Master of Arts in Spanish

Getting your degree	Graduate Admissions	Teaching Assistantships
Study abroad opportunities	Faculty interests and publications	Our alumni

Cleveland State's MA program in Spanish provides comprehensive training in Hispanic Studies at the graduate level. Coursework includes linguistics and seminars in Latin American and Iberian cultural and literary topics. Our students commonly seek an MA in Spanish in order to prepare for or enrich a teaching career or to develop cultural expertise that can open doors in business, government and non-profit work, law, and many other fields.

Our program features:

• a personalized curriculum, specializing in Hispanic linguistics, Latin American and Iberian culture and literature
• course schedules adapted to the needs of teachers and other full-time workers, including evening and summer classes
• professors trained in ACTFL standards, concluding studies with an Oral Proficiency Interview
• the incorporation of faculty-led study abroad programs to MA studies
• the option of including related courses in history, anthropology or literary studies in plan of study
• CSU's campus in downtown Cleveland   

Getting your degree

• The majority of our graduate curriculum consists of 4-credit-hour seminars in topics related to Hispanic Studies. Students normally produce a research paper related to course themes and texts, under the guidance of the professor.
• Students must take SPN 501 Research Methods, a review of the themes, standards and methods of critical writing in Hispanic studies. It is offered every year in the Fall, and students take it as soon as possible after beginning the program.
• Seminars fall into the three disciplines of Hispanic Linguistics, Latin American Studies, and Iberian Studies, although a few cross-disciplinary courses may count for more than one category. All students must take at least one course in each discipline and will finish coursework with a specialization, depending on their course selections.
• Students who wish to complete MA coursework with a total of 32 graduate credits must also pass a written exam that includes three sections: Hispanic Linguistics, Latin American studies, and Iberian studies. Students also have the option of completing coursework with a total of 40 graduate credits and no written exam.
• The MA degree is conferred after the completion of an oral exam covering the student's particular course of studies and her or his best seminar paper.
• The graduate catalogue lists specific requirements for conferral of the degree. Please contact the Director of Graduate Studies for any questions about the curriculum for the Master's degree.

Graduate Admissions

Interested students should contact Dr. Matías Martínez Abeijón, the Spanish Director of Graduate Studies.

The standard application to CSU's graduate programs is available online at the link "Apply Now" on the College of Graduate Studies' admissions page.

Typically, applicants to the Spanish MA Program possess a BA in Spanish, but many students arrive with an adequate preparation for Hispanic studies that come from life experience.

In addition to the requirements of the Graduate College, the Spanish Program requests

• a personal essay in Spanish stating career plans and indicating interest and qualifications for a Teaching Assistantship
• a writing sample, typically from undergraduate studies, that demonstrates adequate linguistic and analytic skills in the Spanish language
• two letters of recommendation
• No GRE test is required for application to the program

Teaching Assistantships

The graduate program maintains a number of Teaching Assistantships for full-time students in Spanish. These scholarships feature:

• in-state tuition grant
• a stipend of around $4000 per semester
• teaching experience in introductory Spanish, while working as a team under the guidance of faculty
• enrollment in SPN 631, Teaching College Spanish

Study Abroad Opportunities

Graduate students may apply up to twelve credits in an approved study abroad program to their MA requirements. Every summer, CSU faculty led programs offer an excellent, economical way to gain first-hand experience of Hispanic culture, dramatically improve language proficiency, and earn credits.

In consultation with faculty directors, graduate students enroll in classes with our academic partners abroad. Some of our students have completed unique research projects taking advantage of resources in our host communities, with topics including:

• Folklore and superstition in Costa Rica
• Protestantism as a minority religion in Spain
• Educational initiatives involving gypsy children in Spain

Faculty interests and publications

CSU's graduate faculty maintains active research agendas that are enriched by their work with students.

Recent graduate course titles include:

• History of Spanish
• Spanish Literary Journalism
• Colombian Cinema
• Latin American Heroes and Icons
• Teaching Hispanic Film
• Fantastic Literature
• Medieval Iberia: El-Andalus
• Latin American Short Story
• Silver and Gold

Our Alumni

Since its inauguration in the Spring of 1998, CSU's graduate program has conferred over 125 MA degrees in Spanish.

Many of our graduates teach Spanish language and Hispanic studies courses at local and regional universities and colleges:

• Case Western Reserve University
• Cuyahoga County Community College
• Lakeland Community College
• John Carroll University
• University of Akron
• Lake Erie College
• Kent State University
• Geneva College, Pennsylvania
• Union College, Kentucky

Our graduates hold faculty positions at prestigious private and public schools in the Cleveland area:

• University School
• Hathaway Brown
• Gilmour Academy
• St. Joseph's Academy
• St. Edward's School
• Rocky River High and Middle School

Many of our former students take their expertise in Hispanic culture and the Spanish language into careers in business, community development and language services.

Our students have been accepted into and received fellowships for doctoral programs in Spanish:

• University of Kentucky
• UCLA
• Georgetown University
• University of Illinois-Chicago
• Arizona State University
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Massachusetts
• University of Indiana