General information and procedures
Thank you for the interest you have expressed in graduate studies in the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. To learn more about the graduate programs in our department, please consult the Guidelines for Graduate Students posted in our departmental website under Resources.
The University of Illinois has implemented a web-based application procedure for graduate studies. Go to http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/admissions/apply/program.htm, and you will see links for applying on-line (the preferred method) or alternatively for downloading a paper application in PDF format. If possible, please complete the on-line form. The information you submit, as well as the application fee, will go directly to the campus Office of Admissions and Records.
The Graduate Student Services office of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics will handle the rest of your application, which includes the following: a statement of purpose, 3 letters of recommendation, a writing sample (i.e. research paper), official transcripts for all post-secondary schools attended (undergraduate and graduate), current TOEFL scores for international applicants who are not native speakers of English, and current GRE scores (i.e. taken within the last 5 years) for all domestic applicants. International applicants who have taken the GRE are encouraged to submit their scores as well. Non-native speakers of the language area you are applying to must also have the department's Second Language Skills Evaluation Form completed and returned to us. This form can be found on our website along with other application information and materials or by e-mail request to slclgradservices@uiuc.edu.
For admission consideration, all applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit a current TOEFL score (i.e. taken within 2 years of the term of entry). This requirement is waived if, within five years of the term of enrollment, you have completed at least two academic years of full-time study or completed a graduate degree in a country where English is the primary language of instruction.
All applicants who wish to be considered for a teaching assistantship and whose native language is not English must take the required Test of Spoken English (TSE) and pass with a minimum score of 50 to be eligible for this source of financial aid. Other equivalent exams are the oral section of the new TOEFL iBT (minimum score of 24) and the oral section of the IELTS (minimum score of 8). We would appreciate receiving your official score report by the application deadline or shortly thereafter, so please arrange to take one of these tests as early as possible in the application process and have the score report released to institution code #1836, dept. #00. You must pass one of these exams to be awarded a teaching assistantship, our most commonly awarded form of financial aid. No teaching assistantships will be awarded prior to passing this exam.
Please arrange for these supplementary materials to be sent to the following address:
SLCL Graduate Student Services Office
University of Illinois at U-C
707 South Mathews Avenue, 3070 FLB
Urbana IL 61801
In order to receive full consideration for all financial aid opportunities, your application for Fall 2009 must be complete (with all of the required elements in place) no later than January 1, 2009.
The UIUC Graduate College Fellowship Office has produced a guide entitled "Financial Aid for Graduate Students," which describes the various funding opportunities potentially available to you: http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/prospective/financial.htm.
If you have any questions about the graduate programs in Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese, you should direct them to:
Mariselle Meléndez (melendez@uiuc.edu)
Director of Graduate Studies
Associate Professor of Spanish
Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese
University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
707 South Mathews Avenue, 4080 FLB
Urbana IL 61801
Mariselle Meléndez
fax: (217)244-8430
Office: (217) 333-1075
Should you need assistance with the application itself, please contact SLCL Graduate Student Services (slclgradservices@uiuc.edu).