Graduate Assistantship Information

• Fall 2008 Course Descriptions
• Spring 2008 Course descriptions
• Fall 2007 Course descriptions
• Spring 2006 Course descriptions
• Fall 2005 Course descriptions

Admission requirements:

• Students seeking admission to the Graduate Programs in the Department of Languages Literatures and Cultures should have completed, or should be close to completing, an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university, with a major or equivalent in the pertinent language. A minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale is expected.
  
• Applicants should normally obtain the following minimum scores on the GRE examination:

Those applying to MAT programs may take the Miller Analogies test and be admitted with a score of at least 40 or 396, depending on the scale.

Students submitting GRE scores from before October 1, 2002, should normally have obtained the following minimum scores on the GRE examination:

Foreign students who are not native speakers of English must also take the TOEFL exam and score a minimum of 570 ( paper based test), 230 (computer based test), or 75 (TOEFL iBT test)

Application procedure:

• Students are invited to go to the Graduate School site and fill out an electronic application. Paper applications are no longer available. All material should be sent to the graduate school in one packet. This material includes the following:
• 3 letters of recommendation, each sent in a sealed official envelope with the recommender's signature across the seal
• an undergraduate transcript
• a 250 word statement of purpose: explain the connection between USC’s programs and your personal goals
• a writing sample (in the relevant language) of between 1000 and 2500 words. This could be a paper written for an undergraduate course or an essay prepared specifically for the application.
• Students applying in Spanish are also required to send a 5 minute tape of their spoken Spanish to the Office of the Graduate Director of the Department of Languages Literatures and Cultures.
• Admission candidates WHO DO NOT WISH TO REQUEST FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE should complete the application process by June 1. Applications received after this date will be considered only if space is available.

Financial Assistance (Additional information)

Financial assistance is available to degree-seeking graduate students in the form of assistantships which currently pay stipends ranging from $10,500 to $14,000 plus tuition abatement. A limited number of summer appointments are also available. THE DEADLINE for being considered for the first round of TA appointments is February 1. Applications received after that date may be placed on the waiting list.

Libraries

University libraries in Columbia house about 7.5 million processed items, including 2.9 million volumes, approximately 3.5 million units on microfilm, and some 18,000 current periodicals. The German holdings in the Thomas Cooper Library , which ranks among the top university research libraries in the US and Canada, are considerable and include both the Jantz and the Faber du Faur collections on microfilm; they are continually updated

The City

USC Columbia is the main campus of the eight-campus University of South Carolina. Columbia , the state capital, is located in the Midlands region of South Carolina, about two hours by car from either Atlantic coast beaches or the mountains. The city offers a short, moderate winter, a pleasant spring and fall, and a very warm summer, permitting year-round outdoor recreation and sports activities. Columbia has a metropolitan population of more than 500,000 and a very active cultural life, with theatre, opera, concerts, various museums, a beautiful zoo with botanical gardens, and much more.

Training for Graduate Assistants

All graduate assistants undergo both theoretical and practical training in the teaching of their chosen foreign language. Student instructors are closely supervised by the faculty. They normally teach in the beginning classes. Opportunities to earn an additional stipend in summer employment give graduate assistants experience in teaching a wider variety of courses.

For additional information, please contact: Dr. Nicholas Vazsonyi, Graduate Director.