:: Rules and Regulations - MA

 

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Graduate Studies, Department of Portuguese

Master of Arts in Portuguese Studies

MA Entrance Requirements

• BA degree in Portuguese; or
• BA or BS degree in another discipline and demonstrated oral and written competence in Portuguese

Degree Requirements

• A total of 30 credits, including a minimum of 24 course credits
• At least 12 credits (4 courses) must be at the 600 level, including
• POR 610, Topics in Literary and Cultural Analysis
• Additional core courses:
• POR 620: Seminar in Portuguese Literature and Culture
• POR 630: Seminar in Brazilian Literature and Culture
• POR 640: Seminar in Lusophone African Literature and Culture
• POR 650: Comparative Studies in the Portuguese Speaking World
• Up to 9 credits may be taken outside the Department of Portuguese from the approved list of courses taught in the Departments of Art History, History, Political Science and Sociology / Anthropology
• MA students granted a Teaching Assistantship in Portuguese will be required to take POR 521: Teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language
• The degree is designed to be completed in two years and must be completed within six years of beginning course work.

End Assessment Options

• Option A (recommended for terminal MA candidates): Comprehensive exams in literature (based on a reading list).
• Option B (recommended for students planning a PhD in Portuguese): Two-tiered Master Research Project (6 credits).

Graduate Faculty

Prof. Dário Borim Jr. (Portuguese). Brazilian Literature. Brazilian cultural discourse.
Prof. Anna Klobucka (Portuguese). Portuguese and Lusophone African literatures, Portuguese language pedagogy.
Prof. Christopher Larkosh (Portuguese). Portuguese-American and comparative literature, theories of translation.
Prof. Victor K. Mendes (Portuguese). Portuguese literature, critical theory.
Prof. Frank F. Sousa (Portuguese). 19th and 20th century Portuguese and Brazilian fiction.
Prof. Michael Baum (Political Science) Portugal and the European Union, politics and the development of modern Portugal.
Prof. Memory Holloway (Art History). The art of Portugal and Brazil.
Prof. Andrea C. Klimt (Sociology and Anthropology). Cultures of contemporary Portugal, Portuguese in the Americas.
Prof. Gloria Sa (Sociology and Anthropology). Portuguese-American culture.
Prof. Timothy D. Walker (History). Early Modern Europe, the Atlantic World, the Portuguese and their empire, maritime history and European global colonial expansion.
Prof. Cristina Mehrtens (History) Latin American history, Brazilian history.
Endowed Chair (Spring 2005), Prof. Carlos Reis, University of Coimbra; Prof. George Monteiro, Brown University (Spring 2006); Prof. Dorle Dracklé, University of Bremen (Spring 2007); Prof. Bela Feldman-Bianco, UNICAMP (Spring 2008).

Assistantships

The Department of Portuguese will award Teaching Assistantships. Additionally, the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture (Gama Endowment) at UMass Dartmouth expects to award two to three Research Assistantships for the academic year. Prospective students should indicate their interest in seeking an assistantship on their application.

Admissions Process

The Office of Graduate Studies must receive a completed application form, application fee, three letters of recommendation, official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate records, a personal statement, and reports of required examinations before an application is complete and is sent to the department for consideration. Application materials and instructions are available at http://www.umassd.edu/graduate/prospects/waystoapply.cfm or by calling 00-1-508-999-8604.

The Department of Portuguese does not require Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores for admission to the MA, but candidates may strengthen their applications by submitting scores for Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical parts of the GRE. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required from all applicants from countries where English is not the national language and/or whose schooling has not been predominantly in English, unless they will have completed a year or college or university study in the United States before beginning studies at UMass Dartmouth. The minimum TOEFL score is 500 for admission and 550 for award of a teaching assistantship. For detailed information re TOEFL in your country, please consult  www.ets.org/toefl/.

Applicants who do not hold a BA degree [or "Licenciatura"] in Portuguese [Humanities or "Letras"] will be considered on the basis of a BA or BS degree in another discipline [e. g., Social Sciences] and demonstrated oral and written competence in Portuguese. Written competence will be determined by submission of a written sample (10-page personal essay or a course paper in Portuguese are acceptable examples). Oral competence will be demonstrated in the course of an interview conducted by the Graduate Studies Committee (in person or by phone).

The MA and PhD programs are  sponsored, in part, by the Lisbon-based Fundação Luso-Americana and the US-based Millennium bcpbank.

For further detailed information please consult www.umassd.edu/portgrad, the UMD Office of Graduate Studies, and the Department of Portuguese as well.

Jean Salgado, Secretary, Department of Portuguese, Group I, Room 398G
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
Dartmouth, MA 02747. USA.
Phone: 508-910 6586. Fax 508-910-6502. E-mail: jsalgado@umassd.edu
Office hours: Monday, 9-2; Tuesday, 11-3:30; Thursday, 11-3:30; Friday, 11-3:45.

Victor K. Mendes 
Associate Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, Dept. of Portuguese
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
Dartmouth, MA 02747. USA.
Tel. 00-1-508-999 8338
Fax 00-1-508-910-6502
E-mail: vmendes@umassd.edu 

 Last Updated On: 7/11/08