Portuguese Ph.D. - Specialization Areas

Admissions | Advising | Specialization | Course Requirements | Satisfactory Progress
Preliminary (Comprehensive) Examination | Doctoral Dissertation

Specialization Areas

The Portuguese Ph.D. program in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers the following areas of study:

• Medieval and 16th century Portuguese Literature
• Portuguese Literature of the 17th through 19th centuries
• Portuguese Literature of the 20th century
• Brazilian Literature to 1890
• Brazilian Literature since 1890

In the doctoral program the student selects a major and two supporting fields. The major is the area of specialization; the student is expected to have a thorough knowledge of the currents, primary works and critical bibliography pertaining to it. The student is expected to know the most significant writers and works as well as the most important currents and developments in the supporting fields; additionally, the student must have a good knowledge of critical bibliography. The program of studies leading toward the Ph.D. in this Department provides multiple opportunities for the development of analytical skills, and integrated with those skills an extensive knowledge of theoretical issues. The selection of the major and supporting fields is made by the beginning of the second semester of doctoral studies. Any subsequent change should be recorded promptly in the departmental office.