Master of Arts in Spanish Admission Requirements

Application Deadlines:

Fall & Summer Admission: March 15

Spring Admission: Oct. 15

Regular Admission:

For regular admission to the graduate program in Spanish, applicants must:

  • hold a baccalaureate degree in Spanish from an accredited institution, or hold a baccalaureate degree in another discipline and have language skills that meet the department's standards
  • demonstrate promise or ability to pursue advanced study and research, as shown by previous scholastic records
  • have at least a 2.5 undergraduate GPA on all previous work and a 3.0 GPA in courses taken in Spanish at the baccalaureate level
  • Submit a completed application for admission
  • Submit the graduate application fee ($50)
  • Submit two copies of official transcripts of all colleges attended
  • Present three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should come from people familiar with the student's academic work
  • Submit a statement of approximately 500 words, in Spanish, on one of the following topics:
    • What single course or combination of courses was the most interesting and helpful to you during your bachelor's degree?
    • How do you plan to put the Spanish MA to use professionally?
  • Demonstrate Spanish and English oral and written proficiency at the advanced level, as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. If a native speaker, must be proficient with the English language and able to speak, read and write at a graduate school level.

Provisional Admission:

Applicants who do not meet the requirements for admission as a regular degree student may be considered for admission to the master's program as a provisional degree student upon the recommendation of the program faculty. Programs may admit students under a provisional agreement subject to the following requirements:

  • The term of the provisional period shall not exceed two semesters of course enrollment.
  • The student must complete each semester's coursework with a GPA of 3.0 or higher on all work taken (whether applied to the master's degree or not).
  • The provisional agreement should clearly state any additional program requirements. Failure to meet the conditions of the provisional agreement will be cause for exclusion from the program.

Transfer Students/Application of Previous Credit:

Requirements for transfer students and for students seeking to transfer graduate courses taken as non-degree students are the same as those for students applying for regular admission, with the following provisions:

  • For transfer students, two of the letters of recommendation must come from faculty members in the graduate program from which the student is transferring.
  • A maximum of nine credit hours of transfer coursework may be applied to the master's degree. Transfer courses are those taken at any campus other than the University of Colorado Denver. Graduate work done at one of the other CU campuses counts as transfer credit if it is completed prior to admission to the CU Denver master's program and counts as part of the nine credit hour maximum. Graduate work done at one of the other CU campuses after admission to the CU Denver master's program counts as resident coursework if approved by the program and is exempt from the credit hour maximums above.
  • A maximum of nine credit hours of CU Denver coursework taken prior to admission into the program may be applied to the master's degree. These courses count as transfer courses.
  • All transfer courses and pre-admission courses must meet the following criteria:
    • The courses are recommended by the program for transfer and approved by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at CU Denver.
    • The courses were not applied toward another degree.
    • The student received a grade of B- or better (no pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory grades are transferable).
    • The courses were completed within 10 years of the time the approval is requested. A student may request a waiver to transfer course credit more than 10 years old at the time approval is requested.​

Requirements for the MA in Spanish:

• To be admitted to the master’s program in Spanish, students must hold a baccalaureate degree in Spanish from an accredited institution, or hold a baccalaureate degree in another discipline and have language skills that meet the Departmental standards.
• Student must demonstrate promise or ability to pursue advanced study and research, as shown by previous scholastic records.
• Demonstrate Spanish oral and written proficiency at the Advanced level, as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
• If a native speaker, must be proficient with the English language and able to speak, read and write at a graduate school level.

Applications:

***For more information on Provisional Acceptance, Graduation Requirements, and the acceptance of Transfer Credit, please contact Dr. Andrés Lema-Hincapie, Graduate Advisor.