Portuguese Ph.D. - Course Requirements

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

Course Requirements

The minimum requirements are: nine credits in the major and six in each of the two supporting fields. Course credits earned in the M.A. program, with the exception of Port 311-312, Port 340, Port 361-362, Port 707 (the proseminar), and any transfer credits used to satisfy M.A. requirements, do satisfy the Ph.D. course requirements. A maximum of three credits of independent study (Port 899) in each of the areas of concentration may be used, with prior departmental approval, when corresponding courses are not offered in a timely fashion.

A minimum of six semesters of seminars are required. At least four semesters of seminars are required beyond the M.A. One of these seminars may be taken outside the Department, with the adviser's consent. The proseminar is for M.A. students only and does not count for doctoral credit.

Three credits of course or seminar work is the minimal requirement in literary theory.

Language Requirements: A knowledge of several languages is essential for doctoral research. Therefore, students are urged to fulfill the language requirements as early as possible in their doctoral studies. In any case, they must be fulfilled prior to the Preliminary Examination. The candidate must demonstrate advanced proficiency in a minimum of two languages, to be determined in consultation with the adviser. The most common languages are Spanish, French, Italian, Latin, German and Arabic, depending on the candidate's major and minor. Advanced proficiency is defined as six college semesters with a grade of B or better. An advanced pass on the U.W.-Extension Reading Knowledge Examinations in French and German for graduate students will be accepted as an alternative. Exceptions to the above policies may be petitioned by the adviser to the Departmental Committee.

Teaching Requirement. All candidates for the Ph.D. degree must teach courses in their language specialty within the Department (or teach courses outside approved by the Department) for a minimum of two semesters. Such teaching is for the purpose of professional training, and the candidate's performance will be monitored by course supervisors and the Departmental evaluation committee. The degree will not be conferred until this requirement has been satisfied.

Residency Requirement. Prior to taking the Preliminary Examination, the candidate must have taken a minimum of two semesters of six credits each in the Department. This does not include Independent Study.

Ph.D. Minor. The doctoral candidate must present a minor in work done outside of Portuguese. The minor should be in an area related to the major field of interest. Spanish, French, Comparative Literature, Linguistics, Latin-American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies are among the most common minors. Distributed minors must be approved by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Requirements for the minor are established by the respective department. Since the minor should complement the student's major area of concentration, the student should arrange his/her program with the minor department as early as possible in the doctoral career.Since the minor should complement the student's major area of concentration, the student should arrange his/her program with the minor department as early as possible in the doctoral career. For a minor in Spanish, students should have a minimum of twelve credits at the 500 level or above. Three of these credits must be taken as a seminar and three, in consultation with the minor adviser, may also be taken as independent study.