The department offers a Master of Arts degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures, with a specialization in French, German, or Spanish. Specializing in any of these disciplines signals a unique program of study, which is serviced by the corresponding graduate faculty of the French, German, or Spanish sections of the department. The mission of the graduate program is to educate students in one of the languages, cultures, and literatures of these three disciplines at the highest possible level, to provide students with a broad knowledge base from which to pursue more-specialized studies, and to offer a depth of experience in scholarship that will advance their future professional activities. The department's excellent placement record attests to its commitment to the intellectual and professional formation of its graduate students.

Before the end of the semester in which the student completes 9 graduate credits, or before the end of the second semester of study, whichever is last, the student must form, in consultation with the graduate advisor, an Advisory-Examining committee (A-E committee). This committee advises the student, supervises the student’s program of study, and conducts the student’s written comprehensive and final oral examinations. Failure to form this committee within the allotted time is sufficient cause for suspension from the program and removal from TAship applicant and reappointment lists.

The A-E committee must consist of at least three members of the graduate faculty, of whom two represent the student’s specialization and one represents the university at large. The two committee members who represent the student’s specialization are selected from the corresponding French, German, or Spanish section, and the university-at-large member is selected from university faculty who are not members of this department. If a major-minor program is elected, at least two members must represent the major, one must represent the minor, and one must represent the university at large.

Committee member changes may be made only for valid reasons, like a committee member’s illness or absence from campus, but no change may be made without the approval of a majority of the section's graduate faculty. Failure to complete satisfactorily the written comprehensive or final oral examinations, or any portion of them, is not a valid reason for changing the make-up of the committee.

Graduate school regulations require students to maintain continuous registration of at least 3 credit hours per semester to retain graduate standing. Students studying for comprehensive exams or writing theses must (even if they are not in residence) register for at least 3 credit hours each semester (summers excluded) until graduation.

A maximum of 3 credits of satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) grades may be applied toward the MA degree. No graduate credit is allowed for correspondence study completed at another university. Graduate credits earned through extension courses are not accepted for transfer credit. Graduate special or transfer credits (a combined maximum of 9) from another institution must be approved by the student’s A-E committee and by Admissions and Records. A student may enroll in courses offered by other departments, but only graduate credits from courses specifically approved by the student’s A-E committee will be applied toward meeting degree requirements.

Students may elect to pursue two MA programs. These students must be formally admitted to both programs. Two separate A-E committees with different chairs are required, with no more than one graduate faculty member belonging to both committees. A maximum of 9 graduate credits earned in one MA program may be applied toward the second MA degree.

Students who elect Plan A must have an outline of the thesis approved by the A-E committee. Following this approval, the student is expected to complete the thesis in a manner satisfactory to the committee. Permission for off-campus work on the thesis must be approved by the A-E committee and by the graduate dean. Thesis courses are not graded and not counted in GPA calculations. After the thesis is completed, defended, and accepted by the A-E committee and the graduate dean, non-letter grade credit is posted to the student’s academic record.

The deadline for submission of the thesis in final form is one week before the close of the semester. The graduate dean makes final approval of the thesis.

Together with the thesis, the student must submit an abstract not exceeding 150 words in length. Please contact the graduate school for other thesis requirements, deadlines, guidelines on thesis format, and copies required.

Every student is required to demonstrate reading proficiency in an approved language other than the target language (the language of the student’s MA specialization) and English. The purpose of this requirement is to enable students to read scholarly books and journals, written in another language, dedicated to works written in the student’s target language. This requirement must be met at the student’s earliest convenience and always before enrolling in a comprehensive examination course. The student’s A-E committee will not schedule the comprehensive examination unless the requirement has been met in one of these four ways:

1) By completing at UNR, with a grade of "B" or better, a fourth semester language course (a grade of "B minus" does not satisfy the requirement).

2) By transferring to UNR, with a grade of "B" or better, the credits of a fourth semester–or equivalent–language course (a grade of "B minus" does not satisfy the requirement). If the credits transferred are of a course in a language also offered at UNR, then the requirement is met. If the language is not offered at UNR, then the student’s A-E committee decides whether the requirement is met; to aid it in its decision, the committee may ask the student to show that scholarly works about the target literature are published and available in the language in question.

3) By passing a written examination that tests the student’s reading abilities in a language offered at UNR and in which scholarly works about the target literature are published and available. An examination in a given language may not be taken more than twice. Examination procedures:

4) By providing evidence of native-speaker status in a language other than the target language or English and, if requested by the A-E committee, evidence that scholarly works about French, German, or Hispanic literature (depending on the student’s MA specialization) are published and available in that language.

To supplement and complement coursework leading to the MA degree, the faculty of each language section have approved a reading list. It is the responsibility of each student to read every title on the list that corresponds to their specialization (French, German, or Spanish) and to be prepared to answer questions about any work on the list during the written comprehensive and final oral examinations. Students are urged to begin a systematic reading schedule upon entering the program, and to consult regularly with the A-E committee chair about their progress.

The faculty of each language section may update or change its reading list from time to time. If a reading list is changed in the course of a student’s program of study, the student has the option of selecting the new list or the list that was in effect when the student entered the program. However, when selecting a non-current list, the student must make this choice known, in writing, to the chair of his or her A-E committee at least one semester before taking the comprehensive examination.

Students must apply for graduation during the semester prior to the semester in which they plan to graduate; please consult the university calendar in the General Catalog or the "Important Dates" link in the graduate school website for specific deadlines—failure to meet the deadline will postpone the graduation date. Students must purchase an Application for Graduation form at the cashier’s office, complete it, and deliver it to Admissions and Records. Students must be enrolled in a comprehensive examination course (FLL 795) during the semester in which they take the MA exams. The credits for this S/U course may not be applied toward satisfying the credit requirements for the degree.

Comprehensive and oral examinations, which are administered by the program after the language requirement has been met and after most of the coursework is completed, are designed to ensure that the student has attained a reasonable level of mastery in the chosen field of specialization. In consultation with the chair of the student’s A-E committee and the graduate director in French, German, or Spanish, the student registers for the comprehensive examination course (FLL 795) and a date is set (usually, for late Spring or late Fall) for the examination.

Examinations cover the material that one might reasonably expect a candidate for an MA degree to know, as reflected in each of the three discipline’s reading lists and in graduate coursework completed. While the department makes every effort to offer courses in a wide variety of areas, the four to six semesters of a typical full-time student’s MA program are insufficient to cover every area. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the candidate to prepare for the examination by carefully studying all of the works on the reading list and by conducting any additional research that the A-E committee recommends.

The A-E committee determines whether the student has completed the examination satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily. In arriving at its determination, the committee may consult with faculty who have submitted questions and with other graduate faculty. The committee may allow, at its sole discretion, no more than one retake of the comprehensive examination, in whole or in part. Any retake, if allowed by the committee, must take place in the subsequent semester and no later. If a student earns a grade of unsatisfactory (U), in-progress (X), or incomplete (I) in the examination course, that grade must be improved to satisfactory (S) during the immediately subsequent semester, or the graduate school will remove the student from graduate standing.

The A-E committee determines whether the student has completed the final oral examination satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily. The committee may allow, at its sole discretion, no more than one retake of the oral examination, in whole or in part (as parts 1 and 2 are defined above). Any retake, if allowed by the committee, must take place in the subsequent semester and no later.

The graduate school dictates that all requirements for the MA degree must be satisfied within the period of six years immediately prior to the granting of the degree.

TAs are assigned individual mailboxes in the department. A separate, single mailbox is available for all graduate students who are not TAs. A bulletin board dedicated to graduate program matters (announcements, conferences, etc.) is located near the mailboxes.


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The university requires all graduate students to activate their automatically assigned university email accounts. Please inform your graduate advisor of the email address you check most frequently. Students who do not own a computer may use computers in the library or in university computer labs to access their email. Useful email addresses are available in Contact Information. Graduate faculty email addresses are available by clicking on the professor's name in the Graduate Faculty list.