Graduate
Welcome
Welcome to UT’s graduate program in World Languages & Cultures. We offer the MA in French, German, and Spanish and the PhD in Modern Foreign Languages. Our PhD program offers three primary concentrations: French, German, and Spanish with secondary concentrations in either a second language (French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish), Applied Linguistics or Latin American Studies.
We promote an area studies approach (French and Francophone, Germanic, Hispanic) with offerings in literature, film, translation, and gender/ethnic studies. We also provide opportunities to teach and assist with summer study abroad programs in France, Germany, Spain, and Costa Rica.
UT’s graduate students have access to a nationally and internationally recognized graduate faculty as well as a superb research library. They also benefit from the graduate certificates below, offered through affiliated programs.
Students have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on advanced research, to teach and design undergraduate courses, and to participate in Vernacular, our peer-reviewed graduate student journal, as well as in a range of foreign-languages community activities. Our students regularly present their work at major conferences and publish in refereed journals, and our graduates teach in universities and colleges across the United States.
We offer financial support for MA and PhD candidates. MA students who receive support are funded for two years, while PhD students are funded for a maximum of five years. PhD candidates are also eligible to receive funding every 2 years, contingent on application, for travel to conferences for presentation of scholarly papers and posters. GTA stipends are competitive and generally range between $13,248-$26,496 for a 9-month contract. This includes a tuition fee waiver (with a value up to $36,000/year) and full medical insurance. NOTE: If you would like to be considered for a GTA stipend, there is a simple procedure: just answer “Yes” in the relevant section of the application and answer the corresponding questions.
International Applicants
International applicants are required to submit additional documentation for issuance of the I-20. As a result the following deadlines are required:
| Term | Application Deadline | File Completion Deadline* |
| Fall | February 1 | May 15 |
| Spring | June 15 | October 1 |
| Summer | October 15 | February 15 |
* File Completion Deadline means that by the date listed, admission must be granted and copies of passport, financial documentation and degree confirmations must be received by this date.
Finding Graduate Degree Requirements
For Graduate Degree Requirements, go to tiny.utk.edu/grad-catalog and search for your program under “Majors / Minors, A-Z.”
French MA
The Master of Arts in French is a two-year program designed to prepare students for a variety of career options as well as a PhD program in French literature and culture. We offer tuition waivers and GTA stipends on a competitive basis. Students on an assistantship receive teaching training during their first year and teach lower-division French courses their second year.
German MA
The German program offers an interdisciplinary 2‐year MA degree in German that can include a direct exchange with universities in Baden‐Württemberg. Many of our incoming MA students spend their first year studying in Germany and return to Knoxville for their second year to complete their degree requirements and to receive pedagogical training in the classroom. We offer tuition waivers and GTA stipends on a competitive basis.
Spanish MA
The Spanish MA degree is a two-year program that offers two concentrations. One is a concentration in Literary and Cultural Studies that focuses on the literatures and cultures of Spain, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Students receive training in cultural studies, literary analysis, and basic techniques of criticism, and are exposed to a wide variety of works and authors from different cultural areas, periods, and genres. The second is a concentration in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Studies, which provides students with foundational coursework in Spanish and Applied Linguistics, especially Second Language Studies, as well as offering options for cultural studies relevant to the Hispanic world and other linguistics coursework.
World Languages and Cultures PhD
The PhD with a major in World Languages and Cultures requires advanced training in a major language (French, German, or Spanish) and either a second language, applied linguistics, or Latin American Studies. Students may also choose to take courses in a cognate field.
