PhD Program in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature

Please note that the PhD program in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature will not be accepting admissions applications for fall 2021. We will instead devote our resources to supporting our continuing students whose research and academic progress have been impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to providing extra financial support to those students whose studies have been most seriously affected, we are focusing on offering all of our students the most robust guidance and mentoring programs possible, and on maximizing their access to rich experiential and professional opportunities in our community. Our decision not to admit a cohort in 2021 was not an easy one, and we look forward to opening admissions again for fall 2022. The application for fall 2022 will be available in September 2021. Please direct questions to spanish.portuguese.phd@nyu.edu.

We continue to offer admission in fall 2021 to our MFA program in Creative Writing in Spanish.

The PhD program in Spanish and Portuguese combines rigorous coursework with individual research in Spanish, Latin American, and/or Luso-Brazilian language and literature. 

Students admitted to the program will have the opportunity to work with world-renowned faculty with a wide range of focus areas and research interests.  In addition, the program boasts a dynamic student body representing 12 countries and numerous academic and professional backgrounds.   

Areas of scholarly focus in the Department range in historical scope from medieval Iberia and colonial Latin America to contemporary literature, culture, and art, drawing on critical vocabularies in visual studies, performance studies, cultural studies, continental philosophy, psychoanalysis, postcolonial studies, queer studies, film studies, biopolitics, and ethics, among others.

The program consistently ranks among the best in the country and every year attracts a diverse and highly competitive applicant pool. The Department typically accepts between four and six fully-funded students annually.  

For information about the admissions process, please visit Admissions FAQs and GSAS Application Resource Center.  If you have questions about the admissions process that are not addressed on either of these two pages, please contact Edgardo Núñez at spanish.portuguese.phd@nyu.edu.

Director of Graduate Studies: Professor Licia Fiol-Matta