The degrees offered are the master of arts in Portuguese & Spanish and the doctor of philosophy with a major in Portuguese & Spanish. In addition, the department offers a doctoral minor in Spanish or Portuguese, consisting of nine credits of graduate study.
An integrated curriculum in Portuguese and Spanish languages, literatures, and linguistics provides training at the master's and PhD levels and assures that graduates are prepared to contribute as professionals in the fields of teaching and research. An active program of research contributes to new knowledge in Spanish and Portuguese. A comprehensive group of courses is offered in rotation during the academic year so that candidates may take courses in all fields. Classes are conducted in Portuguese and Spanish.
The department's graduate program in Portuguese & Spanish is consistently among the finest in the country. Twenty to 25 teaching assistantships are offered each year to graduate candidates in Spanish and Portuguese. A full complement of courses in Portuguese, Brazilian, and Luso-African literatures, culture, and linguistics is offered on a regular basis.
Fellowships, scholarships, teaching assistantships, and project assistantships are available to qualified graduate degree candidates.
Students pursuing advanced degrees in this department are advised to include in their training work in other languages and literatures, art, social sciences, linguistics, film studies, and philosophy. A knowledge of other languages is strongly recommended for advanced work in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian fields.
Admissions
Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.
Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.
| Fall Deadline | January 5 |
| Spring Deadline | The program does not admit in the spring. |
| Summer Deadline | The program does not admit in the summer. |
| GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) | Not required. |
| English Proficiency Test | Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Requirements for Admission policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1241. |
| Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT) | n/a |
| Letters of Recommendation Required | 3 |
Application Details
Applicants are masters of art (MA) students in Portuguese & Spanish at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a graduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Applicants are admitted to the PhD program on the recommendation of the master's examining committee upon successful completion of the portfolio requirement.
Applicants with a masters of art (MA) from an external institution are admitted to the doctoral program by virtue of his/her acceptance by the department. A minimum graduate GPA of 3.4 (on a 4.0 scale) is required.
Applicants will be asked to supply supplementary information regarding courses taken previously, experience abroad, scope of readings in Portuguese and Brazilian literatures, and preparation in linguistics.
Required Documentation
Applicants must upload the following materials to the online application:
- Unofficial transcripts;
- Certified copies of English translations should accompany all non-English transcripts;
- Reason for Graduate Study/Statement of Purpose: What are your reasons for graduate study? Please describe your current degree goals and your reasons for selecting your program(s). Your statement can be either in English or the program’s language. It should not exceed three single-spaced pages, or the equivalent when double-spaced.
- A writing sample in Portuguese (eg, a term-paper length), eight to ten pages. The topic should be as close as possible to the field you wish to specialize in for the PhD thesis.
- Three letters of recommendation (recommenders to submit on applicant's behalf);
- International degree-seeking applicants must prove English proficiency, refer to the Graduate School's requirements.
Applicants may refer to the Graduate School's admissions page for application assistance and frequently asked questions.
Funding
Graduate School Resources
The Bursar’s Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.
Program Resources
Prospective students should see the program website for funding information.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Review the Graduate School minimum degree requirements and policies, in addition to the program requirements listed below.
Major Requirements
Mode of Instruction
| Face to Face | Evening/Weekend | Online | Hybrid | Accelerated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No |
Mode of Instruction Definitions
Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.
Evening/Weekend: Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules. Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.
Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.
Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats. Contact the program for more specific information.
Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.
Curricular Requirements
| Minimum Credit Requirement | 54 credits |
| Minimum Residence Credit Requirement | 32 credits |
| Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement | 28 credits must be graduate-level coursework. Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244. |
| Overall Graduate GPA Requirement | 3.00 GPA required. Refer to the Graduate School: Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1203. |
| Other Grade Requirements | No other grade requirements. |
| Assessments and Examinations | Preliminary Examinations Students must take after course requirements are met. The prelim has two parts: a written part and an oral part. The written part of the exam has two components:
An oral examination defense follows the written portions of the Preliminary Examination. The oral exam defense is approximately two hours long, at the discretion of the examining committee. It should cover both the take-home examinations and the dissertation prospectus. The candidate will receive a grade of pass or fail in the preliminary examination. In the case of failing the exam, it could be retaken once within a month (after consultation with the adviser). Should the dissertation prospectus be approved, the candidate will have a maximum of three months to officially defend a dissertation proposal. The Doctoral Dissertation The final oral examination for the PhD (the dissertation defense) will concentrate solely on the dissertation and generally does not exceed two hours in length. The examining committee is composed a minimum of four members, at least one of whom must be from outside the student’s program in Portuguese & Spanish, and at least three of whom, including the dissertation director, should be designated as readers. This examination is held at least two weeks after the dissertation is submitted. |
| Language Requirements | A knowledge of several languages is essential for doctoral research. Therefore, students are urged to fulfill the language requirements as early as possible in their doctoral studies. In any case, they must be fulfilled prior to the Preliminary Examination. The candidate must demonstrate advanced proficiency in a minimum of one language besides Spanish and Portuguese, to be determined in consultation with the adviser. The most common languages are French, Italian, Latin, German, and Arabic, depending on the candidate's major and minor. Advanced proficiency is defined as six college semesters with a grade of B or better. An advanced pass on the UW Division of University Outreach, Liberal Studies Reading Knowledge Examinations in French and German for graduate students will be accepted as an alternative. Exceptions to the above policies may be petitioned by the adviser to the Departmental Committee. |
| Graduate School Breadth Requirement | A doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate is not required. Students are required to complete between 18-21 credits in coursework taken in Spanish. All these credits must be taken as an advanced level course, numbered 600 or above. |
Required Courses
The Portuguese & Spanish PhD program in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers the following areas of study:
- Portuguese Literature
- Brazilian Literature
- African Literature in Portuguese
- Hispanic Literature or Linguistics
Student selects a major area, which is the area of specialization. Students are expected to have a thorough knowledge of the current, primary works and critical bibliography pertaining to the area of specialization. Knowledge of the most significant writers and works as well as the most important currents and developments in the supporting fields is expected.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements | ||
| Major Area | 9 | |
| Supporting Field 1 | 6 | |
| Supporting Field 2 | 6 | |
| Literary Theory | 3 | |
| Advanced Courses (minimum 5 courses) | 15 | |
| Electives/Research | Variable | |
| Total Credits | 54 | |
Course Options
Requirements may be satisfied with the following courses. Other courses may be used to satisfy requirements with advisor approval.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PORTUG 361 | Portuguese Civilization | 3 |
| PORTUG/GEN&WS 450 | Brazillian Women Writers | 3 |
| PORTUG/GEN&WS 460 | Carmen Miranda | 3 |
| PORTUG 640 | Topics in Luso-Brazilian Literature | 3 |
| PORTUG 642 | Topics in Luso-Brazilian Culture | 3 |
| PORTUG 751 | Seminar: Brazilian Literature | 3 |
| PORTUG 772 | Seminar: Portuguese Literature | 3 |
| PORTUG 899 | Independent Reading | 1-3 |
| PORTUG/A A E/ANTHRO/C&E SOC/GEOG/HISTORY/LACIS/POLI SCI/SOC/SPANISH 982 | Interdepartmental Seminar in the Latin-American Area | 1-3 |
| SPANISH 630 | Topics in Hispanic Linguistics | 3 |
| SPANISH 801 | Seminar-Spanish American Literature | 3 |
| SPANISH 802 | Seminar-Spanish American Literature | 3 |
| SPANISH 851 | Seminar in Golden Age Prose: Cervantes Don Quijote | 3 |
| SPANISH 852 | Seminar in Golden Age Prose | 3 |
| SPANISH 861 | Seminar-Modern Spanish Literature | 3 |
Two-Course Per Semester Requirement
Students must take a minimum of two graduate-level courses in Portuguese and/or Spanish for credit each semester, excluding Independent Reading (PORTUG 899 Independent Reading) courses, with the following exceptions:
- The semester before taking the preliminary examination, a student may apply one instance of PORTUG 899 Independent Reading toward their dissertation proposal as one of the two graduate-level courses in Portuguese and/or Spanish if a second course is taken in the department. This exception may be granted only once despite delays in the preliminary examination.
- Audited courses do not satisfy the requirement.
- If this requirement delays the student's progress toward degree completion, a petition with advisor approval may be submitted. This is not applicable to students who have passed their preliminary examination.
Independent Study
A maximum of 3 credits of independent study (PORTUG 899 Independent Reading) in each of the areas of concentration may be used, with prior departmental approval, when corresponding courses are not offered in a timely fashion.
Advanced Courses
An advanced course is defined as a course numbered 600 or above in Spanish and numbered 400 or above, in Portuguese. In consultation with their advisor, students should ensure that they have a minimum of five advanced courses beyond the MA, if completed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, or six advanced course beyond the MA if completed at another institution. At least two of these courses must be in the major. One of these advanced courses may be taken outside the Department, with the advisor's consent.
Course Exclusions
The following courses do not satisfy the PhD course requirements:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PORTUG 311 | Fourth Year Composition and Conversation | 3 |
| PORTUG 312 | Fourth Year Composition and Conversation | 3 |
| PORTUG 330 | History of the Portuguese Language | 3 |
| PORTUG 361 | Portuguese Civilization | 3 |
| PORTUG 362 | Brazilian Civilization | 3 |
Graduate School Policies
The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures serve as the official document of record for Graduate School academic and administrative policies and procedures and are updated continuously. Note some policies redirect to entries in the official UW-Madison Policy Library. Programs may set more stringent policies than the Graduate School. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.
Major-Specific Policies
Prior Coursework
Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions
After one semester in residence, incoming PhD graduate students from other universities may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to transfer graduate credits taken at their previous university to satisfy program requirements. A maximum of three courses (9 credits) may be transferred from their previous program toward their degree requirements, 6 of these credits may transfer to satisfy the supporting field requirements (3 credits per field) and the remaining 3 credits may satisfy language or other requirements, except for major field credit requirements. Each petition must be approved by the advisor, validated by a faculty member specializing in that field, and assessed by the Graduate Studies Committee with regard to its level and appropriateness. Only in rare circumstances will exceptions be considered.
Coursework earned ten years or more prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison
No credits from undergraduate courses from an undergraduate degree are allowed to fulfill degree requirements. With advisor consent, students who have taken graduate level courses are allowed to petition up to 7 credits.
Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers)
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Credits Earned as a University Special Student at UW–Madison
With program approval, students may transfer no more than 6 credits of coursework numbered 300 or above taken as a UW–Madison University Special student. However, these credits are not allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless numbered 700 or above or are taken to meet the requirements of a capstone certificate and has the “Grad 50%” attribute. Coursework earned ten or more years prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
Probation
Satisfactory progress depends on:
- Maintaining a GPA of at least 3.0, adhering to the rule whereby students must take two courses within the department (or have the rule waived by petition), and
- Fulfilling all academic requirements.
Students who are not in good standing will not be given sections to teach as Teaching Assistants, and those whose GPA goes below 3.0 are put on academic probation. If a semester of 3.0 is not attained during the subsequent semester, the student may be dismissed from the program.
Advisor / Committee
The doctoral candidate arranges their program with an assigned graduate advisor, representing one of the areas of concentration, at the beginning of their studies in this department. The advisor represents a field in which the student has expressed primary interest. The candidate may, of course, seek advice and suggestions from individual professors, but it is important to maintain frequent and ongoing contact with the regular advisor. At the beginning of the second semester in residence the academic advisor and the candidate make a detailed review of the first semester's progress.
All students must have a substantial meeting with their advisor every semester to review their progress and work out the best strategies for future coursework and degree progress.
Credits Per Term Allowed
15 credit maximum. Refer to the Graduate School: Maximum Credit Loads and Overload Requests policy.
Time Limits
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese enforces the Graduate School policy that establishes a five-year deadline for completion and defense of the doctoral dissertation, unless they receive an extension. If the candidate does not complete the dissertation within five years of the preliminary examination, the candidate must retake this examination.
Refer to the Graduate School: Time Limits policy.
Grievances and Appeals
These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:
- Bias or Hate Reporting
- Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
- Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
- Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
- Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
- Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
- Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
- Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
- Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)
L&S Policy for Graduate Student Academic Appeals
Graduate students have the right to appeal an academic decision related to an L&S graduate program if the student believes that the decision is inconsistent with published policy.
Academic decisions that may be appealed include:
- Dismissal from the graduate program
- Failure to pass a qualifying or preliminary examination
- Failure to achieve satisfactory academic progress
- Academic disciplinary action related to failure to meet professional conduct standards
Issues such as the following cannot be appealed using this process:
- A faculty member declining to serve as a graduate student’s advisor.
- Decisions regarding the student’s disciplinary knowledge, evaluation of the quality of work, or similar judgements. These are the domain of the department faculty.
- Course grades. These can be appealed instead using the L&S Policy for Grade Appeal.
- Incidents of bias or hate, hostile and intimidating behavior, or discrimination (Title IX, Office of Compliance). Direct these to the linked campus offices appropriate for the incident(s).
Appeal Process for Graduate Students
A graduate student wishing to appeal an academic decision must follow the process in the order listed below. Note time limits within each step.
- The student should first seek informal resolution, if possible, by discussing the concern with their academic advisor, the department’s Director of Graduate Studies, and/or the department chair.
- If the program has an appeal policy listed in their graduate program handbook, the student should follow the policy as written, including adhering to any indicated deadlines. In the absence of a specific departmental process, the chair or designee will be the reviewer and decision maker, and the student should submit a written appeal to the chair within 15 business days of the academic decision. The chair or designee will notify the student in writing of their decision.
- If the departmental process upholds the original decision, the graduate student may next initiate an appeal to L&S. To do so, the student must submit a written appeal to the L&S Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Academic Affairs within 15 business days of notification of the department’s decision.
- To the fullest extent possible, the written appeal should include, in a single document: a clear and concise statement of the academic decision being appealed, any relevant background on what led to the decision, the specific policies involved, the relief sought, any relevant documentation related to the departmental appeal, and the names and titles of any individuals contributing to or involved in the decision.
- The Assistant Dean will work with the Academic Associate Dean of the appropriate division to consider the appeal. They may seek additional information and/or meetings related to the case.
- The Assistant Dean and Academic Associate Dean will provide a written decision within 20 business days.
- If L&S upholds the original decision, the graduate student may appeal to the Graduate School. More information can be found on their website: Grievances and Appeals (see: Graduate School Appeal Process).
Other
Guaranteed funding through teaching assistantships. Many additional sources of funding are available on a competitive basis, including the Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, summer research Mellon fellowships, one-semester dissertation fellowships, Title VI FLAS fellowships for summer and year-long foreign language study, Nave summer research travel grants, and numerous others.
Professional Development
Graduate School Resources
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
Learning Outcomes
- Articulate research problems, potentials, and limits with respect to theory, knowledge and practice within the field of study and with a view to interdisciplinarity.
- Formulates ideas, concepts, and theoretical approaches beyond the current boundaries of knowledge and practice within the field of study, and thus makes a substantial contributions to those fields.
- Develops archival and/or bibliographic research skills or other evidence-gathering techniques with the aim of furthering historical and cultural knowledge of the specific field of inquiry.
- Demonstrates breadth within learning experiences.
- Advances contributions of the field of study to society.
- Communicates complex ideas and original arguments clearly and understandably in Portuguese, Spanish, and English and demonstrates reading knowledge of one other languages pertinent to the field of inquiry.
- Develops academic professionalization through scholarly exchange and/or participation in conferences and other extracurricular activities in preparation for a career path related to the field.
- Develops and demonstrates effective teaching skills (for intermediate and advanced classes in Portuguese and Spanish).