I am currently a junior studying spanish, and speech pathology at the university level. I'm starting to get ready to apply to graduate school this coming fall, and have found that I am all of a sudden completely confused about what I want to do .

Up until now, that plan had been, that I would go to graduate school, in a 2 year program, studying Bilingual speech-language pathology. But this year some other ideas have been floating around in my head about doing a graduate degree in spanish, and eventually a phd (I'd want to teach at the University level). I have no idea which option I will choose or where I will be come fall 2005, but right now I'm just trying to learn more about both, and I'm hoping somebody out there has experiene or knows something more about this. So I guess my question is about advanced degrees in Spanish (I'd ask about the bilingual speech pathology but I already know soooo much about that option, and I kinda doubt anybody out there is in this field...but if so, boy would I like to hear from you!!!!)

So about Spanish:

Graduate degrees:
- Is it even common for a non-native speaker to be accepted into one of these programs?? Maybe this seems like a silly question, but at my university I would say maybe only about 2 of the 30 graduate students is from the US, the rest are from various spanish speaking countries. Why is this???
-Is a masters degree from abroad valued equally to one from the states, know of any good programs abroad?

PhDs:
-How long can I expect this to take, and is it best done abroad, or in the states? I cant decided if I really want to commit to be at a university for this many more years...yikes!!

Ok, so sorry that got so long...Just thought I'd put it out there and see if anybody know anything useful on the topic!!
Thanks everybody!!
Kelly

One of my dearest friends on earth has a MA in Spanish from a Spanish university and she is a non-native speaker. She teaches Spanish at a high school in the US though and is married to a Spaniard, so her language ability is way up there.
In the southwest you could make a living with bilingual speech therapy if you work in the schools...you'd be a rare breed.
You can teach in a US college AND earn your PhD at the same time if you don't want to wait that long to work.

So I now have exactly one year to figure out what in the world I want to do after undergrad... yikes! Anybody else have info on grad schools? I still haven't decided between bilingual speech pathology and just Spanish. If I did a grad degree in Spanish, I'd like to do that abroad, anybody have school specific information?
Thanks!

Kelly - PhD's in Spain take up to 5 years, and typically involve the presentation of a "Tesina" (master's thesis if you like) after the first two years. The PhD examination is public - the candidate gives a talk on his/her work, which is followed by questions from the tribunal, which has five members. I believe PhDs from Spanish institutions are as valuable as those from anywhere else, and in the subject of Spanish, probably even more so.

With any PhD the important thing is to know more precisely on what topic you want to work, and then go somewhere which provides the appropriate resources, including supervision by an expert.

Hello,

I decided to do my graduate program at two places. I started at the University of Puerto Rico, and got accepted without any problems. I wanted to do linguistics, but the classes that really interested me, of course, had already been given and I missed out on them. I made the best of my situation and stayed for one year.

I then decided to to finish the MA with Middlebury College and take the plunge and study in Madrid. It was a great experience and I wouldn't change it for the world.

NYU also has a program in Madrid.

Keep looking and I know that you will make the right decision.

As far as a Ph.D. in another country, it doesn't matter if it is in Spanish. I have been told by numerous professors that if your Ph.D. isn't from the US, forget about a tenure track position in the States. Sounds silly to me also, but I have heard this from many sources.

Good luck,

Shawn

OK, guys, could someone help me?

I know what a Ph.D. is, and previously to this thread I thought I knew what was an undergraduate student and a graduate student, but this has surprised me, to know that...
-... there is an "undergraduate graduation"?

I mean: What is "undergraduate title" and "graduate title" and what can you do with them?

Shawn: Thanks for the info. I actually have been considering, if I don't go the Spanish route, doing my degree in Bilingual Speech Therapy at the University of Puerto Rico, San Juan. I'd love to hear your impressions of it...

Am I right on this? If I graduate with a Phd degree in Spanish (in my case probably Spanish Linguistics), that would pretty much lead to a profesor position at a University. Is there anything else one might do with such a degree?

Ignacio:
an "undergraduate" student: is a student in their first 4 years of study at a University, that leads to the bachelors degree. Most jobs this is all you need to have.

a "graduate" student: the degree immediately after the undergraduate/bachelors. Most students finish this in about 2 years. Some majors require this degree (like my major bilingual speech therapy), and others its optional, and you just tend to make more money if you have the degree.

a "Phd" student: is after the graduate degree, takes anywhere from 2-7 years I guess.

Thanks!
Kelly

Thanks, Kelly!