Old Ph.D. Degree in Hispanic Languages and Literatures
Prerequisites for Admission:
1. A B.A. degree with studies in Spanish and Spanish-American literature in general equivalent to the undergraduate major at Berkeley (minimum 30 upper-division semester units), including general surveys of both Spanish and Spanish-American literatures OR with a corresponding major in Luso-Brazilian literature.
2. The completion, with a grade point average of 3.0 or better, of 8 post-baccalaureate courses in (1) Spanish and/or Spanish-American literature, or (2) Luso-Brazilian literature, or (3) Hispanic Linguistics and/or Philology, of which at least 6 must be graduate level courses or equivalent preparation (work equivalent to an M.A. degree).
3. Work at an advanced level in an appropriate collateral subject (literature or linguistics).
Requirements for Conferral of the Degree:
There are no specific unit requirements. The student will select a field of specialization and a suitable combination of collateral fields from the list of Specializations and Attendant Collaterals, study in which will lead to the Qualifying Examination.
For admission to the Qualifying Examination the student's record at a minimum must show:
- 1. A Permission-to-Continue Evaluation and satisfaction of any stipulations set as a result of it.*
- 2. One graduate course in historical or descriptive Hispanic Linguistics.
- 3. One graduate course in Literary or Linguistic Theory.
- 4. A reading knowledge of two foreign languages pertinent to the specialization.
* Students having taken the M.A. Exam at Berkeley are excused from this requirement.
Guide for the Completion of the Degree requirements:
1. Permission-to-Continue Evaluation:
Though a comprehensive knowledge of Spanish and Spanish-American or Luso-Brazilian literatures or Hispanic Linguistics is expected upon entrance into the Ph.D. program, experience shows that many students arrive with gaps in their preparation.
The Department Chair, in consultation with the student's adviser, will appoint an ad-hoc committee which will, as soon as possible during the first semester, evaluate the student's previous record in a Permission-to-Continue Evaluation. In doing so, the ad-hoc committee will look for evidence of comprehensive study of Spanish and Spanish-American Literature, or Luso-Brazilian literature, or Hispanic Linguistics, and some familiarity with Literary or Linguistic Theory.
If deficiencies are found, students may be required to:
1. take the sections of the M.A. exam that correspond to their lacunae;
2. take course work at UCB in the field;
OR
3. be examined on the lacunae at the end of the first year in the program. If an examination is required, it must be passed in each of its parts. Unsatisfactory performance in any part must be remedied by the end of the student's third term in the program either by re-examination or coursework, at the option of the examining committee.
2. Historical or Descriptive Hispanic Linguistics:
This requirement may be satisfied by Spanish 201, 202, or 203 given by the Department, or their equivalents, with a grade of B or better, or by written examination
3. Foreign Language Requirements:
Two foreign languages pertinent to the specialization. This requirement may be satisfied by passing the Reading Examinations administered by the Department. Reading knowledge of one of the two languages must be satisfied by the written examination, the other may be done by written examination or by passing, with a grade of B or better, an upper-division or graduate level course in that language.
The requirement should be satisfied as early as possible in the student's doctoral career and must be completed prior to Admission to the Qualifying Examination. Portuguese does not satisfy the Foreign Language Requirement for candidates choosing specialization D.
4. Reading List for the Collateral Fields:
These normally consist of a list of 12-15 books, selected by the student in consultation with a faculty member. A copy of this list should be submitted to the Graduate Assistant the semester prior to the proposed Qualifying Examination.
5. Qualifying Examination:
When prepared, the student will take a written and oral examination on the selected field of specialization and the collateral subjects chosen to accompany it. Students considering presenting themselves for the qualifying examination should consult the Graduate Assistant and the Graduate Adviser no later than the tenth week of the preceding semester.
The Graduate Adviser will review the student's complete record, including completion of all course and language requirements, and any requirements imposed at the Permission to Proceed Evaluation. The student must also complete an application form with the Graduate Assistant at least four weeks before the exam. Students may not take the qualifying examination if they have more than one incomplete.
Examination committees are made up of five members, including at least one person from outside the Department. One member of the committee will chair the exam; the chair of the examination committee may not also direct the dissertation. Students may suggest members of their examination committees, but the final composition of the committee will be determined by the graduate advisers in consultation with the Department chair.
The written examination will be six hours in length, over one or two days, as the student wishes. The oral examination will be three hours long. The Graduate Assistant will schedule at least two weeks between the written and the oral exam, and the chair of the examination committee will inform the student of the result of the written examination before the oral exam.
6. Dissertation:
Once the Qualifying Examination has been passed and formal Advancement to Candidacy is approved by the Graduate Division, the student will write a doctoral dissertation under the guidance of a director and faculty committee (selected by the student and his/her Graduate Advisor and approved by the Graduate Division), embodying the results of original research on a subject chosen by the student in consultation with the dissertation director.
Dissertation committees are made up of a minimum of three members, including one person from outside the Department. The outside member serves as the Dean’s representative and must be a member of the Berkeley Academic Senate. The Chair of the student’s Qualifying Examination Committee cannot direct the dissertation.
After obtaining the dissertation director’s approval of the proposed topic, the student will complete the “Application for Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D.,” a form available from the Graduate Assistant of the student’s Department, for approval by the Graduate Division. Doctoral students should bear in mind that it is to their advantage to be “Advanced to Candidacy” as soon as possible following completion of the Qualifying Examination (see Normal Progress Schedule).
Should the need for a change in membership of the committee arise, students should speak both with their dissertation director and the Graduate Adviser in their Department. To effect a change, a form entitled “Request for Change in Higher Degree Committee” must be completed and signed by the Graduate Adviser (after having informed all parties involved in the change, including those that have been dropped from the committee). This form is then submitted to the Graduate Division for review and approval.
7. Dissertation Proposal:
The student will submit with selected bibliography a dissertation proposal to the Dissertation Committee before the end of the first semester following the Qualifying Examination. It is expected that the proposal will describe the intended research, establish the textual corpus to be examined, provide a basic bibliography and, if possible, set the project within current research in the field (10-15 pages on average). After examining this material, the dissertation committee will meet with the student to discuss the proposal, to set up a timetable, and to give final approval to the dissertation project. A signed copy of the report should be given to the graduate assistant for your file.
8. Submitting a Dissertation in a Language other than English:
Special approval from the Graduate Council is required to submit a dissertation or thesis in a language other than English. A memo from your dissertation director requesting permission to the Dean must be mailed to the Graduate Division the semester prior to filing the dissertation. After approval is given, an abstract in English must be included with the dissertation or thesis.
Requests for approval should be submitted to Graduate Degrees and Petitions, 302 Sproul Hall. Please notify the Graduate Assistant the semester prior to filing the dissertation to petition approval.
Normal Progress Schedule:
The minimum residence requirement for a Ph.D. degree from UCB is two years (four semesters). It is the general experience, however, that more time will be necessary to fulfill the requirements for the degree in Hispanic Languages and Literatures. Four to five years is a more realistic projection for completion. The Graduate Division's "Normative Time" allowance for the program is set at five (5) years.
Specializations and Attendant Collaterals:
A. Medieval Hispanic Literature
Collateral requirement: (3 of the following 4)
1. One of the following literatures:
- a. Classical, Imperial, Medieval or Humanistic Latin.
- b. Arabic.
- c. Biblical Hebrew or Hispano-Hebrew.
- d. Classical, Hellenistic or Byzantine Greek.
2. One of the following literatures:
- a. Medieval Occitan
- b. Medieval French
- c. Medieval Italian.
3. One of the following literatures:
- a. Medieval Galician-Portuguese
- b. Medieval Catalan.
4. Literary Theory
B. Spanish and Spanish-American Literatures, 16th — 18th Centuries (Option 1 or 2)
1. Emphasis on Spanish Literature, c. 1500 — c. 1750 (with studies in Colonial Spanish-American Literature to 1820).
Collateral requirement: (two of the following)
- a. Classical Latin literature
- b. Classical Greek literature
- c. French literature of a pertinent period
- d. Italian literature of a pertinent period.
- e. Portuguese literature of a pertinent period
- f. British literature of a pertinent period.
- g. Literary theory or Luso/Hispanic Linguistics.
OR
2. Emphasis on Colonial Spanish-American Literatures, c. 1500 — c. 1820 (with studies in Spanish literature from 1500 to c. 1750).
Collateral requirement: (two of the following)
- a. Classical Latin literature
- b. Classical Greek literature
- c. Brazilian literature of a pertinent period.
- d. French literature of a pertinent period.
- e. Italian literature of a pertinent period.
- f. Portuguese literature of a pertinent period.
- g. Modern Spanish-American literature (ONLY if work in this area was done after admission to the doctoral program)
- h. Literary theory or Luso/Hispanic Linguistics
C. Modern Spanish and Spanish-American Literatures
1. Emphasis on Spanish literature since c. 1750 (with studies in Spanish-American literature since 1820)
Collateral requirement: (2 of the following)
- a. French literature of a pertinent period.
- b. One other appropriate literature of a pertinent period.
- c. Literary theory or Luso/Hispanic Linguistics
OR
2. Emphasis on Spanish-American literature since c. 1820 (with studies in Spanish literature since 1750)
Collateral requirement: (2 of the following)
- a. An appropriate literature of a pertinent period.
- b. A second appropriate literature of a pertinent period, OR Colonial Spanish-American literature (if work in this area was done after admission to the doctoral program).
- c. Literary theory or Luso/Hispanic Linguistics
D. Latin American (Spanish-American and Brazilian literatures — all periods)
Collateral requirement: (2 of the following)
- a. One appropriate literature of a pertinent period.
- b. A second appropriate literature of a pertinent period.
- c. Literary theory or Luso/Hispanic Linguistics
E. Luso-Brazilian Literature (all periods of EITHER Portuguese OR Brazilian literature AND a selected period of EITHER Brazilian or Portuguese literature (For the selected period, the student must elect Brazilian literature if the area of concentration is Portuguese literature, and Portuguese literature if the area of concentration is Brazilian literature))
Collateral requirement: (2 of the following)
- a. A selected period of Spanish and Spanish-American literature
- b. One other appropriate literature
- c. Literary theory or Luso/Hispanic Linguistics
F. Hispanic Linguistics (descriptive, applied and historical)
Collateral requirement:
- a. An appropriate field of general linguistics and
- b. The linguistics of an appropriate language or suitable literary specialty.
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