MA or PhD Qualifying Exams?

[sweatingbullets]

I officially accepted NYU

[fortiesgirl]

If I'm not mistaken, your program requires a Master's thesis in lieu of a comp exam. Some MA programs require a thesis whereas others require a comp exam. Some allow the candidate to choose depending on whether or not they are tracked for a Ph.D., i.e., doctoral track candidates would opt to write a thesis whereas terminal M.A. candidates would opt to take the comps. This program in particular is not Ph.D. tracked but that should not prevent you from applying to doctoral programs in the future if you wish to do so.

I'm pretty well-acquainted with this info because I did my previous grad work at NYU and took some courses in their French lit department. I wrote an M.A. thesis and am now headed off to do my doctoral work in the fall. I was accepted to a number of programs, so I would venture to say that no, not taking an exam does not make your degree any less valuable to a potential employer. I pasted the requirements for your MA project below in case you haven't read it.

Case in point--I taught French for four years with my degree (after having taken the Praxis exam for teaching-- and I got my teaching license while teaching in the process). I think writing the thesis was a great experience and an invaluable stepping stone that paved the way now that I want to progress toward doctoral work in Modern French history. Best of luck to you in Madrid or as they say buena suerte!

What is the M.A. project?

The M.A. project is a substantial piece of original scholarly work that students begin working on in the Research Methods Seminar in the fall and complete in the spring and/or summer. Completed under the guidance of an advisor from the faculty, the M.A. project gives students an opportunity to demonstrate expertise in their chosen area of research.The topics of the research projects area are as varied as the interests of our students.Typically taking the form of a 40-60 page research paper, M.A. projects may also consist of an undergraduate-level teaching unit, a commented translation, or a piece of original creative work in the field of Hispanic studies.All students present their research at the NYU in Madrid Graduate Research Symposium in April.