The certificate in Romance linguistics is an interdisciplinary curriculum designed for students in any major who wish to gain expertise in the structure of the Romance languages, which are historically derived from Latin and are currently spoken across Europe and the Americas. The program provides a grounding in linguistic theory coordinated with the study of the structure, history, and/or social context of French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish.
Requirements
The Romance linguistics certificate requires the completion of seven courses (21 credits) with a grade of C or better in each course, chosen with appropriate distribution from the course list below. In addition, students must demonstrate knowledge of at least two Romance languages by the completion of the program.
Course Requirements
1.01:615:201Introduction to Linguistic Theory (3)
2.01:615:340Romance Linguistics (3)
3.One course from among:
01:615:305Syntax (3)
01:615:315Phonology (3)
01:615:325Semantics (3)
4. Four courses from among:
01:190:421Indo-European Origins of the Classical Languages (3)
01:420:332French Phonetics and Applied Linguistics (3)
01:420:333Introduction to French Syntax (3)
01:420:403History of the French Language (3)
01:420:407Advanced French Syntax (3)
01:560:304Introduction to Italian Linguistics (3)
01:940:362Spanish Phonetics and Phonology (3)
01:940:363Hispanic Bilingualism (3)
01:940:364Structure of Modern Spanish (3)
01:940:417History of the Spanish Language (3)
01:940:419Spanish Dialectology (3)
Other Requirements
Knowledge of two Romance languages must be established either by completing at least one course at the 200 level or higher in each language with a grade of C or better, or by placement in the 200 level or higher (proof required). For the purpose of this certificate, the Romance languages are considered to be Latin, Catalan, French, Provençal/ Occitan, Italian, Portuguese/Galician, Romanian, any Rhaeto-Romance variety, Spanish/Castilian, or Sardinian. Certificate students who are native speakers of Romance varieties for which there is no placement test or no course available at Rutgers-New Brunswick may submit other proof of their language abilities for validation by a certificate adviser.
Candidates must have their program approved by a Romance linguistics certificate adviser, who is appointed by the chair of the Department of Linguistics. Majors from any field are welcome to enroll in the certificate program. Substitutions for the above courses may be made only with the approval of a certificate adviser.
Candidates for the certificate are encouraged to study abroad, with either the Rutgers Study Abroad programs in France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, among others, or another accredited university program. Courses taken abroad may be offered in substitution for those in the above course list; their suitability must be evaluated by a certificate adviser on a case-by-case basis. Candidates will be required to show documentation (catalog/brochure description, syllabus, texts, exams, etc.) of the type and content of the course being evaluated. Senior candidates who take a seminar or pursue an honors thesis project that relates to Romance linguistics may, with permission of the certificate adviser, offer one such course as a substitute for one of those required above.
Most upper-level courses have prerequisites, and in the language departments, these prerequisite courses are typically taught in the target language.
