School of Liberal Arts

Departmental E-mail: wlac@iu.edu

Departmental URL: liberalarts.indianapolis.iu.edu/departments/wlac

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degree Offered

Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish

General Description

The graduate program in Spanish has been designed specifically for teachers or future teachers of Spanish. It offers graduate-level course work in the Spanish language, Hispanic cultures, teaching methodology, applied linguistics and Hispanic art and literature. It provides for the professional development of Spanish teachers through the improvement of their language and teaching skills, and it aims toward career advancement. Graduates of the program will in turn contribute to better teaching of Spanish in schools, improving the language skills and the cultural awareness of students who study Spanish.

Main Objectives

The course of study for the program is intended to equip students with knowledge of theories of second language acquisition and effective methods of teaching, as well as the main cultural manifestations of the language in literature. Students will understand the relationship between language and society in the Spanish-speaking world and the connections between language studies (language, literature, culture and translation/interpreting) with other disciplines, and they will be able to apply the knowledge of the language system and culture to function effectively as teaching professionals.

Design

The degree program consists of 36 credit hours of which 30 must be completed in residence at IU Indianapolis. M.A. students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B).

Only students taking advantage of the summer program in Salamanca (Summer Institute for Teachers of Spanish) can complete and transfer up to 6 credit hours towards the degree. Students interested in transferring credits (6 maximum) from other institutions should keep in mind that this is acceptable as long as the contents of those courses are equivalent to any of the courses offered in the MAT, and prior approval by the Graduate Studies Committee.

Core Required Courses (9 cr.)

• S515 Acquisition of Spanish as a Second Language (3 cr.)
• S517 Methods of Teaching College Spanish (3 cr.)
• S519 Practicum in the Teaching of Spanish (3 cr.)

Elective Coursework (21 cr.)

Choose at least 21 credits in consultation with a faculty advisor. See list of courses here.

Students may select from the following options for the course of study:

Thesis Option: Includes 24 hours of coursework plus a Master's Thesis (6 credit hours).

Coursework Option: Requires 30 credit hours of coursework.

Study Abroad Option: Students may complete one summer at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Students who complete a summer study in Salamanca receive a Certificate from the University of Salamanca attesting to their completion of the summer program in residence there. The University of Salamanca has a well-developed curriculum for foreign students who aspire to teach Spanish, and its Cursos para Profesores receives a high level of academic prestige internationally.

Admission Requirements

1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in the student’s undergraduate major. Undergraduate degree in Spanish is expected, but related degrees are also considered (additional undergraduate courses may be required).
2. Official transcript.
3. Proficiency in the Spanish language. There are two options:
   1. Nivel Intermedio (B2) in the Diploma in Spanish (DELE) issued by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.
   2. OR applicant’s oral sample of 10-15 minutes of spontaneous speech in Spanish AND an essay in Spanish on some aspect of Spanish culture, literature, linguistics, or pedagogy.
4. Three letters of recommendation. At least two of these should be from faculty.
5. For international students, the university requires a minimum TOEFL iBT score of 79. Send scores to Institution Code 1325, department code 2608. Per university policy, students who are admitted with TOEFL iBT of 79-99 or IELTS of 6.5-7.0 will take the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) placement test. Depending on your EAP test results, you may need to take EAP courses. While taking these courses students will be allowed to register for a maximum of six credit hours in the Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish. International graduate students who are being considered for a teaching role are also required by university policy to take the SPEAK test and complete any required supplemental EAP courses recommended based on that test.
   • Please note: While the GRE is not necessary for admission to the Master of Arts for Teachers Program in Spanish, it is required for application to certain financial aid programs. (See “Financial Assistance” below.)
6. Online application. Please access the online portion of the application.

Financial Assistance

Various sources of financial assistance are available to graduate students at IU Indianapolis. Applicants should contact:

IU Indianapolis Office of Student Financial Services
CE 250 (Campus Center)
420 University Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140
Phone: (317) 274-4162

Five-Year Bachelor of Arts in Spanish/Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish

The main goal of this accelerated program is to provide academically strong undergraduate students with the opportunity to obtain a B.A. in Spanish along with a professional graduate program in teaching Spanish with only one additional year of study. Students will gain a deep knowledge at both undergraduate and graduate levels in the core areas of Spanish studies such as Hispanic literatures and cultures, grammar and linguistics, and current teaching methodologies applied to the Spanish language.

The Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish (M.A.T.) is a 30 credit-hour graduate program, but with the accelerated path, students will complete a B.A. and M.A.T. in five years instead of six. As it is common with other accelerated programs, our dual B.A./M.A.T. program will consist of three years of undergraduate coursework, a fourth year of combined undergraduate and graduate courses plus one final year of graduate coursework only.

Admission

• Qualified students may apply for the program in the second semester of their junior year. To be eligible to apply, students should have completed at least 60 credits overall and 15 credits in their major. They should have a minimum GPA of 3.5 overall and a GPA of 3.5 in their major’s coursework.

• As part of the application process, students are required to submit two faculty letters of recommendation (at least one from a member of the IU Indianapolis Department of Spanish faculty) and a single-authored writing sample.

• If students maintain at least a B average in all of the graduate courses taken during their senior year, they will automatically be allowed to continue in the M.A.T. program, and the graduate credits completed during their senior year would double-count towards completion of the M.A.T. requirements.

Program Structure

• Students accepted into the program will be able to take up to 12 hours of Spanish graduate courses during their senior year. These 12 credit hours will count towards the student’s B.A. (NOTE: All courses counting towards the B.A. major must be completed with a grade of C or higher).

• In their fifth year, after earning their B.A., students would complete the remaining hours of graduate coursework required for the M.A.T. in Spanish (M.A.T with Thesis or M.A.T. via Coursework options). In this final year of study, students will be required to take the following core courses in the program: SPAN-S517 (Methods in the Teaching of Spanish), SPAN-S515 (Acquisition of Spanish as a Second Language) and SPAN-S519 (Practicum in the Teaching of Spanish). In addition, students will enroll in up to 9 additional hours of 500-level or above SPAN elective classes for a total of 18 graduate credit hours.

• Students may elect to do Graduate Courses for Teachers in Salamanca (Spain) during the summer (6 credits maximum). Students wishing to write a thesis may elect to do so in the spring or in the summer of their 5th year.

Sample Curriculum

These two curricula (one without summer courses (1), one with summer courses (2)) provide an example of the courses a student could take to complete the major requirements for their B.A. and their M.A.T. in 5 years, based on the current curriculum map for the B.A. and M.A.T. in Spanish.