Graduate school allows you to pursue an advanced academic degree after you earn a Bachelor in the same or a similar field. In the Humanities, the focus of the graduate school is to prepare students to produce original research. In most programs, students are allowed to teach basic courses to undergraduate students to cover tuition expenses.
In graduate school, admitted students are expected to be fully devoted to their research, teaching, and services duties. Service duties do not have the same weight as research or teaching but they are opportunities to strengthen the curriculum vitae or grow a professional network.
The Application Process
To apply to a Master’s or doctoral program, you must submit an application with additional materials, such as a personal statement and a writing sample. In the past, you had to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) to prove your knowledge. However, many graduate schools are eliminating this requirement or putting less weight on it in the decision process.
If your native language is not English, you have to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to determine if you can master the language or if you should have to take remedial courses in English to succeed in the program.
You will need two or three letters of recommendations from faculty members. Make sure that you select instructors who can advocate for you and can submit the letters on time.
The Requirements
Once accepted into a program, students must fulfill a series of requirements until the completion of a comprehensive exam, final project, thesis, or dissertation. Usually, students take several courses during their first and second years. The course offerings depend on the availability of professors and the flexibility of requirements.
In a Master’s degree program, students take a comprehensive exam, complete a final project or write a thesis after completing coursework. This process can take two or three years. In a doctoral program, students are required to write a dissertation after completing coursework, an exam, and writing a prospectus.
A prospectus is a general outline of the dissertation. Students receive (or should receive) extensive feedback from committee members who must be experts in the field or extremely familiar with it. At the end of the program, students defend their dissertations and file with the suggestions they received in their oral defense.
Asking the Right Questions
Keep in mind that applying to graduate school is a long process. You will have to deal with external and internal challenges before getting accepted. Your first step is to understand why you want to pursue a graduate degree by asking yourself these questions:
- Why do you want to go to graduate school?
- Will graduate school improve your chances of getting more job opportunities and reaching your career goals?
- What is your target job? Do you need a graduate degree to get hired in your field?
- Have you explored other career options? Have you visited a career center or met with career coaches?
- Have you talked or read about other students' experiences in graduate school? Do you understand the challenges of attending graduate school?
- Are you willing to be fully committed to research, teaching, and service for the next five or seven years? What sacrifices are you willing to make to pursue the degree?
Answering these questions is crucial before embarking on this adventure.
Making the Decision
As a student with a Minor or a Major in Spanish, you do not need to go to graduate school to have a successful career or use your skills in the workplace. Thinking of your target job is one of the more important issues to consider.
In some cases, we complete a degree and we just don’t know what to do with it. In other cases, we prefer not to start the difficult, painful, and rewarding process of self-exploration that allows us to have the clarity of what we want or what we have to offer. Knowing who we are, what we want, and how we can contribute to the world is key to making the right decision.
If you are applying to graduate school to improve your language skills, be aware that a graduate program is not necessarily the best place to gain language proficiency. Certainly, you will improve your listening, writing, reading, comprehension, and oral skills while pursuing the degree. Chances are that you are going to be sharing office spaces with native speakers, reading a lot of Spanish texts, and even doing research in a Spanish-speaking country.
However, language proficiency alone is hardly the main objective of any Spanish graduate program. You will be disappointed and frustrated if you cannot keep up with the expectations and this can affect your performance.
If you are determined to pursue graduate studies, your next step is to figure out if you want to complete a Master’s or a doctoral degree. How do you decide if you want to pursue a Master’s or a doctorate with a Bachelor’s in Spanish? I will explore this topic in a future post.
Are you planning to go to graduate school after finishing your Bachelor’s degree? What is attractive about graduate school? What factors are most important to consider when applying to a graduate program? Share your thoughts in the comments session.
Disclaimer: Information shared and advice offered in this post does not substitute academic advising at your institution. As a student, it is your responsibility to carefully read degree requirements, understand the sequence of courses, and communicate effectively with faculty members and administrators.