Graduate Programs
PhD in Cultural Studies
The doctoral degree program in cultural studies requires 48 credits beyond the master’s degree. The core curriculum includes an introduction to cultural studies and a methods course, as well as courses on political economy, gender and sexuality, critical race studies, science and technology, social institutions, and visual and performance culture.
In addition to completing the core curriculum, all students develop, in close collaboration with faculty mentors, field specializations that involve intensive research and work in two areas of cultural studies. These specializations prepare students for the dissertation and subsequent forms of professional development. The program’s special strengths include the following:
Gender, sexuality, and body studies
Students explore the ways in which corporeal meanings are made, i.e. the various ways in which gender and sexuality function in the maintenance of social power. Students also examine conflicting ideas about sexuality and their role in cultural signification.
Visual culture and media studies
Students examine theories of visual culture, covering such topics as film, video, visual arts, music, display, ritual, performance, performativity and theories of the aesthetic, as well as their production, consumption, and reception.
Political economy and globalization
Students look at the ways in which theories of production, consumption, and globalization are central to contemporary cultural studies. Courses survey many of the social science and humanities classics that relate cultural production and consumption to underlying political economic conditions
Race, ethnicity, and nation
Students study the construction of racial, ethnic, and national identities. Particular emphasis is placed on the making of identities in the colonial context, the role of scientific racism, the forging of social movements, and the history of racial, ethnic, and national conflicts.
MA in Foreign Languages
Chinese concentration in the MA in Foreign Languages
The MA in Foreign Languages with a concentration in Chinese offers students an opportunity to study a wide variety of topics from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Coursework includes the academic study of the language, literature, and the cultures of the Chinese-speaking world (including the US) as well as applied linguistics, cultural studies, critical pedagogy, film studies, and translation studies.
French concentration in the MA in Foreign Languages
The MA in foreign languages with a concentration in French offers students an opportunity to study a variety of topics—from the traditional academic study of the language, literature, and the culture of French to less traditional subjects such as film studies and the Francophone literatures of the Caribbean, Quebec, and Africa.
Spanish concentration in the MA in Foreign Languages (On-Campus option, Online option)
--The Spanish concentration can be completed FULLY ONLINE--
The MA in Foreign Languages with a concentration in Spanish offers students an opportunity to study a wide variety of topics from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Coursework includes the academic study of the language, literature, and the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world (including the US) as well as applied linguistics, cultural studies, critical pedagogy, film studies, and Latinx studies.
Students can choose to simultaneously earn the graduate certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education, which provides expertise on the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural characteristics of Spanish-speakers in the US; heritage language educational policy; and social justice-oriented, antiracist approaches to teaching Spanish. Coursework can count for BOTH the MA and the certificate.
Spanish and French concentration in the MA in Foreign Languages
The MA in foreign languages with a concentration in French and Spanish allows graduate students to pursue a multilingual path of scholarship and an array of international opportunities. This expanded master’s degree combines the basic requirements of the concentrations in French and Spanish, with additional opportunities for electives and an optional thesis.
Students can choose to simultaneously earn the graduate certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education, which provides expertise on the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural characteristics of Spanish-speakers in the US; heritage language educational policy; and social justice-oriented, antiracist approaches to teaching Spanish. Coursework can count for BOTH the MA and the certificate.
Spanish/Bilingual-Multicultural Education concentration in the MA in Foreign Languages
The MA in Foreign Languages with a concentration in Spanish/Bilingual- Multicultural Education combines courses in Spanish offered in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages with select courses in multicultural education offered by the College of Education and Human Development. This degree prepares individuals to effectively teach Spanish in diverse settings, including second language, heritage language, and mixed classes, as well as multicultural learning contexts. Virginia Licensure is available with additional coursework beyond the degree.
Students can choose to simultaneously earn the graduate certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education, which provides expertise on the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural characteristics of Spanish-speakers in the US; heritage language educational policy; and social justice-oriented, antiracist approaches to teaching Spanish. Coursework can count for BOTH the MA and the certificate.
Accelerated MA in Foreign Languages
The Accelerated Master’s Degree program allows Mason’s highly qualified and highly motivated undergraduates to begin graduate study while still completing their BA. This allows them to earn an MA in a reduced amount of time, and at significantly reduced cost. Students accepted to the Accelerated Master’s Degree (BAM) program can complete both degrees with as few as 138 credits!
Students in the Accelerated Master’s degree in Foreign Languages can choose either the concentration in Chinese, Spanish or the concentration in Spanish/Bilingual-Multicultural Education.
Graduate Certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education (On-Campus option, Online option)
The Graduate Certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education is a 15-credit online program that can be taken alone or in conjunction with the MA in Foreign Languages or another Mason graduate degree (and may not require additional credits!). Students develop familiarity with the linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural characteristics of Spanish-speakers in the US; heritage language educational policy and practice; and social justice-oriented and critical approaches to teaching Spanish. The certificate prepares educators and affiliated professionals to advocate for heritage speakers of Spanish as well as to develop and implement teaching materials, curricula, and pedagogies for Spanish heritage language education.