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Hispanic Studies Department Portfolio Program and Senior Paper Requirements

 

Portfolio Program

In addition to satisfying the course requirements, students of all three major tracks in Hispanic Studies (LCL, HISP and LTS) are required to compile a portfolio of their work and to submit it to the department during the last semester of their senior year. The creation of a portfolio allows a senior to show intellectual growth and improved writing skills. The portfolio should be carefully designed to synthesize the student’s total experience as a major. A student may seek advice from a faculty advisor, but it is the student’s responsibility to ensure the completion of the portfolio. The Hispanic Studies faculty advisor will certify that the portfolio fulfills the department’s standards for graduation.

 

The requirements for the Senior Portfolio are as follows:

  1. A personal statement (minimum 2 to 3 pages typed) written in English that documents the student’s history as a major and discusses the contents of the portfolio. This statement should include a self-assessment of language strengths and weaknesses, insights into literary texts and the target culture, and reflections upon various learning experiences such as study abroad, language house participation or internship.
  2. A minimum of three papers at different levels demonstrating progress during the student’s coursework at Puget Sound or elsewhere. These papers should be "clean" copies, i.e., without a professor’s written remarks on the paper.
  3. Other optional materials may include:
    • A curriculum vitae (which includes a list of courses in the discipline and other related educational experience)
    • Syllabi (highly recommended for courses taken at institutions other than Puget Sound.)
    • Multimedia projects (student films, digital humanities initiatives, web pages, etc.) that capture a student’s formation in ways that might not be obvious in conventional written assignments.

 

Senior Paper Requirements

In addition to satisfying the course requirements and completing a senior portfolio, all majors in Spanish Language, Culture and Literature (LCL) and Hispanic International Studies (HISP) are required to write a senior paper as per the requirements below. It is completed as part of an upper-division course (401 or above or an equivalent course taken abroad) taken during the senior year, an approved summer research project, or an independent research project. The senior paper is not required of LTS majors.

  • Topic: Determined in consultation with the faculty member teaching the upper-division course or supervising the independent study option. Students exercising the option to expand upon a summer research or study abroad project should consult their advisor to discuss the topic of their work.
  • Method: The senior paper should demonstrate the ability to do literary analysis appropriate to the undergraduate level and must draw upon a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. The professor of a course or independent study establishes additional criteria for papers s/he assigns. In other cases, the student’s advisor in Hispanic Studies will establish the set of criteria for the paper.
  • Length: a minimum of 10-12 typed, double-spaced pages in 12-pt font
  • Language: The senior paper is written in Spanish except for quotations from sources in a language other than Spanish, which may be cited in the original language.
  • Format: Consistent with guidelines outlined in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
  • Grading: The paper is evaluated by the professor of the course, including independent study courses, in which it is written, although the student’s advisor in Hispanic Studies is ultimately responsible for approving the project. For projects emerging from summer research or study abroad, the advisor in Hispanic Studies evaluates the project.
  • Due date: Determined in consultation with the faculty member teaching the upper-division course or supervising the independent study option.