The program of Spanish & Portuguese offers a Master of Arts (MA) in Spanish. At the MA level, students are expected to demonstrate an understanding and make use of the core knowledge needed to function in their professional field. MA level students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the research process, and/or creative or problem-solving activity or application of the knowledge appropriate to literary and cultural studies or linguistics.

For the MA degree in Spanish, students may choose either a thesis-type program or a course-type program. For the thesis-type program, the student must complete a minimum of thirty (30) semester hours of credit including thesis credit. At least eighteen (18) of these hours must be taken on a letter-grade basis (A, B, C). The minimum/maximum number of thesis hours for completion of an MA degree shall be six (6) hours and a minimum of two (2) of these must be in the final semester. For the course-type program, the student must complete a minimum of thirty-two (32) semester hours of course work. At least twenty-one (21) of these hours must be taken on a letter-grade basis (A, B, C).