Master of Arts, Spanish
About the Program
Format: In person on the Statesboro Campus or the Armstrong Campus in Savannah
Online coming soon!
Credit Hours: 30
Entry Terms: Fall, Spring, Summer
Time to Complete: Four – Five Semesters
The MA in Spanish is a 30 hour program of study designed to provide students with advanced level courses in Spanish literature, history, and culture. Students can usually complete the program in four semesters.
The combined MA/Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish is a 42 hour program which most students can finish in five semesters.
We typically offer three graduate level classes during Fall and Spring semesters and two classes in the summers. All of these classes are offered on campus in Statesboro. In addition, some of your classes can be acquired in one of our study abroad programs in Spain, Mexico, or in Costa Rica. All of the education courses are offered as online courses.
In addition to your application to the Graduate School, the World Languages and Cultures Department requires preliminary oral, written, and reading tests in Spanish to determine language proficiency. Our students usually begin the program at the Advanced Low level on the ACTFL proficiency scale.
We also offer graduate assistantships which pay stipends plus a tuition waiver. These assistantships give the student valuable experience teaching at the university level in both online and classroom settings. In addition, the foreign language methodology courses provide classroom teaching experience at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. All told, our graduates exit the program with over 1000 hours of field experience. This teaching experience is one of the reasons we have close to a 100% placement rate for our graduates.
Although still relatively small, our program has grown significantly in the last five years. We attribute this growth to four main factors:
- A comprehensive curriculum of Spanish, foreign language methodology, and general education courses that can be finished in four to five semesters
- More than 60% of our students receive paid teaching assistantships with tuition waivers
- Students receive more than 750 hours of field experience at the university, high school, middle school, and elementary levels during the course of the program
- A near 100% immediate placement rate for graduates
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Admission Requirements
- Completed requirements for the Bachelor’s degree in a college accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting associations or a Ministry of Education approved institution if an international student.
- A 3.0 (4.0 scale) cumulative grade point average or higher on all upper-division undergraduate work in which the language of instruction was Spanish.
- An undergraduate major or the equivalent in the proposed field of study or permission of the graduate director and the chair of the department.
- Two letters of recommendation by persons familiar with the applicant’s academic experience.
- Minimum oral and writing proficiency rating of Intermediate High (ACTFL Standards) as determined by a trained ACTFL Proficiency evaluator (the department has trained evaluators).
Applicants may be approved for provisional admission based on the quality of the admission material presented. Provisional students must earn grades of ‘B’ or higher in their first nine (9) hours of course work after admission and meet any other stipulations outlined by the department to be converted to regular status.
*International transcripts must be evaluated by a NACES accredited evaluation service and must be a course by course evaluation and include a GPA. (naces.org)
Comprehensive Exams
All degree candidates will take comprehensive written and oral examinations. The written exam will be taken over two separate days in four-hour blocks. Students will answer eight questions related to their coursework, writing for one hour on each. After the written exams, on a separate day, the student will be examined orally. The oral exam will consist of a 15 minute presentation of one of the student’s research projects followed by a question and answer period during which students will field questions about the presentation, the written exam, and courses taken throughout the program.
Students who fail the Comprehensive Exams may appeal to retake the exams one additional time. Students must retake the Comprehensive Exams within one year of their original attempt. Under no circumstances may the Comprehensive Exams be taken a third time. Students do not need to be enrolled in courses in order to retake the Comprehensive Exams.
M.A.T. Admissions Requirements in Addition to the M.A.:
- Hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- Present a transcript evaluation by the College of Education’s Director of the Graduate Academic Service Center, and completion of specified prerequisite content course work.
- Present a cumulative 2.50 (4.0 scale) grade point average or higher on all undergraduate and graduate work combined.
- Present a total adjusted GPA of 2.75 or higher on all teaching field course work.
- For Study Concentration Four (Spanish), candidates are not required to take either the MAT or the GRE; rather, they must pass an Oral Proficiency Interview and a Writing Proficiency Test in Spanish at the ACTFL-defined IH or above (tests administered by the Department of World Languages and Cultures).
- Submit a passing score on the GACE Content Assessment in the area for which one is seeking certification.
- Submit a personal statement of purpose, not to exceed 200 words, that identifies the applicant’s reasons for pursuing graduate study and how admission into the program relates to the applicant’s professional aspirations.
- Acknowledge “Disclosure and Affirmation” statements that address the Code of Ethics for Educators and the need for tort liability insurance.
- International applicants and U.S. Citizens whose native language is not English must demonstrate competence in English, Applicants must pass and Oral Proficiency Interview and a Writing Proficiency Test in English at the ACTFL-defined IH or above (test administered by the Department of World Languages and Cultures).
- If an applicant was previously enrolled in an initial teacher preparation program, an interview must be completed with the Program Coordinator prior to admission to the program.
Deadlines
Fall
Priority: March 1*
Final: July 20*
Spring
Priority: October 1*
Final: December 1*
Summer
April 20*
*The application and all required documents listed on the “admissions requirements” tab for the program must be received by the deadline. If all required documents are not received by the deadline your application will not be considered for admission.
Program Contact Information
Ángela Pinilla-Herrera, PhD
Interim Director and Advisor MA/MAT Spanish
Department of World Languages and Cultures
apinilla@georgiasouthern.edu
Last updated: 1/12/2024