Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program Overview

The PhD in Spanish program at the University of Toronto draws on the talents of a diverse faculty to provide students with a rigorous education in order to prepare scholars and teachers of the highest caliber. Through completion of advanced course work and demanding skills training, the doctoral program prepares students to develop innovative research and to present their results to the world in compelling ways.

Students completing a PhD program in Spanish at the University of Toronto can choose one of two concentrations:

  1. Hispanic Literatures and Cultures
  2. Hispanic Linguistics

The focus on Hispanic Literatures and Cultures provides students with a rigorous foundation on issues related to the cultural production of Latin America and Spain. The program orientation is towards cultural studies, from a transatlantic and interdisciplinary perspective. Our faculty research specialties include Renaissance humanism, nineteenth-century nation building, and contemporary negotiations between culture and politics.

The focus on Hispanic Linguistics aims to attune students to key theoretical issues and theoretically informed experimental work on language acquisition, language structure, language contact and bilingualism, and microvariation in Spanish.

Our classes are small seminars and discussions groups. Students can complement their work in the department with courses in other academic units, such as Book History and Print Culture, Centre for Comparative Literature, Diaspora and Transnational Studies, French, History, Linguistics, Centre for Medieval Studies, Women’s Studies, Slavic Literature and Culture, Speech Pathology, Engineering, and the OISE Modern Language Centre.

Students in the Spanish graduate programs are expected to engage in the vibrant and collaborative intellectual life in our Department while completing their courses and conducting their research. Currently, our faculty sponsors a lecture series on topics related to Linguistics, Spanish, Lusophone, and Latin American cultural productions.

Students are also able to join a broadly based community of scholars by participating in a wide variety of working groups, lecture series, graduate conferences, and other opportunities for fruitful intellectual exchange with peers throughout the university. Our faculty is also active as part of the Jackman Humanities Working Groups, welcoming graduate students as they develop their scholarship beyond the classroom.

For more information on the Doctor of Philosophy program, including application deadlines, minimum admission requirements, and program requirements, please visit the School of Graduate Studies - Spanish page.

 

Admission Requirements

Admission to the PhD program requires a Master’s degree in an appropriate discipline from a recognized university with an average of A- or higher. An A- average must be maintained in the PhD courses in order for students to remain in the program.

The admissions process is competitive, and is based on a number of factors in addition to grades. The principal factors include the ability of the department to offer graduate work in the applicant’s preferred areas of interest, the availability of appropriate supervisory resources, and the suitability of the applicant in relation to the academic profile and programs of the department.

Students currently registered in the department's MA program must apply through SGS and provide the same materials as listed any other applicant.

For application instructions, please visit the Application Information section of our website.

 

Funding your Graduate Studies

For tuition and funding information, please visit the "Funding & Awards" section of this website.