The Department of Romance Languages offers programs of study leading to the degree of master of arts (MA) in Romance languages, French, Italian, or Spanish and to the degree of doctor of philosophy (PhD) in Romance languages.
The master’s degree program provides solid grounding and broad coverage in the literatures and cultures of each of the language areas. The PhD program allows students to focus on a specific literary and/or cultural field of interest.
Students follow these degree programs in an intellectually stimulating and supportive environment, characterized by close personal supervision, interdisciplinary approaches to literary and cultural studies, and professional training in both research methods and foreign-language pedagogy.
The university’s library resources for research in French, Italian, and Spanish support the department’s graduate programs; in some fields they are outstanding. The library’s holdings of learned periodicals are extensive.
Admission
An applicant for admission to the master of arts (MA) program should have completed an undergraduate major in a Romance language and literature or its equivalent (e.g., licence, laurea, licenciatura). Students with a degree in another discipline may apply, provided they have a good knowledge of at least one Romance language and are familiar with one Romance literature.
An applicant for admission to the PhD program should have completed a master of arts degree in a Romance language and literature or its equivalent. Students should have at least a reading knowledge of a second Romance language upon entering the PhD program.
Admission Procedure
Applications may be made online at rl.uoregon.edu/graduate/admissions. Applicants are required to
- upload transcripts
- submit a 750-word statement of purpose describing academic experience, the reasons for wanting to do graduate work in the Department of Romance Languages, and eventual career goals. Students applying to the PhD program are encouraged to specify research interests
- submit three letters of recommendation from faculty members who can directly comment on the applicant’s language competence and aptitude for graduate studies in literature. One letter may refer to potential teaching ability
International students must demonstrate proficiency in English to the Graduate School and the Department of Romance Languages by one of the following three methods:
- Submit an acceptable score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination, currently offered in paper-based (written) or Internet-based formats. A minimum score of 575 on the paper-based test or 88 on the Internet-based test is required. More information on Graduate School admission requirements may be found at gradschool.uoregon.edu/academic-programs?page=gradProgramInfo
- Submit an acceptable score from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination. The minimum IELTS (academic module) overall band score for graduate admission is 7.0
- Submit degree transcripts proving that you have received a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited U.S. institution or from an institution in the following countries: Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom
If applying to the PhD program, submit a substantial writing sample (e.g., master’s thesis graduate seminar paper or master’s-level research paper on a relevant topic).
In addition to the application, send all official transcripts showing college-level work as of the date of application to the department’s graduate coordinator at the following address:
University of Oregon
Department of Romance Languages
1233 University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon 97403-1233
Priority is given to applicants whose files are complete by January 6. The department’s graduate admissions committee reviews the completed file and notifies each applicant of its decision. New students are typically admitted to the program for fall term.
Graduate Employee Opportunities
Graduate employee (GE) opportunities are available each year for new graduate students in the department. Students should apply to the department by January 6 for fall admission and appointment priority. In exceptional cases, these fellowships may be supplemented by academic scholarships and awards.
Students who hold a graduate employee (GE) appointment are required to register and complete a minimum of 9 graduate credits during each quarter of their appointment, all of which must apply toward their degree programs. GTF support to complete the master’s degree program is two years.
Master of Arts Program
Students entering the MA program may specialize in French, Italian, or Spanish, or combine two of these fields for a major in Romance languages. The master of arts program consists of course work, written examinations, and a research project. The program is designed to be completed in two years.
To help students navigate requirements, a faculty advisor is assigned by the department during fall term of the first year. Students may change advisors later if they wish.
Degree Requirements
All courses must be taken on a graded basis. Course work must be completed with grades of B– or better, and a grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or better must be maintained.
A student whose knowledge of the language or languages is found to be deficient must take remedial work—an advanced writing class, additional study abroad, or some form of language immersion.
Master of Arts: French
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| RL 608 | Workshop: [Topic] 1 | 2-4 |
| RL 620 | Graduate Study in Romance Languages 2 | 2-4 |
| RL 623 | Romance Languages Colloquium: [Topic] 3 | 2-4 |
| RL 607 | Seminar: [Topic] 3 | 2 |
| Two graduate-level courses in medieval and Renaissance literature | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in 17th–18th centuries literature | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in literature from 1830 to 1945 | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in literature from 1945 to the present | 8 | |
| French language courses | 12 | |
| Research project | ||
| Total Credits | 52-58 | |
| 1 | Taken fall term of first year. |
| 2 | Taken winter term of first year. |
| 3 | Taken in preparation for second-year fall forum. |
Master of Arts: Italian
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| RL 608 | Workshop: [Topic] 1 | 2-4 |
| RL 620 | Graduate Study in Romance Languages 2 | 2-4 |
| RL 623 | Romance Languages Colloquium: [Topic] 3 | 2-4 |
| RL 607 | Seminar: [Topic] 3 | 2 |
| Two graduate-level courses in medieval literature | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in Renaissance literature | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in 17th–19th century literature | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in literature from 20th century to the present | 8 | |
| Italian language courses | 12 | |
| Research project | ||
| Total Credits | 52-58 | |
| 1 | Taken fall term of first year. |
| 2 | Taken winter term of first year. |
| 3 | Taken in preparation for second-year fall forum. |
Master of Arts: Spanish
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| RL 608 | Workshop: [Topic] 1 | 2-4 |
| RL 620 | Graduate Study in Romance Languages 2 | 2-4 |
| RL 623 | Romance Languages Colloquium: [Topic] 3 | 2-4 |
| RL 607 | Seminar: [Topic] 3 | 2 |
| Two graduate-level courses in literature from 11th century to 1605 | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in literature from 1605 to 1810 | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in literature from 1810 to 1939 | 8 | |
| Two graduate-level courses in literature from 1939 to the present | 8 | |
| Spanish language courses | 12 | |
| Research project | ||
| Total Credits | 52-58 | |
| 1 | Taken fall term of first year. |
| 2 | Taken winter term of first year. |
| 3 | Taken in preparation for second-year fall forum. |
Master of Arts: Romance Language
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| RL 608 | Workshop: [Topic] 1 | 2-4 |
| RL 620 | Graduate Study in Romance Languages 2 | 2-4 |
| RL 623 | Romance Languages Colloquium: [Topic] 3 | 2-4 |
| RL 607 | Seminar: [Topic] 3 | 2 |
| Graduate-level course in each literary period in major language (see Literary Periods list) | 16 | |
| Graduate-level course in each of two periods in major language | 8 | |
| Graduate-level course in each literary period in minor language | 16 | |
| Research project | ||
| Total Credits | 48-54 | |
Literary Periods
- French
- medieval and Renaissance
- 17th–18th centuries
- 1830–1945
- 1945 to the present
- Italian
- medieval
- Renaissance
- 17th–19th centuries
- 20th century to the present
- Spanish
- 11th century–1605
- 1605–1810
- 1810–1939
- 1939 to the present
Master of Arts Research Project
The degree requires a research project (either a master's essay or a pedagogy portfolio) that allows a student to expand his or her expertise in literary and cultural studies or in teaching language, literature, and culture. A faculty member oversees the development of the final product and evaluates it. The student must identify a faculty member willing to serve as director and secure his or her signature of approval for the project by the ninth week of spring term of the first year.
The research project should be between 6,000 and 9,000 words. In consultation with the research project director, the student chooses whether to write the project in a Romance language or in English.
Research projects are approved by the director and are referred to the student’s MA examination committee (see below) for remediation if the work is found to be deficient or in need of revision. The director submits a final copy of the approved essay or portfolio to the department office by the last day of classes in spring term of the second year.
Essay in Literary and Cultural Studies
This essay allows students to widen their knowledge in one or more Romance languages, literatures, and cultures. In addition, the essay permits students to focus in greater depth on writing formal academic prose, presenting an interpretation, constructing an argument, documenting sources and references, and honing persuasive strategies. At the end of the first year of study, the student chooses one of the seminar papers that he or she submitted during the first three terms of course work. During the summer session immediately following, the student expands and polishes the paper.
Students who plan to apply for the PhD program in Romance languages at the University of Oregon must complete an essay in literary and cultural studies.
MA Pedagogy Portfolio in Teaching Language, Literature, and Culture
This project allows students to explore in depth specific issues of teaching a Romance language, its literature and cultures. The portfolio is designed in consultation with the director and serves to demonstrate the student’s professional expertise. The portfolio may include the following documents: a coherent collection of teaching materials supported by a theoretical rationale; a description, personal assessment, and third-party evaluation of an internship experience (e.g., a participatory learning experience at the UO); a formal "philosophy of teaching" statement; documentation of participation in a professional conference; and other components as recommended by the director.
Students who plan to apply for the doctoral program in Romance languages at the University of Oregon must complete a master of arts essay in literary and cultural studies.
Examinations
The master of arts examination comprises two four-hour exams taken in the seventh week of spring term in the second year.
For students studying for the MA in French, Italian, or Spanish, the first exam consists of one specific question in each of the four literary periods. The second exam consists of a detailed analysis of a short text in two parts: a close reading of the text and a consideration of the text in its social, historical, cultural, and/or literary contexts. The student, in consultation with the examination committee, chooses in which of the four periods this second exam is done.
The exams for the Romance languages MA are similar to those for French, Italian and Spanish. However, in the first exam students are asked to draw on examples from both their major and minor literatures in their answer to at least one of the questions. They are encouraged (but not required) to refer to both literatures in their answers to the other three short questions.
The graduate secretary informs the students and the examination committee members of the scheduled exam date.
Examination Committee
By the sixth week of fall term in the second year, students submit to their advisors and to the director of graduate studies an MA Examination Committee form with the names of faculty members suggested to cover other examination periods and signed by the committee chair.
By the end of the tenth week of fall term in the second year, students submit a preliminary examination reading list of literary works on which to be examined to the members of their exam committees and to the director of graduate studies.
Examination Reading List
Students construct a reading list, drawn up in consultation with the exam committee, using the departmental reading list and the syllabuses and bibliographies of the seminars they have taken, as well as the summer reading done in preparation for the fall forum.
For students studying for the MA in French, Italian, or Spanish, the reading list consists of at least ten items in each of the four periods, drawn up in consultation with the exam committee. Of the ten works in each period, at least five must be chosen from the departmental reading list. The other works can be suggested by the student, based on his or her own interests and readings.
For students studying for the MA in Romance languages, the reading list consists of at least twelve items in each of the four periods: eight in the major language and four in the minor. Of the eight works in the major language, at least four must be chosen from the departmental reading list; all texts in the minor language must be chosen from the departmental reading list.
The examination reading list also contains two additional secondary readings (usually literary histories or general literary surveys) that cover the four periods, also drawn from the departmental reading list.
The final version of the examination reading list must be approved and signed by the student’s exam committee and filed with the graduate secretary by the end of winter term of the second year. Students are responsible for distributing the approved reading list to the MA committee members as soon as the list is approved.
Examination Questions
In all fields, one of the two exams must be answered in the candidate’s major language; the other can be written in the major language or in English. Choice of language is to be determined in consultation with the committee chair.
The four members of the MA exam committee work together to prepare the questions for the candidate. The exam committee chair is responsible for collecting questions from the committee members and submitting them to the graduate secretary. On the first exam, the candidate answers four questions, choosing between two questions in each of four periods. On the second exam, the candidate chooses between two possible selections for the close reading analysis. The four members read and grade both exams and come to an agreement on the final grade to be submitted for each exam. The committee chair moderates this discussion, submits the grades to the graduate secretary, and communicates the results to the candidate. The student passes when the average grade for each exam is satisfactory (low pass, pass or high pass).
The master’s examination is a closed book exam and therefore without footnotes or a bibliography. The exam must be typed using a twelve-point font, double-spaced.
Students who fail the master of arts examination in whole or in part will be allowed to take it over (in whole or in part) once. They are encouraged to do so during the course of the following term (usually the summer session) and no later than six months after failing. If they fail again, they are disqualified.
Research: [Topic] (FR 601), Research: [Topic] (ITAL 601), or Research: [Topic] (SPAN 601) and Practicum: [Topic] (FR 609), Practicum: [Topic] (ITAL 609), or Practicum: [Topic] (SPAN 609). Students who hold a GTF appointment may register for 2 credits of Practicum or one credit of Research in order to complete the nine credits per term required by the Graduate School (two graduate courses constitute 8 credits). During the first quarter of their first year, students holding a GTF appointment use Practicum to develop their teaching skills in practical application. Students not holding a GTF appointment are encouraged to take a third course (for a total of 12 credits) or 1 credit of Research to work on an independent research project.
Reading and Conference: [Topic] (FR 605), Reading and Conference: [Topic] (ITAL 605), or Reading and Conference: [Topic] (SPAN 605). Students may request to do a Reading and Conference course to address a specific problem on which no course currently exists. Before the end of the term preceding the Reading and Conference course, the student prepares a project proposal and submits it to the faculty member with whom he or she wants to work. The project proposal should include a statement of the problem the student wants to explore and a tentative reading list of primary and secondary sources. Only one 4-credit Reading and Conference course may be used to satisfy requirements for the MA degree.
Reading and Conference: [Topic] (RL 605). The purpose of this required independent reading course is to motivate students to begin reading during the summer following their first year in the MA program in preparation for the exams that will take place in the spring term of their second year.
During the spring term of the first year of the MA program, students present to their advisors a reading list of eight to ten works to be studied during the summer. The books must belong to no more than two of the periods defined by the MA program, and five of the books must be taken from the departmental reading list. At least one of the texts should be a literary history or a similar text about the period. This approved list (signed by the faculty advisor) will be submitted to the director of graduate studies before the end of the spring term.
In fall term, students will register for a 2-credit, graded Reading and Conference course with the director of graduate studies as the instructor of record.
In the third week of the fall term of the second year, students present the findings of their summer study in a public forum. This one-day forum is organized as a professional meeting, with a chair for each session, a discussion following the presentations, and refreshments. Most Romance language faculty members are present during these presentations, as well as all MA students.
Presentations are fifteen minutes long and delivered in English. Presentations focus on the main themes that students have explored in their readings. Students should be able to discuss both literary techniques and historical context of the period selected, providing examples from the books they have read. Plot summaries should be avoided.
At the end of the presentations, the faculty members meet to evaluate the presentations. On satisfactory completion of this exercise, students receive 2 graded credits for the course. If the faculty members find that a presentation was deficient, they recommend that the student do supervised reading with the faculty specialist in the period before being assigned a grade and receiving course credit.
Incompletes
Incompletes are strongly discouraged. However, students who find it necessary to ask for an incomplete are urged to complete their incompletes as rapidly as possible. Agreements for obtaining and completing incompletes must be filed with the department. Graduate students must convert a graduate course incomplete into a passing grade within one calendar year of the assignment of the incomplete. Any student who has more than 5 credits of incompletes is making unsatisfactory progress toward the degree.
Doctor of Philosophy
The PhD program in Romance languages is designed to provide
- a thorough familiarity with several fields (e.g., a movement, a genre, a period, or a literary problem)
- the opportunity to situate the student’s special interests in the wider context of Romance languages and literatures as well as in the context of trends inside and outside Western European culture
- the tools necessary to engage literary issues at a high level
- the ability to examine new and challenging literary or theoretical perspectives
Students who enter the PhD program with no knowledge of a second Romance language are required to start learning one as soon as possible during their graduate studies.
The PhD program has five components: course work, comprehensive examination, dissertation prospectus, original dissertation, and final oral defense.
Course Work
The PhD degree requires a total of 84 graduate-level credits—32 credits in addition to the 52 required for the master’s degree. Course work applied to the degree must be taken for letter grades, and a grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or better must be maintained.
Students must complete at least 21 graduate seminars in the department (at least 84 credits in all) beyond the bachelor’s degree. PhD students must thus take at least 8 graduate courses (32 credits) beyond the 13 courses (52 credits) required for the master’s. Only one of these 8 courses (4 credits) may be satisfied in the form of a Reading and Conference course (Reading and Conference: [Topic] (FR 605), Reading and Conference: [Topic] (ITAL 605), or Reading and Conference: [Topic] (SPAN 605)).
Of the twenty-one courses (84 credits), three (12 credits) must be taken in a second Romance language.
As many as three of the twenty-one courses (12 of the 84 credits) may be taken outside the department, with the authorization of the advisor, and provided that the courses bear directly on the student’s program of study.
Doctoral students are also strongly encouraged to take Romance Languages Colloquium: [Topic] (RL 623) for at least two credits. Colloquium may either be taken as a 2-credit pass/no pass course (in which case it does not count toward the 52 credits required for the degree) or as a 4-credit graded course.
Students with an MA in French, Italian, Spanish, or Romance languages from the University of Oregon may count a maximum of two graduate courses completed during the MA program toward PhD course requirements, provided that these courses were not used to fulfill MA requirements.
Graduate students with an MA in French, Italian, Spanish, or Romance languages from another institution must take a minimum of 40 credits in the Department of Romance Languages. The department’s graduate committee evaluates previous graduate course work and determines whether additional work is necessary to fill any gaps in a student’s preparation. This may result in a student having to take more than 40 credits at the University of Oregon—up to a maximum of 68 credits. If the candidate is found to be seriously deficient or if the master’s degree is in a field other than Romance languages, the graduate committee may admit the student into the master’s program. In this case, the student may submit a petition to the committee to transfer a maximum of three courses toward the twelve courses required for the MA This petition may be submitted after the student has completed four graduate-level courses with grades of mid-B or better in the Romance languages master’s program.
*Students typically will register for RL 601 or RL 605 during the terms that they are preparing for exams or writing their prospectus, and will register RL 603 Dissertation (18 credits) while writing their dissertation.
Comprehensive Examination
Students entering the PhD program should develop, as soon as possible but no later than the third term of course work beyond the master’s degree, a field of interest that forms the basis of their research for the PhD comprehensive examination and ideally for the dissertation. This field of interest usually emerges from the selected courses and shapes the areas of concentration represented on the comprehensive examination.
The comprehensive examination consists of two written examinations and an oral examination. Each written examination covers a subfield that pertains to the student’s field of interest. The subfields should be defined and prepared with three members of the Romance languages faculty who constitute the PhD examination committee. One of these faculty members should represent the student’s second Romance language. A fourth member may be added from another department. In consultation with the members of the examination committee, the student creates a reading list for each of the subfields. The reading list must be approved by the examination committee no later than four weeks before the date of the exam. Student are responsible for distributing the reading list to the committee members of the examination committee as soon as the list is approved.
The written examinations take the form of two essays that respond to questions formulated by members of the PhD examination committee. Each written examination covers one of the subfields and is a maximum of twenty double-spaced, typed pages in length. The student has two weeks to write each of the two essays.
Two weeks after the successful completion of the written essays, the student takes an oral examination. The oral examination attempts to integrate the subfields addressed in the written examinations with the other facets of the student’s declared field of interest. In a two-hour conversation, the candidate and the committee members examine and elaborate on ways in which the written essays help to define a project within the student’s field of interest.
Typically undertaken during the fifth term of study following the master’s degree, the comprehensive examination should result in clarification of the dissertation’s subject matter and possible approaches to it. The exam should, in other words, yield at least a tentative dissertation topic.
A student who fails the PhD examination in whole or in part will be allowed to take it over (in whole or in part) once. The student is encouraged to do so no later than six months after failing. A second failure results in disqualification.
It is the student’s responsibility to schedule both the written and oral portions of the comprehensive examination.
With the successful completion of the PhD comprehensive exam, the student will advance to candidacy and begin preparing the dissertation prospectus.
Dissertation Prospectus
The prospectus, typically completed during the sixth term of study following the master’s degree, defines the scope of the dissertation and demonstrates the originality of the project. It consists of an eight- to ten-page description of the proposed dissertation project and a substantial research bibliography of primary and secondary material.
Students are responsible for putting together a dissertation committee, which typically consists of four members: one director and two readers from the Department of Romance Languages, and one reader from another department. A student may also choose to have two codirectors in the Department of Romance Languages (plus two further members of the department).
When the student has a solid draft of the prospectus, she or he schedules a meeting with the dissertation committee members for a presentation and discussion of the prospectus. Following this conversation, the student will make final revisions to the prospectus. Once the committee has given its final approval, the student submits the prospectus to the department for filing.
Students are reminded that they must have a dissertation committee in place and proper documents filed with the Graduate School six months before the dissertation defense.
Any student making significant changes to the dissertation project after the final approval of the prospectus must schedule a meeting with the dissertation committee before proceeding.
Dissertation
The dissertation constitutes an original and valuable contribution to scholarship in the student’s field of interest. It should be characterized by mature literary interpretation, informed and reasoned argument, and an awareness of the means and goals of research.
It is the student’s responsibility to ascertain the rules and deadlines of the Graduate School for proper filing of the dissertation. Students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the stringent formatting and structure guidelines for the dissertation provided by the Graduate School (available online).
A final copy of the dissertation must be distributed to the dissertation committee for final approval at least three weeks before the dissertation defense.
Final Oral Defense
When all members of the dissertation committee have approved the dissertation, a final public oral presentation and defense of the work is held.
Funding
All post-MA work, including the dissertation, is typically completed in four to five years of study. PhD students making satisfactory progress toward the degree are eligible for funding packages in the form of graduate employee (GE) opportunities. These fellowships include stipends for teaching, as well as tuition waivers. Satisfactory progress entails completing all courses taken for credit with a grade of mid-B or better; passing the PhD comprehensive examination; timely submission of an acceptable dissertation prospectus; and regular and timely progress on the dissertation itself.
