Graduate Degree Options

Our department offers an M.A. in Foreign Languages, with concentrations in French, German, and Spanish. We also offer a graduate minor and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in World Language Teaching. Our graduate courses focus on literature, culture, linguistics, and film, with a strong foundation in language pedagogy and an emphasis on pursuing an interdisciplinary course of study.  Specific details about all these programs may be found below; you can also find a list of our current graduate courses at the following link.

Thesis Option

Students pursing the thesis option are required to take at least 30 hours of graduate-level coursework, including:

• 24 hours within the major field of study (FLx);
• At least 9 of those hours must be at the 7000- or 8000-level; however, these can be language-specific (FLx), related to foreign language (FL), or from another department;
• No more than 6 hours of Directed Individual Study (FLx 7000) coursework can be used toward the total hours;
• Students must complete 6 hours of Thesis Writing (FLx 9000) toward the 30-hours requirement; however, these credits do not satisfy the 9 hours of 8000-level credit.

The thesis option will require an oral defense of the thesis at the time of the qualifying exams (in the last semester of study). Please talk with your thesis director to determine if other requirements need to be met.

Non-Thesis Option

Students pursing the non-thesis option will be required to take at least 33 hours of graduate-level coursework, including:

• 24 hours within the major field of study (FLx);
• At least 12 of those hours must be at the 7000- or 8000-level; however, these can be language-specific (FLx), related to foreign language (FL), or from another department;
• No more than 6 hours of Directed Individual Study (FLx 7000) coursework can be used toward the total hours.

Dual-Language Option

Students have the option of completing a dual-language degree by completing 18 hours of coursework in each of the languages of study. This is a rigorous course of study but will enable graduates to teach in both languages upon completion of the degree, or to be well-positioned for doctoral study. Dual-language students will be responsible for the reading lists of both languages when completing their comprehensive examination and will have faculty from both languages on their exam committee. All other requirements listed above for the thesis or non-thesis options still pertain to the course of study for a student choosing to complete coursework in two languages.

Minor Options

All students working toward an M.A. in Foreign Language have the option of completing a minor in a field related to their course of study and their academic interests, in addition to the major coursework. Many of CMLL's M.A. students have worked toward minors in fields such as Curriculum and Instruction, Business, History, or Political Science, or have completed the requirements for a TESOL certificate. Requirements for the minor are determined by the department offering the minor, and generally include either 9 or 12 hours of graduate-level coursework. In addition, a professor from the minor field of study must be included on the student’s comprehensive exam committee. Students should speak to a professor or the department head of the department they wish to work with to determine the specific requirements for completing the minor.

World Language Teaching Minor and Post-Baccalaureate Certificate

Graduate and undergraduate students have the option of completing a minor in World Language Teaching. Those who have earned a degree can work toward a post-baccalaureate certificate. Both options provide students with the opportunity to learn about teaching a world language other than English and to apply new knowledge by interacting directly with K-12 learners in Mississippi’s schools. The minor or certificate requires 15 hours of coursework including a 9-hour core. See here for the list of courses.

Required Core Courses:

• FL 4203/6203 Methods of Teaching K-8 World Languages (Fall odd years)
• FL 6213 Methods of Teaching 9-12 World Languages (Spring even years)
• FL 6233 Linguistics for World Language Teachers (Fall even years)

The remaining six hours may include two of the following:

• Any FLx (e.g., FLF, FLG, etc.) 4000/6000-level course
• EN/FL 4463/6463 Studies in Second Language Acquisition
• EN 4603/6603 Introduction to Linguistics
• FL 4223/6223 Foundations in Online Language Teaching
• FL 4243/6243 Introduction to Ecolinguistics
• FL 4253/6253 Biosemiotics
• FL 8693 Advanced Foreign Language Pedagogy
• FL 8793 Foreign Language Planning, Instruction, and Assessment

If you are interested in our graduate program or have further questions, please reach out to our Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Scott DiGiulio.