Degree requirements (36 credits)   

1. Two required courses to be completed during the first year of the program:
   
   SPAN 400       Visión de América I
   SPAN 420       Visión de América II

    

2. Nine elective courses (27 credits), which may include:

• Any SPAN 400-level course.
   

• Up to 3 of the following SPAN 300-level courses in lieu of SPAN 400-level courses, as long as you did not previously use them towards completion of a degree:
  
  SPAN 352       Puerto Rican Literature
  SPAN 358       El Modernismo
  SPAN 373       Spanish American Short Story
  SPAN 377       Caribbean Literature
   

• Up to 2 courses in French and/or Portuguese at any level.
   

• Up to 3 of the following graduate-level courses from other departments at NEIU:
  
  BLBC 439       Ethnic Diversity in Our Schools
  BLBC 440       Teaching in Culture and Language in Diverse Classrooms
  COUN 401      The Counseling Profession in a Pluralistic Society
  COUN 430      Multicultural Counseling: Worldview and Systems Orientation
  ELED 417        Multicultural Literature and Drama in the Elementary Classroom
  ENGL 410       Literary Methods and Practice
  ENGL 430       Studies in Literary Criticism
  GES 401          Seminar in Cultural Geography
  HIST 450         Readings in Colonial Latin America
  HIST 451         Readings in Modern Latin American History
  HIST 452         Seminar in Latin American History
  HIST 453         Seminar in the History of Mexico
  ICSE 415         History and Culture of Spanish-Speaking Americans
  LING 446        Sociolinguistics
  LING 448        Discourse Analysis
  TESL 460        Second Language Acquisition
   

• Note: You may transfer a maximum of 9 units from outside the department.

3. For non-thesis option: One additional elective course (3 credits) plus a Comprehensive Written Examination.  A student who fails any part of the Comprehensive Exam may take that part a second time.  Permission to take it a third time may be granted by the Departmental Graduate Committee after a review of the student's record.  Additional coursework may be required before a third and final attempt.
    

4. For thesis option: Capstone Seminar SPAN 499 (3 credits). In consultation with the Graduate Advisor, you will choose a thesis committee of 3 faculty members in the Department, one of who will direct the thesis and serve as the primary reader.

For additional information, contact Professor Lucrecia Aratalejo, Graduate Advisor, at (773) 442-4755
or e-mail to L-Artalejo@neiu.edu.

M.A. with Spanish K-12 Teacher Certification (MA/TCP)

IMPORTANT: The information that is printed in the Academic Catalog on the M.A. with Spanish K-12 Teacher Certification is incorrect.  Please refer only to the information listed below when planning your MA/TCP.

M.A. students who already have a B.A. in Spanish or who complete a Second Bachelor’s in Spanish, may enroll in a dual MA/TCP track to become certified as Spanish K-12 teachers. The process includes three applications:

1. To the Graduate College (see above)

2. To the Teacher Certification Program, TCP (see below)

3. To the College of Education (see below)

MA/TCP students must complete the requirements for a M.A. in Latin American Literatures and Cultures (above), plus the following:

BLOCK #1:

• FL 302 Introduction to Teaching Foreign Languages (Prerequisite for FL 300)

• SPAN 319 Applied Spanish Linguistics

• EDFN 405* Development of Educational Thought

• EDFN 406* Human Development and Learning (Prerequisite for EDFN 407, ELED 311, and required for admission to the College of Education)

Student must apply and be admitted to the College of Education to continue with the following Education courses:

 

BLOCK #2:

• READ 301* Teaching Reading in Junior & Senior High School

• EDFN 407* Learning Theories and Educational Practices

• ELED 311* School Curriculum

BLOCK #3:

• SCED 303F* Teaching Modern Foreign Language in the Secondary School

• FL 300* Foreign Language Clinical Experience in the Secondary school

BLOCK #4:

• SCED 305J** Secondary Student Teaching & Seminar in Spanish

* C or better grade required
** B or better required

Please note:

Students must maintain a GPA of 2.75 in the Education sequence.

Education courses must be done in sequence and students must complete each Block in order before moving on to the next Block.

EDFN-406 & 407 each have 20 hour clinical attached and students identify and secure their own field site. You will receive a packet prepared by the CEST office from the course instructor. You may not begin the field work for any EDFN class without the CEST packet.

EDFN classes - You are encouraged to take the 400 level EDFN classes when possible. You may substitute EDFN 305, 306 & 307 for EDFN 405, 406 and 407, respectively, but they will not count as graduate courses.

Clinicals & Student Teaching - You must apply through the Clinical Experience & Student Teaching (CEST) office 1 year in advance for Clinicals & Student Teaching. You must attend one of the mandatory informational meetings hosted by the CEST office.

SCED 303 & FL300 are offered only in the Fall semester, and must be taken concurrently.

SCED-305J, student teaching is for one full semester, 8 hours per day and 5 days per week, must earn B or better. Students also must take & pass the ICTS Content area test before being placed for student teaching.

SPAN 319 is a prerequisite for FL 300.

For more information, please contact Sean Condon, Advisor-Teacher Certification Program, Teacher Education Department, Northeastern Illinois University, LWH 3033, Tel. (773) 442-5374, E-Mail: s-condon@neiu.edu