Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree

Goals and Description of the Combined BA-MA Program

The goal of the Combined BA-MA Degree Program is to provide undergraduates with the opportunity to earn a BA-MA in five years. This program combines a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese with a Master of Arts degree in Spanish, condensing what would normally be six years of study into five years. This program is designed especially for advanced students who wish to take advantage of the opportunity to begin their graduate career early.

Undergraduate Component

Once accepted into the program, students will register during their senior year in the seminars and other graduate courses offered by the department.  These courses will count toward both the BA and the MA.

Students will remain classified as undergraduates until they have completed 128 hours. At that time, the Graduate School will reclassify them as graduate students, provided that they have maintained a graduate-school mandated minimum GPA of 3.0 in graduate-level courses. Once they are reclassified students may apply for a Graduate Assistantship.

Fifth Year Graduate Component

In the 5th year, at least 20 semester hours of graduate courses will be completed toward the graduate degree component (six three-credits courses or seminars, plus two credits for the Practicum). Subject to departmental approval, three credits (one course) completed toward the graduate degree component may be taken outside of the department

Requirements

Students will take during the fifth year a comprehensive exam that covers the areas of Peninsular literature, Latin American literature, and Spanish linguistics. Students are expected to write and defend a thesis by the completion of the fifth year, and in any case no later than the end of that summer.  The thesis could be based on one or two of the research papers written to fulfill the requirements of Graduate Seminars.

Application

The deadline for admission to the BA-MA program is February 1 of the junior year. Interested students should have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 and a GPA in Spanish of 3.8 by the time of application. Students should send a letter to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese stating their interest in the program and provide two letters of recommendation as well as an official copy of their transcripts. At least one of the support letters must be from a faculty member in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Highest priority will be given to candidates who have studied abroad for a minimum of one semester and preferably for one year. Only full time students are eligible for the Combined BA-MA Degree Program.

A maximum of two students per year of the combined program are eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Contact Person
José Domínguez Búrdalo
244 Irvin Hall
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
513.529.4520