Why get a graduate certificate in Spanish?
The Spanish graduate certificate is designed to provide teachers, professionals and graduate students in other disciplines the opportunity to improve their proficiency in Spanish and pursue a range of challenging, advanced studies in linguistics, literature and culture. You’ll study sociolinguistics and the history of the Spanish language. You’ll analyze literature, theatre, poetry and film from the Hispanic world and explore second-language acquisition, bilingualism, pedagogy and methodology. This post-baccalaureate certificate is perfect for those who want to expand their teaching or business skills, or enhance any career where awareness of regional, national and international Hispanic-language communities and cultures is important.
Why get your graduate certificate in Spanish at UNH?
The Spanish graduate certificate is designed to help you further develop your skills in written and oral communication, and intercultural awareness and analysis. The program is designed for students with an undergraduate degree in Spanish or a closely related field. The courses are offered at times that give working students flexibility in scheduling. Our faculty are engaged, research-active scholars who work closely with students in small classes.
Potential career areas
- Community programs
- Diplomacy/foreign service
- Education/Spanish language teaching
- Government and non-governmental organizations
- Higher education/academic administration
- Immigration/migration services
- Professional writing
- Social work
- Speech and language pathology
- Tourism
Curriculum & Requirements
Through advanced study of Hispanic languages, literatures, and cultures, the Graduate Certificate in Spanish strives to expose students to various forms of authentic cultural production from numerous regions of the Spanish-speaking world, including the United States. It is designed to provide teachers, professionals, and graduate students from other disciplines with additional language training in Spanish as well as advanced analytical skills in the fields of literature, linguistics, and cultural studies. Coursework is offered in face-to-face, online, and hybrid classroom environments in the following areas: Second Language Acquisition, Pedagogy and Methodology; Hispanic Literature and Cultural Studies; and Hispanic Linguistics and Cultural Studies. The program also supports work in interdisciplinary Hispanic studies.
Program goals include
- Improving students’ proficiency in oral and written Spanish.
- Fostering skills required to analyze linguistic, literary, and cultural texts and objects produced in the Hispanic world. The acquisition and mastery of these skills is the core of the Graduate Certificate in Spanish; whereas the specific material studied varies from course to course, students will develop linguistic (interpretive reading and listening, presentational writing and speaking), cultural (intercultural competence), and analytical (textual analysis) skills that will complement their primary programs of study.
- Promoting cultural understanding and awareness of regional, national and international Hispanic-language communities.
Admissions Requirements
Students applying for the Graduate Certificate in Spanish must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). If the B.A./B.S. degree did not include a major or concentration in Spanish, students must have completed advanced-level conversation, composition or advanced language course(s), or equivalent. Study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country is highly recommended. Degree and course equivalency is determined on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator (who serves as the administrator for the Certificate Program).
The Graduate Certificate application consists of: 1) An online application for admission (available through the UNH Graduate School website; 2) Undergraduate transcripts; 3) Two letters of recommendation are required and may come from current or former professors or colleagues; 4) Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are not required.
Program Requirements
Completion of the graduate certificate requires five three-credit courses in Spanish, organized in logical manner to provide knowledge and expertise relevant to a specific aspect of professional and/or personal development. These five courses may include any combination of online, hybrid, or face-to-face classroom environments. Only courses completed with a grade of B- or higher may be used to fulfill certificate requirements. A student who receives more than one grade below B- will be required to withdraw from the certificate program. All course work for the certificate must be completed within 3 years from the date of enrollment in the program after admission.
Program Courses
The graduate course offerings in Spanish are, with the exception of the two pedagogy courses (SPAN 890 and LLC 891), always special topics classes. These classes are not occasionally offered ‘extras’, but rather the core of the program. The flexibility of the specific topics allow faculty to teach classes closely related to their research interests, while still fitting within several core areas, as indicated by the letters/topics specified in the catalog descriptions. For SPAN 897, the core areas are: Spanish literature, film, and cultural studies; Latin American literature, film, and cultural studies; and U.S. Latino literature, film, and cultural studies. For SPAN 898, these core areas are: structures of the Spanish language; variation of the Spanish language; and history of the Spanish language.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
SPAN 890 | Topics in Second Language Acquisition/Pedagogy/Methodology | |
SPAN 897 | Topics in Hispanic Literature and Cultural Studies | |
SPAN 898 | Topics in Hispanic Linguistics and Cultural Studies | |
LLC 891 | Methods of Foreign Language Teaching |
Deadlines
Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:
- Fall: July 1
- Spring: Dec. 1
- Summer: April 1
- Special: N/A
Application fee: $25
Campus: Durham
New England Regional: No
Accelerated Masters Eligible: No
New Hampshire Residents
Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission, or you will not be able to register for classes.
Transcripts
If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC.
If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.
If admitted, you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:
- Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
- Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.
- Additional Department Requirements: Students applying for the Graduate Certificate in Spanish must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). If the B.A./B.S. degree did not include a major or concentration in Spanish, students must have completed advanced-level conversation, composition or advanced language course(s), or equivalent. Study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country is highly recommended. Degree and course equivalency is determined on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator (who serves as the administrator for the Certificate Program).
Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Required
Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.
Personal Statement/Essay Questions
Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:
- Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives.
- Your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field.
Important Notes
All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.
Some of the courses may be offered online. Contact the department directly for more information.
International Applicants
Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.
