SECTION 1: Core Courses
All RLL students must pass, with a grade of B or better, two core courses:
- Linguistic History of Romance Languages (C201/C202); and
- Comparative Studies in Romance Literatures and Cultures (C203)*.
These courses can only be offered every two or three years, so students must take them as soon as they are offered in order to make sure that they are able to satisfy the core course requirement by the time that they take their Qualifying Examinations.
*Effective Fall 2023, as an alternative to C203, students may take a literature or culture course in a Romance language at the graduate or undergraduate upper-division level, guided by the student’s interest.
SECTION 2: Elective Courses
Beyond the aforementioned RLL Core Course (C201/202), a minimum of 8 additional graduate-level courses must be passed, with a grade of B or better, in order to advance to candidacy (by the end of semester 8). Students should be in touch with their Home department and/or RLL-affiliated advisor in order to select coursework that will be best suited for their professionalization and development as scholars. Note that lower-division language courses do not count toward these 8 graduate-level electives. Though electives for the most part have no other restrictions, do note the following Linguistics-track-specific requirement:
| Linguistics Track | Literature Track |
|---|---|
| 1 Graduate Seminar in the Linguistics Department (by end of semester 5) | No additional restrictions on electives |
SECTION 3: Proseminar Requirement
In the 1st semester of study, all RLL students are required to complete Proseminar coursework that serves to familiarize new students with faculty, one another, and the expectations for their field(s) of study, as described below:
| Linguistics Track | Literature Track |
|---|---|
1 Host-department Proseminar (French 200, Italian 205, or Spanish 200A), and; 1 Linguistics Department Proseminar (Linguistics 200) | 1 Host-department Proseminar (French 200, Italian 205, or Spanish 200A) |
SECTION 4: RLL Core Language Requirements
Because of the nature of the RLL program, students are required to achieve language competency above and beyond that attested by passing the standard Graduate Division language requirements (see section 4, below). In particular, the RLL Core Language Requirement consists of demonstrating competence in the student’s 3 RLL languages (primary, secondary, and tertiary [varied by track, see below]) through language and/or linguistics/literature coursework. All courses taken to fulfill the RLL Core Language Requirement must be taken for a letter grade and be passed with a B or higher, and notably, C201, C202 and C203 do not count toward this requirement. Progress toward the RLL Core Language Requirement is tracked during the first 7 semesters of coursework, with milestones as listed in the following timetable:
| Linguistics Track | Literature Track |
|---|---|
Primary Language: French, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese (based on student's host department) Milestone for Primary Language: Graduate Seminar involving the primary language completed by the end of semester 5 *** Secondary Language: Any Romance variety (selected in consultation with host department and/or RLL-affiliated advisor) Milestone (A) for Secondary Language: 'Good' reading knowledge in the secondary language by end of semester 5 Milestone (B) for Secondary Language: Graduate-level course for which linguistic analysis of secondary language is performed by end of semester 7 *** Tertiary Language: Any Romance variety (selected in consultation host department and/or RLL-affiliated advisor) Milestone (A) for Tertiary Language: Begun study of tertiary language by end of semester 5 Milestone (B) for Tertiary Language: Graduate-level course for which linguistic analysis of tertiary language is performed by end of semester 8 | Primary Language: French, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese (based on student's host department) Milestone for Primary Language: Graduate Seminar taught in the primary language completed by end of semester 5 *** Secondary Language: French, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese (such that two RLL departments are represented between the primary and secondary languages) Milestone for Secondary Language: Graduate Seminar taught in the secondary language completed by end of semester 5 *** Tertiary Language: French, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese (such that three RLL departments are represented between the primary, secondary, and tertiary languages) Milestone (A) for Tertiary Language: Made substantial progress in acquisition of tertiary language by end of semester 5 Milestone (B) for Tertiary Language: By the end of semester 8, either: one graduate-level seminar requiring the reading of literature in the tertiary language; or 2 upper-division courses taught in the tertiary language |
SECTION 5: RLL Latin Requirement
Beyond the RLL Core Language Requirements and the Graduate Division Foreign Language Requirement, the RLL program requires all students to complete the basic language sequence in Latin by the end of semester 7. Most students complete this requirement by either taking Latin 1 and Latin 2 (each usually offered every semester), or by completing the Latin Workshop (Latin 15) over a summer-semester term.
SECTION 6: Graduate Division Foreign Language Requirements
Separate from the RLL Core Language Requirement, the Graduate Division institutes a Foreign Language Requirement that must be completed by the end of semester 6 and involves one or two languages beyond the student’s primary language. RLL students may choose which one or two non-primary languages they would like to use to complete this requirement. Though most simply use their secondary and/or tertiary language, the option to complete this requirement through yet (an) additional language(s) is available. The Graduate Division Foreign Language Requirement can be completed through either OPTION 1 or OPTION 2 described below, and is recommended to be completed as early as possible in the student’s program:
Option I requires students to demonstrate reading knowledge of two non-primary languages. This can be done either by passing a translation exam in both languages, or by passing a translation exam in one language and completing coursework in the second language. Option I translation exams consist of at least a 300-word passage translated into English with the use of a dictionary. Students who choose to demonstrate reading knowledge of their second language through coursework may either (a) complete a four-semester (or six-quarter) course sequence with an average grade of B or better or (b) complete (with a grade of B or better) an upper division foreign language course that requires a four-semester (or six-quarter) course sequence as a prerequisite.
Option II – The student is expected to demonstrate an exceptionally thorough reading knowledge and an adequate knowledge of the grammatical structure of one language. Knowledge is tested by a written examination consisting of a translation of a passage of about 1,000 words on a subject appropriate to the student’s major field of interest. The examination is limited to three hours and the translation is to be made without the aid of a dictionary. The translation must show an accurate comprehension of the meaning of the language text, and since the language text is in the student’s discipline, the translation should use the correct English technical terms.