Hey yall-

I am wondering what kind of consideration a degree from a Spanish university would have in the U.S. I am studying Filologia Hispanica and while I´m sure it´s fine if I want to stay in Academia, but I´m, not sure if my degree would do me any good in any other realm. Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?

Emily

Hi Emliy,

I was told by a Spanish professor at my former university that a MA in Spanish from a university outside of the US is fine, but a Ph.D. needs to be done in the US, if you plan on teaching in the US. Many people have conferred this. If any one else has any other type of experience with this, please let me know.

I, personally, am getting out of academe all together because I am tired of grading papers and hearing and correcting the same mistakes. It get old after a while. For me, there is no more joy in teaching. Remember, that this is my personal opinion of the teaching field.

Shawn

I go to a respected university in New York and one of our professors holds a PhD from an Argentinean university. All the others have American degrees, but I know at least one has never attended school here.

Melinda

But, was that professor from Argentina originally? Many Americans HAVE TO DO their coursework for the Ph.D. in the US because it is an uspoken rule of thumb that many Ph.D. programs in Spanish-speaking countries are inferior to ours.

Hey, this is what is thought in many academic circles.

Shawn

You didn't specify in your post that it only applied to Americans. But don't most decent colleges only hire native speakers to begin with? I know in my Spanish and Italian classes every teacher spoke English as a second language and I'd think that would factor into a university choosing a professor more than where they got their degree. I personally majored in Spanish in my BA to learn the language. I plan on doing my master's in tourism, most likely in Spain as that's where I'd like to eventually spend my life.

Melinda

Melinda,

You are so right. I didn't specify my post to Americans only. A lot of colleges and universities don't look for native speakers right away. Here is what most job posts say:

Native or near-native proficiency in Spanish and English is expected.

I have had some professors with Ph.D.s who have had horrible accents, but it doesn't make a difference if the college or university is RESPECTABLE or not. They look to fill positions with the most qualified person.

I don't believe in the word respectable when it comes to colleges. It's all about what the INDIVIDUAL makes of their experience. Granted, I went to a good college, but the foreign language program was mediocre. The only way that I speak Spanish as well as I do was leaving the country and challenging myself at different universities in Latin America.

Let's keep this discussion going. I am interested in getting your reaction to this.

Shawn

I guess I was lucky in that my college's professors are all from Latin America and Spain. I learned Spanish from a Peruvian and have continued taking courses with this professor up until now (I should be writing my last final for her instead of typing this message - after I write it, my college education is FINISHED). The other teachers I usually take courses with are from Puerto Rico and Cordoba. I really think it's pointless to hire someone who isn't a native speaker unless they've lived an extended amount of time in another country. And that doesn't mean a year of study abroad. Language isn't just a bunch of words strung together. It's a way of communicating and culture is very much intertwined into a language. My school even offered a course on the cultural history of Spanish, which explained why Spaniards say tu and vosotros, some south/central americans say tu and ustedes and others vos and ustedes. I REALLY wish I'd been able to take that course, but the professor left while I was studying abroad. I think without that knowledge of what it's like to live in Spain or Latin America you're doing a real disservice to your students because honestly you don't understand the material as much as you should when you have a PhD.

I'm at an advanced level of Spanish myself and though my school has a very good language program, it's because of my own work over the past year that I've reached this level. But honestly I can't see it being different with any other bachelor's degree program. Once you reach a certain level, you really can't progress inside the classroom. I looked at the other seniors and most of them speak like I did before I studied abroad. They pause a lot, have very American accents and don't know a good deal of every day words. I don't think this is the fault of the professor. In my school you have 2 beginning courses (some people test out of them - I took them), intermediate then an easier literature course followed by the advanced/native literature and culture courses. But if a person majors or minors in Spanish, after the first semester of their sophomore year they've taken all the lower courses and are put with native speakers and seniors who have been studying all through college, possibly abroad as well. The classes can't really PROGRESS if there are constantly people of a lower level entering the classes. It has to stay with the professor speaking slower than usual with barely any accent. It doesn't help people like me who want to learn fluently, but it helps them reach a high intermediate level. And when they reach that level, they can't progress either.

I studied abroad in the second semester of my junior year and I really didn't feel I had a very good grasp on the language when I arrived. I spent two weeks with my best friend in Galicia before heading to Sevilla for the program and she helped me a LOT. I could not understand the point of subjunctive when I arrived and when I was on the plane to Sevilla I more or less had it down because I heard it used and she would point it out when she used it. But honestly, my Spanish didn't improve very much when I was in Sevilla. When I came back I felt I didn't reach the level of fluency I wanted so I started reading El Pais online (damn them for charging now!) and joined a few foros for singers I liked in Spain. Now when I'm online I find that 75% of my emails are in Spanish and it's helped me more than my classes this semester have.

I'm going to Spain to work this summer and the first thing I'm going to do is go over to Girona to visit their university and see how difficult it is to be enrolled if I'm American. I know there's a law that public universities can only accept 5% non EU members so I'm hoping the universitat de Girona isn't one of the more popular schools for foreigners. I asked advice about masters degrees from an American on another board who had been accepted into a Spanish business school in Madrid and he really wasn't much of a help. His reasons for going were completely against mine. He kept stressing that the classes would be in Spanish and my degree of interest didn't guarantee a job. But I WANT to take classes in Spanish so I can improve and meet more Spaniards. Besides that, what good is a degree in English if you'll be applying it in Spain? You need to know the terms in Spanish to really use them. He just kept sending me business schools telling me it was for my own good interest... But if I wanted to be stuck in a cubicle making tons of money, I'd stay in New York! Instead on June 2 I'm going to my little village in Girona, making just enough money to get by but enjoying life as I do it instead of dreading going to work every day.

That really got off topic, didn't it?

Melinda

Melinda,

No, my friend, you did not get off of the topic.

Your words flowed and I really enjoyed reading your post. I started my MA at the University of puerto Rico and finished it at Middlebury College in Spain. I left the UPR because they didn't have the classes that really interested me.

At Middlebury College, in Madrid, I was really challenged and had an advantage over some students because of my year and a half of linguistical studies there.

I agree with you whole-heartedly about the NATIVE SPEAKER situation. Many who hold a Ph.D. in Spanish know how to do research, but can't really teach anything outside of their specialized area.

I really enjoy being out of the country and really using my language skills and hearing the language being heard in all contexts, from little children to the aged.

I am stagnant here in the US and will move back to Madrid on June 27. I will make a life for myself there and will live a much better life there than I ever will in the US.

Thanks again for writing and I wish you much luck in your move to Spain.

Shawn

I considered Middlebury for a while. One of my friends got her BA there and did their summer immersion program for Italian and highly reccomended them. But then I started thinking... If my ultimate goal is to live and work in Spain, what good would a Masters degree in Spanish be? I'm an American... Nobody wants to hire an American to teach their second language, which happens to be one of the native languages of the country. Also, as much as I love Madrid, the majority of my friends are along the northern coasts in Catalunya, Cantabria and Galicia.

When I made my decision to leave the US, one of my friends in Catalunya really helped me out - she found me a number of jobs ranging from legal to illegal as well as temporary and permanent. They were all in tourism and offered to me because I also speak English and Italian. So I think it would probably be in my best interest to pursue a degree in turismo, keep working on my Italian, get my level of Catalan up to par and start learning German if I want to remain in the north of Spain and get a better job than the one I have.

Melinda

Melinda,

I totally agree with what you have said. I originally did my MA in Spanish to seperate myself from a lot of high shool teachers that just have a BA in Spanish and an M.Ed.

I will probably start off teaching English and seeing where it goes from there. I also speak French and am open to learning other languages as I move on in life.

I say GO FOR IT and make yourself happy in this lifetime. My move is coming up shortly also and I am going to make the most of it.

Shawn