Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Hispanic Studies

The Department of Hispanic Studies at Brown University trains students to be both specialists and generalists, language teachers and literature scholars, researchers and active intellectuals. We think of our graduate students as colleagues and teachers of the future, and encourage them to develop their critical and creative interests from the moment they enter the program. Our students also directly enrich the program during the years they spend in training with us by organizing special events such as our biannual graduate student conference, reading groups, and other intellectual and creative activities. Our program begins with a strong training across the various fields of Hispanic Studies. Our faculty represents a broad range of topics and approaches, and students are required to take at least one course with each of our professors during the first two years, culminating in a written examination based on a list of general works. In the third year, students are guided toward more specialized study: in addition to working closely with their chosen advisor on a topic for an article-length major paper, students draw up a list of specialized readings in a major and minor field, leading to an oral examination in the spring semester, and the presentation of a dissertation prospectus shortly thereafter. The fourth and fifth years are dedicated to researching and writing the dissertation, during which time our students can count on careful guidance from members of their committee. In addition to guidance on their research projects, students also receive hands-on preparation for entry into the job market, in which Brown has had notable success in recent years. Students take a total of fifteen courses during their first three years at Brown: three courses per semester in the first and second years (plus one language-instruction methodology course in the spring of the first year), and two over the course of the third year, one of which may be an independent study devoted to work on the major paper. (Students entering the program with an MA may be exempted from up to two courses, after consultation with the director of graduate studies.) Course offerings are plentiful, as each faculty member teaches one graduate seminar each year, from panoramic courses covering broad areas (e.g. Golden Age Spain, Colonial Latin America, modern Latin American poetry or narrative) to more focused seminars on writers, movements, or topics, often transatlantic in scope. While being trained as scholars in Hispanic Studies, students are also encouraged to take classes in related disciplines, such as French and Francophone Studies (with whom we share the beautiful Rochambeau House), Comparative Literature, English, History, Literary Arts, Modern Culture and Media, and Portuguese and Brazilian Studies. Students must also show proficiency in two languages other than Spanish and English during the period of their training at Brown; these requirements may be fulfilled by taking a course in the appropriate language, or by passing an exam, or by presenting previous coursework from another institution. From the second year onward, our graduate students serve as teaching assistants and fellows, in courses ranging from beginning to Advanced Spanish, often with the possibility of designing their own survey course in literature in the final year of the program. The Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown offers further training in specific aspects of teaching, and many of our students choose to follow certificate programs to enrich their teaching acumen.