Graduate Programs

Consult the coordinators of French rpauly@wcupa.edu, or Spanish, mvanliew@wcupa.edu, for advising regarding courses. Take up to three courses while you put together your online application for the M.A. or the M.Ed. or graduate certification.

You can pursue graduate work with us toward a Master of Arts in French or Spanish, a Master of Education in French or Spanish, or graduate level Pennsylvania State Certification K-12 in French or Spanish or both. Most of the courses for certification may be counted toward the M.Ed. Additionally, you may pursue non-degree post-baccalaureate certification in German, Latin or Russian, as well as French and Spanish.

We will give you six years to complete your master's degree. Our students include both part-time and full-time candidates.

We will transfer in up to 20% of the degree (six-nine credits) from another graduate program toward your degree, provided those credits are not part of a completed degree. We encourage cultural immersion study as part of your graduate experience.

We offer graduate internships in French or Spanish, LAN 525, from 3 to 12 credits, as an elective option.

We permit our students to count two 400-level courses toward the master's, if they are not offered at the 500 level nor part of an undergraduate degree elsewhere.

Our degrees include a core curriculum of seminars in French or Spanish, and additional elective courses toward graduate certification, the ESL certificate for those holding language certification, or other appropriate electives such as seminars in French History or Existentialism or a six credit thesis.

Our program graduates pursue many careers using French or Spanish, including teaching at all levels, further graduate study, law, international relations, marketing, banking, travel, and services in a wide variety of regional and national companies. The high-quality professional training and multicultural perspectives you will acquire will enrich your future.

Click on the table below for more information on each of our six programs, or consult our Graduate Handbook. And please contact any of the following personally for further details:

Spanish: Dr. Maria Van Liew, 105 Main Hall, 610-436-2382. Email: mvanliew@wcupa.edu

French: Dr. Rebecca Pauly, 105 Main Hall 610-436-2382. Email: rpauly@wcupa.edu

Contact Dr. Pauly for any other questions regarding graduate study, or our department chairperson: Dr. Jerome Williams, 109 Main Hall, 610-436-2700. Email: jwilliams2@wcupa.edu

GRADUATE MISSION STATEMENT 

The Department of Languages and Cultures at West Chester University proposes a variety of high quality stimulating graduate programs leading to the master’s degree, in keeping with our stated mission to serve the regional community of teachers, scholars and professionals. We offer rigourous training in K-12 second language acquisition in accordance with the mandates of the PDE (Pennsylvania Department of Education) and NCATE (National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education) organizations. Our graduate students are carefully advised and personally mentored to assure their transformation and success as a result of completion of our curriculum and degree requirements. We also train professionals in the business world in both language skills and cultural competency, in keeping with the demands of the expanding global market place. Our faculty are active and interactive professionally, participating in a wide variety of meetings national and international and organizing workshops and meetings on campus for students and fellow faculty. Our M.A. and M.Ed. course offerings are continually restructured and updated to reflect the current exigencies of language professional environments, and emphasize diversity of personal and cultural experience while they offer equality of access and opportunity to all qualified students without regard to age, sex, race, or creed. This diversity is in keeping with our primary goal of advancing crosscultural awareness and communication and developing in our students the necessary skills to successfully meet the challenges of the future.

The M.A. (master of arts) degree in French and Spanish is intended for professionals wishing to master the language, literature and culture of the Francophone and Hispanic peoples of the world. As such it offers not only courses in canonic and ethnic literatures but also area cultural studies and skills in commerce and translation. The required second language reading exam gives the West Chester M.A. candidates additional competence in pursuing research or meeting career needs. Beyond proficiency skills and curriculum enrichment, we also require of all graduating master’s students a research paper and oral presentation to prepare them for future professional presentation environments. While the M.A. is traditionally associated with further graduate work at the doctoral level, completion of our degree offers teachers and professionals a variety of career options, and may even be combined with PA K-12 State Certification if the student so desires.

The M.Ed. (master of education) degree in French or Spanish is offered in conjunction with several pedagogy and applied linguistics programs on campus, and may include the coursework for graduate certification in one or more foreign languages. Thus the M.Ed. degree offers students in- depth seminar level study in the language as well as several options in courses taught in English. This program is intended for college graduates wishing to pursue a career in teaching, usually for PA State K-12 certification. In conjunction with the M.Ed. we offer linguistics and second-language methodology courses within our department to give students an advanced conceptual framework in language structure and pedagogy. In addition to the established graduate curriculum, master of education students may use another existing course in our program to complete a research project, receiving graduate credit in curriculum design or pedagogical theory.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the Department of Languages and Cultures at WCU provides an intellectual forum for teachers and professionals in the surrounding area, offering a stimulating exchange of ideas, information, and strategies which they may in turn share with others in their community.

Graduate Program Outcomes:

The graduate program is intended to provide advanced educational studies for students interested in the most human aspect of the humanities—language. It provides a flexible basis for exploring a wide variety of vocations involving bilingual skills and cross-cultural social services. 

The transformative aspects of the graduate program address the following goals:

• responsiveness and resourcefulness in curricular offerings and services that we provide emphasis on individual and group research
• ensuring student success by offering flexible and accessible programs of study throughout the calendar year
• intrusive advising and professional counseling, as well as a streamlined admissions process
• delivery of instruction both in-class and online
• providing a curriculum that reflects the processes and trends in globalization and internationalization
• offering faculty that serve as advocates for student learning and technological literacy

In addition to providing courses of study that lead to mastery of the target language content, assessment of performance, and a high degree of professionalism, our program offers students a common experience through capstone courses, followed by seminars and opportunities for individualized instruction and independent study. We assess learning outcomes utilizing a variety of methodologies that include portfolio assessment, oral and written proficiency, cross-disciplinary and intercultural exposure to content and perspectives that allow students to shape, under faculty advisement, a program of study that builds on their strengths and interests. Students are able to integrate their learning and experiences with languages and cultures into a personal and highly professional program where learning outcomes are measured throughout their matriculation, and beyond.

The graduate program is intended to provide advanced educational studies for students interested in the most human aspect of the humanities—language. It provides a flexible basis for exploring a wide variety of vocations involving bilingual skills and cross-cultural social services. The program of study challenges students to develop and employ their professional training to provide scholarly initiative, leadership, skills, and practical and theoretical knowledge necessary to measure their transformative learning.

At the completion of the program of study, graduates will be able to:

1. demonstrate a systematic comprehension of advanced disciplinary competence and professional proficiency in oral and written forms of  communication;

2. demonstrate an ability to interpret and combine research methodologies and techniques, critical thinking, effective problem-solving, and applied research in an employment setting;

 3. demonstrate the ability to design and implement independent research for critical review in a variety of settings, including conferences and presentations;

4. demonstrate an engagment in reflection for professional and personal growth, as well as an appreciation for diverse human expression and representation in global languages and cultures;

5. demonstrate an abilty to transfer and translate skills to non acacdemic settings;

6. demonstrate through professional knowledge an ability, where indicated, to pursue more advanced study.

The outcomes shared by the masters programs in French and Spanish are reflected in the course content and are keyed to the roles for which students are trained.