Graduate Minors

Graduate Minors at the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offers three Graduate Minors (MODL-Spanish, MODL-French, MODL-German)  for MA and PhD students from other Departments at UNL.

How to Apply

Admission to a graduate program at a UNL department is required for participation in one of our Graduate Minors. The application to the Minor is normally made when completing the Memorandum of Courses for the MA or the Program of Study for the PhD, but applications must be received at least one semester prior to the semester of graduation. To apply, the following requirements are necessary:

  • A letter of application addressed to the Graduate Chair of the student’s home department and to the Graduate Advisor of the language in which the student wants to minor. This letter should include a statement describing how the Graduate Minor will help the student meet his or her goals and how it fits in the student’s program of study.
  • A list of courses to be taken for the Graduate Minor, including a copy of the Memorandum of Courses (for MA students) or a copy of the Program of Studies (for PhD students).
  • An interview in the target language with the corresponding Graduate Advisor.

Graduate Advisors

The Graduate Advisor of the language in which you want to minor will conduct an interview with you to discuss your application and check whether your language fluency is good enough to succeed in our courses.

Requirements for MA Students

  • The student is pursuing a MA degree in another UNL Department.
  • 9 credit hours (3 graduate courses) in the language of specialization (Spanish, French or German). The minor may be gained through any combination of 800 or 900-level courses.
  • A faculty member of the language of specialization must serve in the student’s MA committee as the Minor Advisor.
  • If the student gets an average of B- or less in the courses of the Graduate Minor, he or she will have to take a written comprehensive exam on the minor.
  • Confirmation to the Graduate Advisor of the language of specialization that all requirements for the minor have been met by the middle of the final semester.

Requirements for PhD Students

  • The student is pursuing a PhD degree in another UNL Department.
  • 12 credit hours (4 graduate courses) in the language of specialization (Spanish, French or German). At least 3 credit hours must be at the 900 level.
  • A PhD student who has already done one of our graduate minors at the MA level at UNL, having completed already 9 credit hours, is required to take only 6 credits (two additional classes) in the same language to achieve the graduate minor at the PhD level.
  • A faculty member of the language of specialization must serve in the student’s PhD committee as the Outside Representative.
  • Confirmation to the Graduate Advisor of the language of specialization that all requirements for the minor have been met by the middle of the final semester.