The Romance Languages, PhD program faculty mentor students in all aspects of their graduate experience, including coursework, teaching, examinations, and writing of doctoral dissertations. Graduate students have the chance to learn and research in an engaging environment, as well as teach while supported by training and mentorship. The department is committed to providing this training by means of the best facilities and technology available, and by relying on a staff of teachers and scholars with commensurate international experience and expertise. Our dedicated professionalization activities prepare students for success in gaining employment as they embark on careers as teachers, scholars, and in non-academic positions involving the language industry and government agencies. The Romance Language, Phd program has four main focused areas of study, French, Spanish, and French and Spanish and Linguistics with either French or Spanish.
Admissions
In addition to the minimum Graduate School admission requirements, to be considered for regular admission an application must include:
- Writing Sample: In the target language (French, Spanish) the writing sample should be about 10 pages (double spaced) in length and the candidate seeking admission will need to demonstrate a commensurate level of proficiency in the target language as well as critical thinking skills.
- Statement of Purpose: The applicant should describe how prior academic experience has prepared them for graduate study in the target language at The University of Alabama (UA) and specify the fields of interest. The statement should indicate how the Modern Languages and Classics (MLC) Department's programs and courses align with the applicant's goals both as a student at UA and after graduation. PhD applicants, need to describe their research goals in detail and refer to the MLC professor whose research most aligns with their research. If the applicant is interested in GTA support, include information on why teaching and pedagogical training during their Graduate program will support their professional goals.
- Video Recording in the target Language: Submit a 3-5 minute (.mpv4 or .mov format) video recording in which the applicant speaks freely about themselves in a conversational manner in the target language (do not read a prepared text). Then read a paragraph from a target language text of the applicant's choice or a short poem.
- A resume
- 3 letters of recommendation
No entrance exam scores are required. However, applicants to all programs who seek to position themselves for possible consideration for additional financial support in the form of an enhanced assistantship or fellowship should submit an entrance score (GRE or MAT), even when it is not required for admission. Applications for both full-time and part-time status are welcome. All applicants seeking full-time student status are considered for financial support in the form of a graduate teaching assistantship.
For applicants with insufficient undergraduate preparation, admission may be contingent upon completion of designated undergraduate requirements. Qualified students with an appropriate undergraduate degree may be admitted directly to the Doctoral program in Romance Languages. However, in such circumstances completion of all requirements for the appropriate Master of Arts program, including comprehensive testing and subsequent awarding of the Master of Arts degree, will be a prerequisite for completion of the Doctoral degree.
When available, we offer teaching assistantships to qualified full-time MA and PhD candidates. Assistantships include a stipend paid over nine months, a tuition waiver and health insurance. Exceptionally qualified candidates may be eligible for fellowships or enhanced assistantships.
We have rolling year-round admissions.
See the Admission Criteria section of this catalog for more information.
Curricular Requirements
The Romance Language, Phd program has four main focused areas of study, French, Spanish, and French and Spanish and Linguistics with either French or Spanish.
In addition to the program-specific requirements presented below, all doctoral candidates, regardless of the option selected, must adhere to the following.
The minimal formal coursework required for the doctoral degree is 60 semester hours. Appropriate MA hours earned at The University of Alabama can also count toward the total required accumulation of hours. Students who have completed a master's thesis need accumulate only 54 hours of coursework. Once all coursework is completed, an additional 18 hours of Dissertation Research (FR 699 Dissertation Research, SP 699 Dissertation Research or RL 699 Dissertation Research) with the dissertation director(s) are required. All doctoral candidates must possess reading knowledge of one language in addition to English, their native language, and their language of specialization.
| Code and Title | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Research Course | 3 | |
| Critical Theory (For literature students) | ||
| Qual Methds/Applied Ling Res (For linguistics students) | ||
| Quantitative Methods in Ling (For linguistics students) | ||
These courses need not be language-specific; they can be general and inclusive of all literature and languages. | ||
| French or Spanish Teaching Practicum | 3 | |
| Practicum Appl Linguist | ||
| Pract Appl Linguistics | ||
| Focused Area of Study | 54 | |
| Students will select French, Spanish, French and Spanish, or Linguistics with French or Spanish as their focused area of study. | ||
| Literature and Cultural Studies with French - Focused Area of Study | ||
| French coursework - 42 hours must include four of the following fields: | ||
| Early Modern (17th and 18th Centuries) | ||
| 17th Cent French Lit I | ||
| 17th Cent French Lit II | ||
| 19th Century | ||
| Spec Top 19th Cent French Lit | ||
| 20th and 21st Centuries | ||
| 20th-Century French Novel | ||
| 20th-21st FR Lit Sp Topics | ||
| French Cinema | ||
| Francophone Studies | ||
| Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa | ||
| Bande Dessinée | ||
| Quebecois Lit & Culture | ||
| Writing Immigration | ||
| 18 hours in other language or an allied discipline which might include another language, linguistics, German, Italian studies, or other areas approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. | ||
| Literature and Cultural Studies with Spanish - Focused Area of Study | ||
| Spanish coursework - 42 hours must include four of the following fields: | ||
| Thematic Courses | ||
| These courses cover any of the chronological periods and geographical areas specified below: | ||
| Spanish Women Authors | ||
| Gender in Hispanic Works | ||
| Golden Age Peninsular | ||
| Cervantes | ||
| 16th C Peninsular Lit | ||
| 17th C Peninsular Lit | ||
| 19th Century Peninsular | ||
| 19th-Century Spanish Prose | ||
| 20th-21st Century Peninsular | ||
| 20th C Span Novel Post Civil W | ||
| Historical Memory in Spain | ||
| Contemporary Iberian Culture | ||
| Colonial Latin America | ||
| Span Amer Colonial Texts | ||
| 19th Century Latin American | ||
| 19th C Span Amer Lit | ||
| 20th-21st Century Latin American | ||
| Spanish American Short Story | ||
| U.S. Latinx Studies | ||
| Sem Spanish-American Lit (Any relevant topic. ) | ||
| 18 hours in other language or an allied discipline which might include German, linguistics, Italian studies, or other areas approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. | ||
| French and Spanish - Focused Area of Study | ||
| All PhD in Romance languages candidates choosing this area of focus have maximal flexibility in course selection. There is no slate of required courses for either of the two languages. The candidate must simply amass 30 hours (including transferred MA hours) in each of the two languages. A maximum of 18 hours in either language (French or Spanish) can be transferred from a prior MA to satisfy requirements towards either language in the French and Spanish focus area of study. | ||
| Linguistics with French and/or Spanish - Focused Area of Study | ||
| 30 hours in the language and 30 hours in linguistics | ||
| Romance languages candidates seeking a linguistics-oriented curriculum, must accumulate 30 hours in linguistics (including transferred MA credits), in addition to French or Spanish (including transferred MA credits). | ||
| Some courses can be counted as either language or linguistics, depending upon the student's programmatic needs. For example, a student with a focus on Spanish with linguistics can count a course on Spanish linguistics under the language category or under the linguistics category in order to free up additional hours in the category that best serves the student's programmatic needs. In all cases, a minimum of 60 hours of graduate credit must be accumulated (54 hours for students with an MA thesis). | ||
| Both French and Spanish require a descriptive linguistics course: | ||
| French Linguistics | ||
| Intro Spanish Linguistcs | ||
| The remaining coursework for this area of study is determined in consultation with the appropriate graduate advisor. | ||
| Some representative courses are: | ||
| Pronunciation & Phonetics | ||
| Bande Dessinée | ||
| Phonetics and Dialectology | ||
| History of Spanish Language | ||
| Bilingualism | ||
| Pragmatics | ||
| Dissertation Requirements | 18 | |
FR 699 or | Dissertation Research | |
SP 699 or | Dissertation Research | |
| Dissertation Research | ||
| Total Hours | 78 | |
Transfer Credit
Up to half of the total hours of the doctoral degree may consist of transferred credits earned at another institution.
Graduate School information on Transfer Credit.
Doctoral Plan of Study Requirements
Once enrolled, all doctoral candidates must submit a Plan of Study to the Office of the Graduate School and abide by all other policies of the Graduate School. The student's Plan of Study for the PhD degree must be approved by the department and the Graduate School by the time the student completes 30 graduate semester hours of UA and/or transfer course work.
Graduate School information on the Doctoral Plan of Study.
Comprehensive Exam
At the outset of the semester following the conclusion of the candidate’s required doctoral coursework, an exam committee will be formally constituted, normally being composed of five professors having taught the candidate’s coursework or whose area of expertise is appropriate to the proposed dissertation topic. The selection of the other committee members is normally determined by virtue of consultation between the committee chair and the candidate, with the advice of the appropriate Graduate Advisor(s) if needed. (If for any reason the original exam committee chair cannot continue to function in that capacity at any time during the exam cycle or cannot serve as the subsequent dissertation director, a new exam committee chair or dissertation director will be designated in consultation with the appropriate Graduate Advisors or the department Chair.)
After ample prior consultation and guidance from the prospective exam committee chair (who is also the prospective dissertation director, as indicated above), the candidate will submit to the exam committee chair a written “pre-prospectus,” that is, a preliminary version of the prospectus. If deemed acceptable by the exam committee chair, said chair will distribute the pre-prospectus to the rest of the committee. If the exam cycle takes place during a fall semester, the exam committee should receive the pre-prospectus no later than October 1st (or the next nearest business day). If the exam cycle takes place during a spring semester, the exam committee should receive the pre-prospectus no later than March 1st (or the next nearest business day). In order to meet the stated deadlines, the candidate must have already begun work on the pre-prospectus well prior to the outset of the exam semester.
After reading the pre-prospectus, the exam committee members will submit to the exam committee chair a set of written questions. Each committee member will submit one question. That question, which may pertain to the pre-prospectus or to any of the candidate’s course work taught by the examiner, may be narrow or broad and may contain multiple parts. If the exam cycle takes place during a fall semester, the exam committee members should normally submit their questions to the committee chair no later than October 7th (or the next nearest business day). If the exam cycle takes place during a spring semester, the exam committee members should normally submit their questions no later than March 7th (or the next nearest business day). After reviewing all the questions to verify that format guidelines have been followed, the exam committee chair will then submit all the questions simultaneously to the candidate. (In the event, however, that some of the examiners’ questions are late in arriving, the other questions should be given to the candidate on the stated deadline, with the late questions following as soon as they are supplied. If Fall Break or Spring Break interferes with the stated deadlines, appropriate adjustments can be made.)
Once the questions have been submitted to the candidate, he/she will have a total of two full weeks to generate written responses to all of the questions. Each response should be a minimum of four standard pages in length (plus a reference bibliography, if required) and a maximum of ten standard pages in length (plus a reference bibliography, if required). A reference bibliography is required if the student cites any sources in the text of the response. The written responses must be typed, using the New Times Roman font (except for phonetic notation and other special characters) set for 12 points, and must be double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides. Completed answers will be delivered to the exam committee chair, usually in electronic format, who will then be responsible for distributing the answers to the rest of the committee. Every member of the exam committee should be provided with a copy of all the written answers. If the exam cycle takes place during a fall semester, the exam committee members should receive the set of answers no later than October 25th (or the next nearest business day). If the exam cycle takes place during a spring semester, the exam committee members should receive the set of answers no later than March 25th (or the next nearest business day). (If Fall Break or Spring Break interferes with the stated deadlines, appropriate adjustments can be made.)
The exam committee members will have a maximum of ten days to evaluate the candidate’s answers. They will then vote on the acceptability of the written exam (which includes both the pre-prospectus and the written answers). Every questioner votes primarily on his/her section of the exam, but may also take into account overall performance. Each individual examiner should register a vote according to the following gradation:
- PASS with distinction
- PASS
- PASS with reservation
- FAIL
This voting gradation is for department-internal use only; the final overall outcome will be reported to the Graduate School as either PASS or FAIL. In order to obtain an overall outcome of PASS, at least four of the five examiners must vote for any of the three gradations of PASS. In the event that the candidate does not obtain at least four positive votes, the overall outcome is reported to the Graduate School as a FAIL. The candidate will have, in accordance with Graduate School policy, one additional chance to retake the exam. In such a case, the candidate must retake all of the failed sections of the exam at a later date, to be determined by the exam committee in consultation with the student. In the event that there is a lack of consensus concerning the appropriate date for the retake, the departmental Chair, in consultation with all parties, will make the final determination.
Admission to Candidacy Requirements
When the candidate passes the written exam, he/she uses the feedback gained during the examination process, in consultation with the prospective dissertation director (that is, the former exam committee chair), to arrive at the final version of the dissertation prospectus (that is, the final revision of what was formerly the pre-prospectus). Prior to the end of the semester, the prospectus will be defended orally in the presence of the dissertation committee. Ideally, to facilitate continuity, the membership of the dissertation committee will be the same or nearly the same as the previous exam committee, but circumstances may arise where changes will occur in the composition of the committee (for example, an examiner who had coursework with the candidate but whose expertise lies outside the parameters of the proposed dissertation topic might rotate off of the committee and be replaced by someone else when the dissertation committee is constituted). According to Graduate School policy, to constitute a successful defense, the prospectus must meet with the approval of at least three members of the committee. At the close of a successfully defended prospectus presentation, the members of the dissertation committee will sign the “Application for Candidacy” form. This is also an appropriate moment for the “Appointment or Change of Doctoral Dissertation Committee” to be completed and initialed by all members of the dissertation committee, if that obligation remains to be fulfilled. Both forms should then be delivered to the Graduate School, along with an “Outline of Ph.D. (Plan of Study)” form, if this item has not yet been filed.
Continuous Enrollment Policy
Graduate School information on Continuous Enrollment.
Dissertation Requirements
The following benchmarks and recommendations should be observed in order to ensure the timely completion of the dissertation. The two-fold rationale for establishing these benchmarks is (1) to assist the dissertating candidate (and dissertation research director) with the management of the completion calendar, and (2) to allow faculty members a suitable amount of time to read dissertation material at the applicable intervals and then respond with appropriate feedback and support for the candidate. Dissertating candidates are expected to make every effort to meet the following benchmarks.
Part I (The benchmarks established for Part I apply primarily to full-time candidates who hold Graduate Teaching Assistantships. Part-time candidates, who may be in the workforce, can establish a different pace for coursework completion and for writing the dissertation, keeping in mind the degree completion time limit imposed by the Office of the Graduate School for completion of all degree requirements. All candidates are subject to the benchmarks established for Part II.)
1. No later than the fourth semester of PhD program: completion of all coursework and fulfillment of the language proficiency requirement. (Note: the fourth semester is the benchmark for candidates who began the program with approximately 30 semester hours of transferable credit from a prior M.A.; candidates entering directly from the B.A. will typically face this same benchmark in the eighth semester of the PhD program; candidates whose M.A. credits have partly or fully expired, being more than six years old, will need to consult with the MLC departmental Graduate Director to establish the appropriate benchmark semester for completion of coursework requirements).
2. No later than the fifth semester of PhD program: completion of the Pre-prospectus / Exam / Prospectus cycle, including the successful defense of the final prospectus (consult the Comprehensive Exams section). Student is admitted to candidacy for the PhD degree.
3. Sixth and seventh semesters of the PhD program (assuming a successful fifth-semester prospectus defense): Subsequent to the successful prospectus defense (Admission to Candidacy), the candidate will sit down with the dissertation director, and they will mutually decide on a timeline for the sixth and seventh semesters, such that the candidate will be able to meet the benchmarks described below in Part II leading up to and including the final doctoral semester. It is expected that the bulk of the dissertation will be drafted during the sixth and seventh semesters.
4. No later than the eighth semester of the PhD program: completion and successful defense of the dissertation, and uploading of final draft of the dissertation to ProQuest.
Part II (The benchmarks established for Part II will be in force for all candidates, regardless of full-time or part-time status and regardless of GTA or non-GTA status.)
1. Subsequent to the successful prospectus defense, the candidate will sit down with the dissertation director, and they will mutually decide on a specific timeline, such that the candidate will be able to meet the benchmarks described below leading up to and including the final doctoral semester. (Note: for GTAs, this benchmark overlaps with the more specific timeline given in I.3 above). The candidate and dissertation director will also come to an understanding about how available the director will be during intervening breaks (such as summer). They will review the likely structure for the dissertation, including how many chapters will be included and when each chapter will be submitted for review by the dissertation director. If necessary, IRB approval procedures will be addressed and related calendars set. For non-GTA dissertators, the timeline agreed upon may be different from what has been established for GTAs in I.3 above, but in all cases candidates must be aware of their seven-year completion deadline. Note that the Admission to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree Form should be ready for signatures at the close of the successful prospectus defense and should then be submitted to the Office of the Graduate School, along with the following two forms, if they have not yet been submitted: Appointment/Change of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee Form and Outline of the PhD Program (Plan of Study) Form.
2. No later than three months prior to the expected dissertation defense, following consultation with the dissertation director, the candidate will send the most current version of the dissertation to the complete committee (approximately December 10-15 for a spring graduation, or in early July for a fall graduation).
3. The proposed complete draft of the dissertation should be sent to the dissertation director at least two weeks prior to its submission to the full committee (approximately the second week of February for a spring graduation, or the second week of September for a fall graduation). Candidates having co-directors should submit this a week earlier, allowing time for consultation between the co-directors.
4. The complete penultimate draft of the dissertation should be sent to the committee at least three weeks prior to the dissertation defense (approximately the last week of February for a spring graduation, or the last week of September for a fall graduation).
5. The dissertation defense should occur at least two weeks prior to the deadline for uploading the completed dissertation to ProQuest (hence the defense date would be approximately March 10- 15 for a spring graduation, or October 10-15 for a fall graduation).
6. By approximately the last week of October (for fall graduation) or March (for spring graduation), the dissertation must be uploaded to ProQuest and the Committee Acceptance Form for Electronic Thesis or Dissertation must be submitted, in accordance with the requirements stipulated by the Office of the Graduate School. Candidates must check the specific day of the deadline for the relevant semester. The calendar of academic deadlines for students is consultable online at the Graduate School website.
Time Limits for Degree Completion Requirements
Graduate School information on Time Limits.
Student Progress Requirement
Acceptable academic progress in the PhD program should conform to the MLC Dissertation timeline and Graduate School Requirements.
Additional Academic Requirements
All new graduate teaching assistants must enroll for the appropriate teaching practicum, either FR 512 Practicum Appl Linguist or SP 502 Pract Appl Linguistics.
All doctoral candidates must possess reading knowledge of one language in addition to English, their native language, and their language of specialization.
Academic Misconduct Information
Graduate School information on Academic Misconduct.
Withdrawals and Leave of Absence Information
Graduate School information on Withdrawals and Leave of Absence.
Academic Grievances Information
Graduate School information on Academic Grievances.
Grades and Academic Standing
Graduate School information on Grades and Academic Standing.
Graduate School Deadlines Information
Information on Graduate School Deadlines.
Application for Graduation Information
Information on the Application for Graduation.