University of Texas Permian Basin

What you'll study

The certificate requires 12 credits drawn from core areas in literary criticism, Spanish linguistics, Spanish American literature, and Spanish literature. Courses are delivered in accelerated 8-week formats. Representative core courses and descriptions from the programme include:

• Literary Criticism (Core) — SPAN 6300, 3 credits: Introduction to modern literary criticism and graduate research methods, application of literary theory to textual analysis, and review of citation practices.
• Spanish Linguistics (Core) — sample courses, 3 credits each:
  • SPAN 6314 Advanced Phonetics: analysis of sound systems and grammatical contrasts between English and Standard Spanish; pronunciation drills, elementary applied linguistics, and oral linguistic corpus research.
  • SPAN 6321 History of the Spanish Language: study of major features in the evolution of Spanish, with emphasis on historical phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax.
  • SPAN 6331 New World, Peninsular Spanish Dialectology: comparative study of Peninsular Spanish lexicons and dialectal variation across the New World, including effects of linguistic borrowing.
  • SPAN 6362 Hispanic Sociolinguistics: introduction to sociolinguistics with emphasis on bilingualism and language contact, analyzing regional Spanish varieties and features relevant to instruction.
• Spanish American Literature (Core) — sample courses, 3 credits each:
  • SPAN 6322 Contemporary Mexican Literature: study of principal trends and authors in contemporary Mexican literature (e.g., Rulfo, Fuentes, Castellanos, Poniatowska, Esquivel).
  • SPAN 6342 20th Century Spanish American Prose: development of prose fiction in Spanish America, covering Regionalism, Magic Realism, Post-Boom, and Post-Modernism.
  • SPAN 6343 20th Century Spanish American Poetry: survey from Modernism to contemporary poetry.
  • SPAN 6352 Mexican American Literature: focus on native authors and literary expressions of the Mexican American experience from 1848 to present.
• Spanish Literature (Core) — sample courses, 3 credits each:
  • SPAN 6333 Spanish Romanticism and Realism: principal nineteenth-century movements and related genres and authors.
  • SPAN 6353 Novelists of Post-War Spain: social and literary development in Spain after the Civil War with emphasis on novelists from the 1940s onward.
  • SPAN 6361 Spanish Literature of the Golden Age: study of selected masterpieces across poetry, drama, and narrative prose including Cervantes and Golden Age poets and dramatists.

Entry requirements

Regular admission requires a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a recognized international institution plus 12 semester hours of intermediate and advanced undergraduate Spanish. Conditional admission is available for students with fewer than 12 college-level Spanish credit hours provided they demonstrate competence in Spanish at least at an intermediate-high level.

Career prospects

The programme is positioned to strengthen resumes and help graduates meet growing demand for Spanish-capable professionals across education, public service, healthcare, business, and other fields where Spanish fluency and cultural-literary knowledge are an asset. Completion also shortens the pathway to UT Permian Basin's MA in Spanish by 12 credits.

Scholarships & funding angle

Funding opportunities and eligibility are not specified on the programme page. Prospective students should consult UT Permian Basin's graduate admissions and financial aid offices for information about assistantships, scholarships, employer tuition benefits, and other support that may apply to certificate students.