Graduate Studies

Director of Graduate Studies
Leonardo Garcia-Pabon
220 Friendly Hall
Ph: (541) 346-4024
lgarcia@uoregon.edu

The Department of Romance Languages offers programs of study leading to the degree of master of arts (M.A.) in Romance languages, French, Italian, or Spanish and to the degree of doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) in Romance languages.

The master's program encourages broad research in each of the language areas. The Ph.D. program allows students to focus on a specific field of interest.

The Department of Romance Languages offers the only graduate program in Romance languages on the West Coast. Our international community is drawn from the Americas, Europe, and Africa. Faculty members, who are committed to the renewal of Romance languages as an academic discipline, use a variety of analytical tools, cultural, postcolonial, feminist, and historicist approaches, to achieve this goal.

Students follow these degree programs in an intellectually stimulating and supportive environment, characterized by close personal supervision, innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to literary study, and professional training in both research methods and foreign-language pedagogy.

Our M.A. programs offer students a broad and balanced introduction to periods from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century. Building upon these foundations, a variety of monographic seminars, which often cross generic, temporal, and national boundaries, allow students to develop individualized research interests and to deepen their knowledge of critical issues in literary and cultural theory.

Our Ph.D. program provides professional training for students working towards careers in higher education. The course work and exam structure lead students to identify areas for original research in one or more of the Romance languages. Within a structured yet flexible framework, students develop their skills in teaching and research, and prepare themselves for today's competitive job market through faculty mentorship and informal seminars on professional development.

To increase the opportunities for interdisciplinary study, students in both degree programs are encouraged to take complementary courses in related areas such as art history, comparative literature, education, English, history, international studies, linguistics, film, and women's studies. The resources of the UO Library system for research in French, Italian, and Spanish are fully adequate for the department's graduate programs; in some fields they are outstanding. The library's holdings of learned periodicals are extensive.