Pursue a Master of Arts in Hispanic Studies at WMU! Enhance your career, explore cultural complexities, and apply today for international student support.
The Department of Spanish at Western Michigan University offers a Master of Arts in Hispanic studies degree, which consists of 30 credit hours of course work and normally is completed by full-time students in two years, although some students finish the program in less time. The mission of the MA program is to provide students with a broad humanistic foundation in Hispanic studies. It fosters critical thinking and an understanding of the Spanish-speaking world in all of its cultural, linguistic, demographic, historical and social complexities. Toward this end, the MA in Hispanic Studies transcends traditional learning boundaries with a cross-disciplinary approach. MA students have the unique opportunity to pursue coursework with every member of our graduate faculty during their first four semesters of study at WMU. Students have the flexibility to design, in consultation with the Graduate Advisor, a personalized program of study incorporating, any combination of courses offered by the Department of Spanish in the diverse areas of Hispanic studies, in order to learn to research theories and methodologies appropriate to their chosen fields of study. Students who graduate with an MA from the department of Spanish at WMU demonstrate, orally and in writing, the ability to analyze different forms of linguistic, literary and/or cultural expression in the Spanish-speaking world. The program prepares students to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish or for further graduate study in other fields, such as European Studies, Latin American Studies, translation and interpretation, comparative literature, and law. The program also offers high school teachers an excellent opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills as a means of career advancement. In the broadest sense, this humanistic foundation prepares students to be critical thinkers who can make meaningful contributions to society throughout their entire lives as multilingual, multicultural citizens of an ever-changing world.
