Foreign Language and Literatures

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Chair: Anne L. Birberick

Graduate Faculty

Carl W. Atlee, assistant professor, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Katharina Barbe, associate professor, Ph.D., Rice University
John R. Bentley, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Hawaii
Anne L. Birberick, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Virginia
Dennis E. Brain, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Louise Ciallella, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Jessamine Cooke-Plagwitz, assistant professor, Ph.D., Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
Mary L. Cozad, assistant professor, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
William F. Harrison, associate professor, Ph.D., University of New Mexico
John F. Hartmann, Presidential Teaching Professor, Ph.D., University of Michigan
Patricia B. Henry, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Michigan
Frances Jaeger, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Illinois
Joanna Kot, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Chicago
Maryline Lukacher, associate professor, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Michael L. Mazzola, professor, Ph.D., Cornell University
Eloy E. Merino, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Miami
Michael C. Morris, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Christopher Nissen, associate professor, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Joshua P. Rodriguez, assistant professor, Ph.D., Ohio State University 
Linda K. Saborio, assistant professor, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Francisco Solares-Larrave, associate professor, Ph.D., University of Illinois
Pablo Virumbrales, assistant professor, Ph.D., Ohio State University
Philippe Willems, assistant professor, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers a graduate program leading to the M.A. degree. Students may pursue a specialization in French or Spanish. The program permits selective enhancement of particular skills, such as translation, linguistics, or cultural and literary analysis. The curriculum provides a core experience consisting of courses in linguistics, culture, and literature culminating in a practicum (applied project or internship) or thesis. It also allows for the exploration of related interdisciplinary fields.

On admission to the program, each student will be assigned a graduate advisory committee appointed by the chair of the department. This committee will consist of three members and will be chaired by one person designated as the student’s adviser. Responsibility for approving the student’s program of courses rests with this committee, which will also assess any work done at other institutions and grant up to 6 semester hours of transfer credit for graduate work deemed acceptable, subject to subsequent approval by the Graduate School. Student-at-large hours may not exceed 9 semester hours for students pursuing a master’s degree in foreign languages, except in special circumstances with consent of department. The committee will also be responsible for the administration of the thesis or practicum and for the supervision of an exit examination to test oral proficiency.

Students seeking admission to the M.A. program in foreign languages should have completed an undergraduate major in French or Spanish or have a demonstrated proficiency at an equivalent level. Students also must possess a practical command of the target language (determined by interview) and be able to follow lectures in it. Admission to the program is on a competitive basis.

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