Spanish Master of Arts
Earn a Master of Arts in Spanish within a span of three summers!
This program is for those individuals interested in earning a Master of Arts in Spanish within a span of three summers. An attractive feature of the program is the fact that all of the graduate courses will be taken during three summer sessions; the academic year course load will be relatively light. Thus, students will be able to finish the courses within a 26-month time span while maintaining full-time employment. Students from out of the area also may take elective courses during the academic year at other institutions, with the approval of the graduate advisor. Program faculty will include both SSU Spanish faculty and visiting faculty from other institutions teaching in their area of specialization. Click here for more information.
Program Overview
Program Overview. The program takes a generalist approach. Whereas most programs only allow students to specialize in one area or another, ours requires students to study at least three courses in literature, two in linguistics, one in pedagogy, and furthermore provides a mentored teaching practicum experience or internship. Students will pursue their curricular interests in greater depth by taking additional elective senior or graduate level courses (of which at least 12 units must be taken). Upon completion of the program, it is anticipated that all students will be able to:
- Be prepared (both in curricular and pedagogical terms) to teach any course in Spanish language, literature, or culture in secondary schools, community colleges, or among lower-division university courses.
- Submit a competitive application to regionally or nationally recognized Ph.D. programs in such areas as Hispanic literatures, linguistics, or pedagogy.
- Be able to conduct original research on topics of applied or theoretical linguistic interest in Spanish.
- Be able to conduct original research on topics related to Hispanic literature with a solid grounding in the literary canon.
Faculty Coordinator
Parissa Tadrissi, Ph.D.
Dr. Parissa Tadrissi currently holds the rank of Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Sonoma State University, having come from the College of Charleston in 2010. She earned a Master's Degree in Spanish (2002) and a Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literatures from UC Santa Barbara (2006). Dr. Tadrissi is the Director of the Master's program in Spanish and a member of the senior faculty in the Spanish program.
Graduate Student Conference on Spanish Language Teaching
Each summer the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and the School of Arts and Humanities host the graduate-student-coordinated Sonoma Graduate Student Conference on Spanish Language Teaching.