historical context.

SPAN 6397: U.S. Hispanic Culture and Civilization

In this course, students will learn the cultural history of Latinos in the United States through social, literary, and political topics. Students will have the opportunity to put in practice the theory learned in readings during class and will critically analyze literary works by writing and presenting on the material read in class.