Masters in Romance Languages
Frequently Asked Questions

Our university is fully accredited by SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools).

A minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 plus 15 undergraduate credit hours in French or Spanish at the 3000-level or above. The French or Spanish coursework must also carry a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Please go to the link below, create an account with a username and password, and fill out the application. The application fee is $40 (USD).

Apply for admission

For Summer term, please apply by May 1. For Fall semester, please apply by July 1. For Spring semester, please apply by November 15. 

Deadlines and other pertinent information may also be found at the following link:

Graduate Forms

We do not require letters of recommendation, a resume, or the GRE for either option of the M.A. in Romance Languages – French or Spanish. But we do require a one to two-page double-spaced Statement of Purpose in the target language (French or Spanish, depending on your option). Please upload the Statement of Purpose directly into the application form.

A copy of official transcripts. Please send them to the following address:

Mailing address for U.S. Transcripts: Transcripts

Mailing address for non-U.S. Transcripts:  International Center, Room 110, 2000 Lakeshore Dr, New Orleans, LA  70148

Some U.S. institutions do not send transcripts electronically.  If that is the case, they should be mailed to:

LSU New Orleans
Privateer Enrollment Center
105 Earl K. Long Library
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70148

If you are an international student and your education was completed outside of the U.S. or another recognized English-speaking country (e.g. Australia, Belize, Canada, Jamaica, U.K.), you will need to provide proof of English proficiency. The following are measures of English proficiency currently accepted by the Graduate School:

TOEFL:  Internet-based test score of 79 total or Computer-based test score of 550:

www.ets.org/toefl

IELTS:  overall band score of 6.5:

www.ielts.org/test_takers_information.aspx

PTE:   Academic score of 58:

pearsonpte.com/test-takers/test

Satisfactory completion of the Intensive English Language Program at LSU New Orleans: IELP

If required documents are not received by the application deadline, please request that your application be updated for a future term by emailing Bryon Reiger: bereiger@uno.edu

Yes. You will need to apply to the program as a non-degree seeking student. In this case, we do not need your statement of purpose, only the other three components of your application: (application form, $40 application fee, and official transcripts).

- 11 courses or 33 hours for students of the non-thesis option.

- 10 courses or 30 hours for students of the thesis option. Note: the thesis option is not currently available.

At the end of your coursework, at least six (6) of your courses must be at the 6000-level as opposed to the 5000-level.

Yes. 2 courses (6 credit hours) may be taken in another department provided they are graduate courses at the 5000 or 6000 level.

- Full-time enrollment (9 credit hours or 3 courses) is required for Graduate Assistantships and Scholarships.
- If you receive financial aid in the form of federal loans, you must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours (6 hours or 2 courses).
- If you do not receive financial aid, you are free to take as many or as few classes as you wish. Most students take a maximum of three classes per semester and one class in the summer.
- If you have completed part of the program, but have not taken classes for a period of a year or more, you will have to re-apply for admission.

Yes. We can transfer up to three courses (9 or 12 credit hours) provided they are at the graduate level. You must complete 9 credits (3 courses) in our program before we will transfer the credits.

Pretty much. Most of the graduate classes with the prefix FREN or SPAN are taught entirely in the target language. ROML classes, because they are cross-listed, are usually taught in English.

Absolutely. Your coursework may be entirely online or a combination of both online and on-site. For instance, some of our local students take electives on the LSU New Orleans campus and occasionally we offer on-site courses in our program.

Through a system called Moodle. It is similar to Blackboard and is relatively user-friendly and intuitive. You do not have to be particularly skilled in technology to use it. See the following link for an introduction to Moodle: https://www.uno.edu/cti/moodle/students

Our MA students who live outside the state of Louisiana may opt to come to campus to take the MA Comprehensive Examination or they may opt to use LSU New Orleans’s partner in online testing. To assist faculty in verifying student identity in online courses, LSU New Orleans partners with Proctor U, a nationally-recognized leader in online exam proctoring services. Proctor U provides a convenient, affordable, and secure way for students to complete exams from any location using a computer, webcam, and reliable internet connection.

Pricing for Proctor U

• $8.75 for exams up to 30 minutes
• $17.50 for exams from 31 up to 60 minutes
• $25.00 for exams from 61 up to 120 minutes
• $33.75 for exams from 121 up to 180 minutes
• $42.50 for exams beyond 180 minutes

For more information on using Proctor U, please click on the following link and/or see page 14 in the M.A. Program in the Graduate Student Handbook

Online Testing

Our MA students who live outside the state of Louisiana may opt to come to campus to take the MA Comprehensive Examination or they may opt to set up a Skype or Zoom appointment in order to do the oral exam. See pages 12-15 in the Graduate Student Handbook.

All the relevant information, including an estimated cost of attendance, can be found on LSU New Orleans homepage. Click on “Admissions” then “Tuition and Fees.”

LSU New Orleans Tuition & Fees

International students (who do not have a Graduate Assistantship and are not CODOFIL students) are assessed non-resident fee, tuition, registration fees, and international fee (and also insurance if they do not have their own).

IMPORTANT NOTE: As an added bonus of being an online student with us, you will pay in-state tuition (even if you live out-of-state) as long as you remain a 100% online student. In other words, there is a non-resident fee exemption for students who live out-of-state but are enrolled in an online program.

Yes. We offer a limited number in French and Spanish on a competitive basis. Our T.A.-ships include a tuition waiver for fall and spring semesters only (not for summer session) and carry a stipend. They entail teaching on-campus courses only, not online courses. Hence, they are granted to local students only. In order to be eligible, you must have completed at least 18 hours of graduate work in the discipline that you would like to teach. T.A.s teach one or two courses of first or second-semester (1001 or 1002) French or Spanish. To obtain an application form, click the link below or request one by emailing [email protected].

Graduate Assistantship Forms 

Yes. CODOFIL teachers receive a tuition waiver, but are still responsible for fees. In order to receive your tuition waiver, the bursar’s office will need a copy of your appointment letter. Please scan it and send it to them at: [email protected].

Here is more on CODOFIL from the Financial Aid section of the University Catalog:

CODOFIL exemptions for tuition and nonresident fees are available to those students who are certified as eligible by the Director of the CODOFIL program in accordance with the UL System guidelines.

Yes. Foreign Associate Teachers of Spanish receive an exemption of tuition and registration fees for graduate programs authorized by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and administered by the Louisiana Department of Education. In order to receive your tuition waiver, the bursar's office will need a copy of your appointment letter from the Louisiana Department of Education. Please scan it and send it to them at: [email protected].

Yes. Please see “Financial Resources” at the following link and the email address for inquiry about graduate scholarships:

Grad Forms

[email protected]

The following link gives you a checklist to help you set up an e-mail account, pay fees, and submit the immunization form. The new student orientation is optional for graduate students.  

New Student Checklist

To submit the immunization waiver, click “Student Health Services” then “immunization waiver.” Log in with your LSU New Orleans username and password. Fill out the form then click “submit.”

On our web page, we post the document  “Advanced Course Offerings” (in October for spring, in March for summer and fall) in the link below. Here, you should read the descriptions of all the graduate courses (5000-level and 6000-level courses) that are offered in your option.

Foreign Languages Course Descriptions

It can be one of four reasons:

• You did not provide proof of immunization or petition for a waiver. Please see the waiver instructions under the question "I've been admitted to the program. What do I do next?"
• You did not provide your official transcripts.
• You have outstanding debts from a previous semester at LSU New Orleans.
• You are trying to register for a course such as a Directed Study. These courses require special permission from the instructor before you can register. You should email the instructor to obtain permission, then contact the Graduate Coordinator to have the registration block removed.

Yes. After you prove yourself by taking four courses is our program and maintaining a minimum 3.0 GPA, you may re-apply to the program as a degree-seeking student. This time, you will need to attach your statement of purpose (in the target language) to the application. The four courses that you took as a non-degree seeking student will count toward the eleven courses needed for your degree.

There are several different ways. See page 8 of the Graduate Student Handbook in the link below. If you choose to fulfill the requirement by examination, please contact Dr. García-Castellón at [email protected]. If you choose to fulfill the requirement by taking undergraduate language courses, you will need the Coordinator of Foreign Languages, Dr. Bourderionnet, to remove the block for you so that you may enroll in an undergraduate course. Please e-mail him at [email protected] with your student number and the desired course and section number so that he may remove the block. 

Graduate Handbook

As a matter of fact, there is. Our program has graduated many excellent alumni who currently occupy teaching, administrative, and leadership positions in institutions of learning such as Dillard, Loyola, Tulane, Xavier, Delgado Community College, The International School of Louisiana, and many other high schools and middle schools. In addition, many of our alumni have pursued or are currently pursuing their PhD at prestigious universities such as UT Austin, UT Knoxville, Emory, UC Davis, NYU, Brown, University of Iowa, Indiana University, UG Athens, Tulane, LSU, and ULL. Most of them were offered assistantships and/or scholarships.