Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures (DFLL)

 

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers a graduate program leading to the Master of Arts degree in foreign languages and literatures.  The M.A. program with classes in literature, linguistics and pedagogy allows for considerable breadth of study while offering a well-balanced degree plan.  Students may choose to complete their degree in either French or Spanish.

 

If you are interested in applying for our program, you'll want to check out our application procedures.

 

Information about financial aid and assistanships can be found here.

 

Questions about the graduate program can be directed to the Graduate Advisor, Lourdes Albuixech, at albuixel@siu.edu.

 

Admission

 

In addition to meeting requirements of the Graduate School, the applicant for admission to the programs in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures should have a Bachelor's degree with a major in either French or Spanish.  Applicants should have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in their undergraduate major. Students with other majors who have a knowledge of either French or Spanish and at least 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) of relevant courses on the junior-senior level may be admitted.  If accepted, students not meeting minimum requirements in course work or in language proficiency will need to take additional course work to make up the deficiency before receiving a Teaching Assistantship.  These courses will not count towards fulfilling the degree requirements.  Students who meet requirements for admission to the Graduate School but do not meet departmental requirements may register as unclassified students for specific graduate courses in the department only with consent of the instructor and authorization from the graduate advisor.

 

A non-refundable application fee of $45.00 must be submitted with the application.  Attach your check or money order, payable to Southern Illinois University, to the top of the application form.  Do not send cash.  Only checks or money orders drawn on United States banks will be accepted.  This fee will be waived for students applying from outside of the United States or currently enrolled at SIUC.

 

Admission Deadlines are as follows:

 

April 1 (if applying for fall semester)

 

October 1 (if applying for spring semester)

 

Application form for domestic students

 

Application form for international students

 

General Requirements

 

All students are required to take the following classes:

- FL 437

- FR/SPAN 536

- FR 411/ SPAN 511 or FR 412/ SPAN 512

- FR/SPAN 414

- FR/SPAN 501

- FR/SPAN 570

+ 3 classes of literature

In addition, students choosing Plan I with a Research Paper will also take:

- FL 592

- FL 506 (for French students) or FL 509 (for Spanish students)

 

Students choosing Plan I with a Thesis will also take:

- FR/ SPAN 599

Students choosing Plan II will also take:

- FL 592

- Comprehensive Examinations

 

3 hours of Independent Study will be given only under exceptional circumstances and will not duplicate courses which are available.  The Director of Graduate Studies is responsible for authorizing such work in cooperation with the individual professor.

 

M.A. Options

 

Plan I (Research Option): Either a total of 30 hours of course work plus 1 to 3 hours of credit for a research paper, or a total of 27 hours of course work plus 3 to 6 hours of credit for thesis.

Plan II (Non Research Option): A total of 30 hours of course work, plus Comprehensive Examinations.

 

Curriculum planning

 

Prior to registering, each graduate student is required to plan his/her curriculum with the DepartmentÕs Director of Graduate Studies.  The Director of Graduate Studies will advise the student in all matters pertaining to his/her M.A. Program.  Before the end of the second semester of study, the student will decide upon either a Research Option (Plan I) or Non Research Option  (Plan II) Program.  The student choosing the Non Research Program will take his/her comprehensive examinations at the end of the third semester of study.

 

The following course of studies is strongly suggested:

Transfer of Credits and other Requirements Pertaining to Courses

 

At least 15 hours of course work must be earned in courses at the 500 level or above, and no more than half the credit applied toward fulfillment of the degree requirements may be transferred from other universities.  A student has 6 calendar years to complete the degree and must remain registered (FR/SPAN 601 (Continuing Enrollment)) until the degree is completed.

 

Grades and Grade-point Average

 

Any graduate student whose grade point average falls below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation.  Any graduate student on academic probation whose grade point average remains below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters in which she or he is enrolled, excluding summer sessions, will be permanently suspended from the Graduate School, unless the department and the collegiate dean petition the graduate dean for an exception.

 

Research Option (Plan I)

 

A.  Thesis

 

Description

All students choosing the thesis in the Research Option (Plan I) will register in FR/SPAN 599 (1-6), and must have finished the thesis in a form acceptable to the Committee by the 10th week of their fourth semester, in accordance with the Graduate School's specifications for Theses.  The M.A. Thesis is designed to provide the student with the experience and discipline required to research and to write an original, critical study of considerable breadth and scope on the topic chosen.

A thesis represents a substantial piece of original scholarship.  While it is difficult to quantify such work, a thesis typically runs about 50 pages and, as the name implies, requires the student to propose a thesis statement on a topic and then to develop proof of this statement based upon a review of secondary literature and the studentÕs own critical thinking and analysis.

 

 

Planning
Students should try to complete the thesis in one semester, typically the 4th semester of their graduate studies.  The student will present a written thesis proposal to his/her thesis advisor, preferably at the end of his/her third semester.  This proposal must include a definition and description of a suitable topic, a table of contents, a timetable for completion, and a bibliography.  After approval from the thesis advisor, the student must turn a copy of the thesis proposal to the Director of Graduate Studies.

 

 

Committee

The thesis advisor must have some expertise in the field chosen by the student for his/her thesis.  The thesis advisor and the other 2 members of the thesis committee must be tenure-track or tenured faculty.  Out of the 3 committee members, 1 member (excluding the thesis advisor) may come from a different department, providing his/her specialty is related to the topic of the thesis.

 

 

Defense

There will be a public defense of the studentÕs thesis.  The student is required to circulate and post relevant information to announce his/her defense.  Such information should include at least the title of the thesis, an abstract, a list of the members of the thesis committee, and the location and time of the defense.

 

B. Research paper

 

Description

All students choosing the research paper in the Research Option (Plan I) will register in FL 506 (1-3) for French or FL 509 (1-3) for Spanish, and must select a research paper advisor specializing in the field related to their research paper, in accordance with the Graduate SchoolÕs specifications for Research Papers.  Normally, this paper will have been developed in one of the studentÕs courses or seminars.  The intent of the Graduate SchoolÕs research paper requirement is for the student to demonstrate his/her ability to conduct research on a given topic and to report the findings in a well-thought, critical, and coherent fashion.  It serves to fulfill the Graduate SchoolÕs research requirement.  As such it represents a substantial piece of original work.  Although the emphasis is on reporting what others have contributed to a topic through researching secondary sources, it still requires from the student his/her own critical thinking and analysis.  Typically, a research paper will run approximately 30 pages.

 

Planning

Students should try to complete the research paper in one semester, typically the 4th semester of their graduate studies.  The student will present a written research paper proposal to his/her research paper advisor, preferably at the end of his/her third semester.  This proposal must include a definition and description of a suitable topic, a table of contents, a timetable for completion, and a bibliography.  After approval from the research paper advisor, the student must turn a copy of the research paper proposal to the director of graduate studies.

 

Committee

The research paper advisor must have some expertise in the field chosen by the student for his/her research paper.  The research paper advisor must be tenure-track or tenured faculty and must be appointed in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

 

Defense
There will not be any public defense of the student's research paper.

 

Non Research Option (Plan II)  

 

Comprehensive Examinations

Description

The comprehensive examinations will be written and organized according to the following guidelines:

 

French	Spanish
3 hours French/Francophone literature	3 hours Spanish/Latin American literature
2 hours French linguistics	2 hours Spanish linguistics
2 hours pedagogy	2 hours pedagogy

Each year a faculty member from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will be appointed by the Chair to be in charge of the preparation, organization, scheduling, etc., of the comprehensive examinations.  It is the studentÕs responsibility to contact this faculty member for all matters pertaining to his/her comprehensive examinations, as early as possible during the 3rd semester of his/her graduate studies.  The comprehensive examinations will be based on the courses taken.

 

 

 

French and Spanish Courses offered        

 

FR 410 (3) Advanced Language Study

FR 411 / SPAN 511 (3)          Linguistic Structure

FR 412 / SPAN 512 (3)          History of the Language

FR / SPAN 414 (3) Translation Techniques

SPAN 434 (3) Colonial Literature in Spanish America

FR / SPAN 490 (1-3) Advanced Independent Study  

FR / SPAN 501 (3)     Studies on a selected Topic or Author                        

SPAN 520 (3) Literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance                                              

SPAN 530 (3) The Golden Age: Drama

SPAN 531 (3) Cervantes

SPAN 532 (3) The Golden Age: Poetry and Prose

FR / SPAN 536 (3) Methodology of Teaching Languages

FR 540 (3) Literature of the 18th century

FR / SPAN 550 (3)     Literary Movements of the 19th century

FR / SPAN 560 (3)     Studies in Literature of the 20th century

SPAN 551 (3) Spanish-American Literature of the 19th century

SPAN 561 (3) Spanish-American Literature of the 20th century

FR / SPAN 570 (3) Culture and Civilization

FR 576 (3) Francophone Literature

FR / SPAN 580 (3) Masterpieces in Literature

FR / SPAN 599 (1-6) Thesis

 

Foreign Language (FL) Courses

 

FL 436 (3) Methods in Teaching Foreign Languages

FL 437 (3)       Instructional technology and foreign language learning

FL 506 (1-3) Research problems -French

FL 509 (1-3) Research problems ÐSpanish

FL 592 (3)       Practicum