Graduate Rules and Procedures

 (Revised September 2022) 

The Graduate Program of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Princeton offers students a rich and rigorous formation in the study of the literatures and cultures of Spain and Latin America. 

I. Administration

The Graduate Program of the Department is administered by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), in consultation with the Chair of the Department. These two officers are the Department’s spokespersons on matters of policies and procedures as they pertain to departmental and university requirements and regulations.

Students consult regularly with the DGS concerning their intellectual interests and choices, as well as their course selection and academic performance in meetings scheduled from their first semester and throughout their graduate career.  

Also in keeping with our commitment to fostering communication, a meeting of all students with the Chair and DGS will be scheduled each semester. A third channel for the exchange of ideas is offered by the graduate liaison committee (GLC) composed of graduate students representatives from each year (see section XII for more details) who are expected to consult with the DGS throughout the term to communicate student concerns and suggestions.

Fourth year students and up can keep their advisors/ second reader/ examiners format. Students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years will now have a committee of 3 (including an advisor).

Students should choose their 3rd committee member by September 30 of their 5th semester.

II. Course of Study

The department requires a total of 15 courses to be completed by students by the end of the sixth semester (only one course may be an audit). 

Students normally take 3 or 4 courses for the first 4 semesters of study. In the fourth or fifth semester, 1 of the courses may be audited. Courses chosen for the fifth and –eventually– sixth semester should be particularly relevant to the projected topic of the dissertation. Students typically take 2 courses in the fifth semester and 1 course in the sixth semester, including reading courses.

Students may choose to take 2 or 3 of the 15 required courses in other departments(with an absolute maximum of 5). Thus, at least 10 of the 15 courses must be taken in the department. Of these department-based offerings, students are required to take courses in each of the five fields (Medieval/Early Modern, Colonial, Modern Latin American, Modern Peninsular, and Luso-Afro-Brazilian). One of the 15 required courses should be a course on theory (critical theory, literary theory, cultural theory), which we will make every effort to offer at least every 2 years, and which can be taken in another department.

Students specializing in Hispanic literature and culture are required to take at least one 500-level course taught in Portuguese, and, likewise, students focusing on Luso-Afro-Brazilian topics are expected to take at least one 500-level course taught in Spanish.

III. Grading

No course in the Department is given Pass/Fail (unless force majeure circumstances).  Courses will be graded on a letter basis (A, A-, etc), or receive the designation of “Incomplete” or “Audit”. 

“Incompletes” have a serious impact on the student’s graduate career. Due to Princeton University's new academic calendar, 1 or 2 temporary “Incompletes” are acceptable at the end of the fall semester but must be completed before the subsequent Spring semester begins. A student with more than one “Incomplete” at the time of the General Examination will not be permitted to take the Examination. All incompletes must be completed by the time the student plans to present the thesis proposal.

Post-Generals students with more than one incomplete will not be considered  “in good standing” and will not be reenrolled by the Graduate School.
First year graduate students must submit term papers or take final exams in all of their fall term courses by the last day of the January reading period. This rule is designed to give students time to prepare for the Oral Presentation they will offer in the third week of May.

IV. Oral Presentations

Students in their first year prepare an Oral Presentation that they deliver to the faculty during the second week of the final exam period of the Spring semester. A text is selected by the student from a list supplied by the faculty, using it as the basis from which to develop a fifteen-minute talk, offering a clear line of reasoning in good Spanish or Portuguese. No presentation may last longer than 20 minutes. The student can use notes for the talk, but should not read a prepared text. This is a diagnostic exercise designed to assess the student’s analytical abilities and success in situating the topic chosen in the context of the literary work as a whole. Students should not overburden their presentation of the selected text with secondary readings or theory, nor should they summarize the piece. Instead they should work exhaustively with the text at hand while situating these close readings within the work’s larger historical context.

After the talk, the student will respond to questions regarding the text and the talk. This examination will not be assigned a letter grade; however, the assessment made by the Faculty will be recorded and communicated to the student by the DGS. Failure to perform satisfactorily will result in termination from the program. In some cases, the faculty may recommend that the student strengthen specific areas.

V. Language Requirements

Reading proficiency in a foreign language that is relevant to the student’s field of specialization is required. Since we are a Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Spanish and Portuguese are not considered foreign languages. 

All language exams must be completed by the end of the fourth semester (before the General Examination), and are normally given by the Department once per semester (usually in November and April). Students may also fulfill these requirements by enrolling in an appropriate course, approved by the DGS.

VI. The General Examination

Pre-Generals Requirements(s): Students will receive a reading list of 50 books that they must read before the general exams.

By the end of the second semester, students are expected to declare their primary field of specialization, choosing one of the five possible concentrations:

  1. Medieval/Early Modern
  2. Colonial
  3. Modern Latin American
  4. Modern Peninsular
  5. Luso-Afro-Brazilian
The General Examination consists of two parts:

PART I 

This part of the exam will cover a 50-book reading list that encompasses the 5 fields.  The goal of this part is to test the student’s understanding with some of the most indispensable works in each one of the five fields.  
 
This exam will take place at the end of April of the fourth semester of enrollment. The format of the exam will be take-home and open-book. Students will be asked to formulate responses to two questions per field over the course of three days with, at least, a day of rest in-between the examination of the respective fields. The exam will take place over the course of about three weeks.

PART II

This portion of the General Examination will be in the student’s area of specialization.  It will be taken at the beginning of January in the fifth semester of enrollment.  
 
For this second part, students will write a field statement, that is an academic essay fully addressing a relevant topic to the field in relation to his/her/their future research project. Each field statement will focus on a pressing topic or problematics, a “deep dive” within the student’s intended field of specialization. Essays are expected to encompass no less than 10,000 words (bibliography excluded). General guidelines will be provided. Essays are expected to be developed throughout the semester and will be structurally connected to the subsequent preparation of the dissertation proposal, being however a separate exercise.  
 
As a first step in preparation of this part of the Generals, by the end of the second year the student will identify two faculty members in the field of his/her primary area of specialization from among the five fields.
 
One of these two faculty members will be the dissertation advisor, which the student should choose no later than June of the second year.  The dissertation advisor is required to be a core member of the Spanish and Portuguese Department faculty. External co-advisors will be permitted only in extraordinary cases and with the approval of the primary advisor and the DGS.
 
The field statement will be based on a tailor-made list devised by the student in consultation with the two faculty members. The list’s final version, approved by the two faculty members, must be submitted by the student to the DGS and the Graduate Administrator by August 30 of the second year.
 
It is expected that the list will include at least 50 entries. The list should be divided into sections (e. g., theoretical, critical, historiographic, and/or archival sources). The number and content of the sections will depend on the field of specialization and the topic of the dissertation. All these sections will be relevant to the field statement's preparation.
 
Essays in each field corresponding to Part I will be read at least by one faculty expert in the field who will communicate a grade for each field to the DGS and the Graduate Administrator.
Field statements corresponding to Part II of the general examination will be read by two faculty members (likely student's committee), who should agree on a grade for each question and a global grade for the entire examination. These should be communicated to the DGS and the Graduate Administrator.
 

VII. Dissertation Proposal

A draft of student’s dissertation proposal is expected to his or her advisor by the third week of March of the sixth semester of enrollment.

The articulation of the dissertation topic and the methodology that will be employed in its writing will be made to the faculty in May (after Dean’s Date) of the third year, at the end of the sixth semester, in a 20-minute presentation. It will consist of: 1-a detailed oral presentation of the dissertation topic in the language in which the dissertation will be written; 2-an examination by the faculty on this proposal and its implications. The faculty will make suggestions to the student, either approving the proposal as it stands, or requesting revision and resubmission. (At this time, the Department may also decide to grant the student a terminal Master’s degree.)

The student must submit a written version of the proposal doubled spaced to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for transmission to the faculty no later than one week before the public presentation. This document must include an explanatory essay indicating what the thesis proposes to study, and why it is important to the field. In addition, it should detail a chapter-by-chapter outline of the proposed thesis, and should include a substantial bibliography on the dissertation topic. The presentation should not be a mere summary of the written document—which faculty will already have read—but might explore the process of arriving at the project, methodological challenges and strategies, and analysis of some of the objects/texts/images to be analyzed in the project. The proposal may not exceed 5,000 words, not including the bibliography. The word count (no more than 5,000, excluding the bibliography) must be stated at the beginning of the proposal.

After the public presentation of the proposal, the Director of the Graduate Students (DGS) will communicate the faculty’s comments to the student. If judged unacceptable, the proposal may be resubmitted one time only after revision.

VIII. Thesis-Writing Support

In the fall of the 4th and 5th years, students writing their theses may participate in an informal series of meetings with faculty members to discuss aspects of dissertation research, writing, and structure.

IX. The Language of the Dissertation

Students wishing to write their dissertation in Spanish or Portuguese rather than in English must obtain the prior approval of the DGS, who will consult with the dissertation director. If permission is granted, an explanatory letter from the thesis director and a formal request by the DGS will then be sent to the Dean of the Graduate School, who normally approves the request.

X. The Scope of the Dissertation

The dissertation committee will consist of one advisor and two additional committee members. The dissertation advisor is required to be a core member of the Spanish and Portuguese Department faculty. External co-advisors will be permitted only in extraordinary cases and with the approval of the primary advisor and the DGS.

The dissertation advisor will usually be the first examiner of the student’s General Examination. The composition of the dissertation committee is a matter to be arranged by the student with the advisor.

Timely progress on the dissertation is a prerequisite for readmission and for financial aid. Before graduate students are hired as preceptors or research assistants by faculty members, their dissertation advisor must agree that such employment will not significantly delay completion of the dissertation.

It is assumed that the scope of the dissertation will be such as to allow for its completion in two and a half years. Both the director and the second reader will be kept up to date on the student’s progress, and will read, judge, and critique chapters as they are produced. Both the director and the second reader should approve a final first draft before the dissertation is produced in its final form.
 
As stated in The Graduate School Catalog, “five years following the General Examination are allowed for the completion of the dissertation”. After that time, the Department is under no obligation to direct or receive a dissertation, and does so at its own discretion.

As an example, if a dissertation contained four chapters, the schedule could be the following:  
  • Introduction: by July, 3rd year.
  • Chapter One: by December, 4th year.
  • Chapter Two: by May, 4th year.
  • Chapter Three: by September, 5th year.
  • Chapter Four: by February, 5th year.
  • Final Version: by May, 5th year.

XI. Final Public Oral Dissertation Defense

Please read the Graduate School guidelines on how to prepare for the FPO.

There are three examiners at the defense. Only one of the two readers may serve as principal examiner. The remaining two examiners are selected from among other members of the Faculty. 

An examiner from another institution may participate in the FPO if s/he fills a gap in expertise that cannot be covered by any other professor at the university. Such examiner needs to be first approved by the DGS and, then, by the Graduate School. For more information see: https://gradschool.princeton.edu/academics/degree-requirements/graduate-committee-requirements.

The FPO consists of the following three parts: 1-a brief (thirty-minute) presentation by the candidate of the dissertation in English, Spanish, or Portuguese; 2-an examination by the three principal examiners; and 3-questions by other Faculty in attendance. The exercise usually lasts an hour and a half. The Final Public Oral is open to all members of the University community, and graduate students are welcome to attend.

XII. Graduate Liaison Committee

Each year the graduate students will choose a Graduate Liaison Committee composed of one  representative from the first, second, and third years who will serve as the communicators for graduate student concerns. These representatives will meet with the DGS once per semester, but also whenever issues of immediate concern arise. 

XIII. Teaching Assignments

Spanish students will teach during the fall semesters of their second, third, and fourth years (five to six hours of elementary or advanced language or literary instruction). Portuguese students may be asked to teach either in the fall or in the spring semester of their second, third, and fourth years, depending on departmental teaching needs.

A summary of expectations is provided below.  For more detailed information, please refer to Course Assignment, Information for AIs, and about DCE Status. 

Graduate students will be assigned to teach specific courses based on: previous course evaluations, seniority, appropriateness of field, number of incompletes, and the discretion of the professor in charge of the course. This applies to all levels of teaching, from language courses to precepts.

Students will teach during the fall semesters of their second, third, and fourth years (five to six hours of elementary or advanced language or literary instruction). This will give them time to concentrate on their graduate seminars in their first year, and will also relieve the pressure during the fourth semester, when they will be preparing for their General Examinations.

Besides language teaching, graduate students may have the opportunity to teach in precepts (discussion sections) in literature/culture courses or assist faculty with the teaching of summer study abroad courses or Global Seminars.  If circumstances permit and a student’s area of study is closely aligned to a course, one may be invited by a faculty member to teach a precept, and in such unique cases the following policies will apply.

  1. Graduate students invited to be preceptors for courses of 24 or more will be relieved of their language teaching for that academic year. However, the student must actually lead his or her own precept to receive this course “relief”; he or she cannot, for instance, simply grade for a professor.   Princeton in Argentina/Brazil/Portugal/Spain, Princeton in Cuba, and Global Seminars taught by SPO faculty with the help of the graduate student will also allow participating graduate students language teaching relief.
  2. Precepting can only count in lieu of language teaching if the course is within SPO, for a SPO professor’s course (say, located in PLAS or IHUM), for Princeton in Cuba, or for a SPO-led Global Seminar. Courses taught for other institutions cannot substitute for required teaching or precepting in SPO.
  3. 3. If a student uses summer teaching for a Global Seminar or for Princeton in Argentina/Brazil/Portugal/Spain to count as that academic year’s teaching, he or she will be compensated in the summer and will receive only the regular fellowship during the academic year.
  4. If a proposed course does not achieve a minimum of 18 students in some advance of the semester’s inauguration, the precept will be eliminated and the student will be reassigned language courses when possible.
  5. Every effort will be made to ensure that these opportunities are available for a maximum number of students. However, occasionally a student may serve as a preceptor on more than one occasion.

The Department may elect to provide other forms of support fulfilling the teaching requirement, e.g., languages tables, tutoring, Assistantship, in lieu of teaching when necessary.

Students on external fellowships will also be required to teach, at the Department's discretion. All graduate students will be visited at least once a semester by the head of the course they teach. After the visit, the head of course will meet with the student to discuss performance, offer suggestions and, if necessary, arrange for a follow-up visit. The head of course will also complete a Departmental evaluation form, which will be placed in the student's file.

While these teaching evaluations are confidential and will not be communicated verbatim to a prospective employer, it should be remembered that teaching is an essential part of the student's training, and the Department is usually asked to comment on the student's teaching performance.

XIV. In Absentia and Leave Status

Students should consult the Graduate School for the University´s policies on In Absentia and Leave Status.

XV. Colloquia and Lectures

The Department offers a very lively intellectual climate, with scholarly colloquia, public lectures, workshops, and related events. Graduate student attendance of such events is strongly urged as they provide valuable insights into the scholarship being produced in the respective fields as well as opportunities to engage with leading scholars and participate in events as co-organizers, respondents, and speakers.

Students are encouraged to selectively participate and present papers at professional meetings in the United States and abroad. Given the demands of the program, however, the Department advises that students favor publications in professional journals over conference papers.

XVI. Travel Funds

Requests for funds totaling up to $900 per year for Pre-Generals students, and up to $1,650 per year for Post-Generals students will be available for travel, lodging, and registration expenses incurred while participating in a conference or in connection with research travel. (These funds will not, however, roll over from one academic year to the next.)

Up to $1,000 will be available on a one-time basis for students to travel to the Modern Language Association Convention in connection with a job search.

Additional information and application procedures are available here.

XVII. Publication Funds

In very special cases, the Department will consider supporting publications. A student may petition the Department for subvention funds. If warranted, the Department will determine the extent of the subvention.

XVIII. Placement Dossiers

In the early Fall of their last year of residence in Princeton, students are advised to consult their DGS about creating a Placement Dossier with Interfolio (www.interfolio.com). This is a permanent record that may be sent to the prospective employers to whom the student chooses to apply. It contains curriculum vitae, a course transcript, and letters of recommendation from three or four professors, including a teaching evaluation.

In order to ensure that student’s records have been fully and fairly presented, the DGS may review the dossiers and the Faculty letters of recommendation before they are sent to prospective employers.

The Department will cover Interfolio's annual fee allowing you to send up to 50 applications. If for any reason the student exceeds this approved amount, additional costs will only be covered by the Department if they are approved by the student’s advisor and the DGS.

XIX. DCE Status and Financial Support

Students who have not completed the program by the end of their fifth year at Princeton have the option of applying for an additional year of DCE (Dissertation Completion Enrollment) status (see DCE Status at the Graduate School website). Since DCE students are not funded by the Graduate School in the same manner as regularly enrolled students, the Department may provide additional financial support through the assignment of language courses to departmental students with DCE status. Since the Department cannot guarantee teaching positions to all DCE students in need of financial support, it has therefore established the following guidelines regarding the assignment of courses to DCE students:

  1. Students must be in good standing in the program.
  2. Students must show significant progress towards completing their dissertation. They must present a detailed written report of the state of their project and copies of the sections completed to their advisor and the DGS in the Spring semester of their fifth year. In order to be eligible for DCE status, a student must have finished at least one chapter of his/her dissertation by March 15.
  3. Students are expected to apply for jobs at the MLA conventions and look for other sources of funding (teaching positions, fellowships, and so on) before they request teaching assignments from the Department. 
  4. Students whose last teaching evaluations received an overall mark lower than 4.0 will not be considered for teaching.
  5. The Department will provide only one year of teaching to DCE students.
  6. Students who have been assigned courses will teach a total of three courses, two in the fall and one in the spring.
  7. Students interested in applying for DCE status should read Course Assignment, Information for AIs, and about DCE Status. 

XX.Terminal Masters Degree

Requirements for the terminal M.A. degree:

  1. Successful completion of at least 10 graduate courses with a  minimum grade of B
  2. No INCs
  3. Completion of an M.A. Thesis (approximate length of 40 pages). The thesis can be based on a previous research paper. The advisor would be the faculty member for whom the thesis was written and there will also be a second reader.   Ideally the thesis should be completed before the student's enrollment terminates. It will be accepted up to four months after termination.

XXI. Teaching Prize

The Department will annually award the Arcadio Díaz-Quiñones Prize for excellence in teaching by a graduate student in the department.

 

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