The M.A. program in Spanish is mostly focused on Spanish and Latin American literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the present. Over the course of their graduate studies in Spanish, students acquire a solid grounding in major works of poetry, prose, and theater, as well as the tools necessary to approach these works critically. All courses in the Spanish program are taught in Spanish. For more information, please see the graduate program website at https://spanish.sfsu.edu/spanish.

International students can study the Spanish at San Francisco State University at its main campus in San Francisco, United States of America. This Master degree is available as a Full Time program delivered on campus in English. The program has a duration of 2 years and is offered at the university's main campus. Students can apply for the next intake starting on August 16, 2027.
About Master of Spanish
Upon completion of the Master of Arts in Spanish:
- Use of Appropriate Resources, Materials and Format for Writing a Research Paper. Students must demonstrate the ability to produce effective academic writing based on scholarly research.
- Knowledge of Culture, Language and Literature at the Advanced Level
- Demonstrate graduate-level competence in the concentration language.
- Analyze texts for theme, structure, style and other aspects of prose and poetry.
- Explain how literary movements influence each other and are shaped by history.
- Demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches when analyzing complex problems and intellectual questions.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the present day structure of the concentration language, including the phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and discourse features.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the historical development and sociolinguistic variations of the concentration language.
- Demonstrate the ability to develop basic skills as teacher-researcher while applying theoretical knowledge to practice, and to implement standard-based Second Language Acquisition (SLA) instruction.
Requirements and Admission Criteria for Master of Spanish at San Francisco State University
Entry Requirements
Eligible Degrees: Bachelor's degree.
Required Academic Documents: Degree certificate and transcript (record of subjects taken and marks earned) If your academic record is not in English, an English translation must accompany all academic documents. Academic documents must be university issued and sealed.
GPA Equivalency: a GPA of "B" or higher is required for graduate study 70 - 79
English Requirements
- PTEMin 59
- IELTSMin 6.5
- TOEFLMin 80
Tuition and Fee Information for Master of Spanish at San Francisco State University
How to Apply for Master of Spanish at San Francisco State University
Before Applying
- Spend time reviewing your desired program's information
- Note your program deadline for application. Applications are due by 9:00 pm the day of your application deadline. Refer to the lists below to determine your application deadline.
- Review the minimum university requirements for admission for domestic or international students.
- Gather your transcripts, test scores, and additional program materials that can be uploaded online. At this time, you may use unofficial copies, however, official copies will be required for formal review.
- International students should also gather uploadable versions of their TOEFL or IELTS scores.
- Provide notice to your recommenders prior to completing your application.
Submitting Your Application
- Go to the Cal State Apply portal, select semester from dropdown menu, create an account or login with account credentials
- Upload and attach all required materials under the four quadrants
- Once you have submitted names and emails for recommendations, recommendation requests are automatically generated.
- Complete payment for application: $70. All fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
- Once your application and payment have been submitted, you cannot add documents.
Cal State Apply
San Francisco State Graduate program applications are submitted through Cal State Apply. Cal State Apply is a Centralized Application Service (CAS) that simplifies the process of applying to CSU programs. You will only submit one application for the university and the graduate program.
Quadrant I: Personal Information
- Complete all of the required fields in the 7 sub-sections
- Fields noted as optional may be skipped
Quadrant II: Academic History
- Colleges attended: Add all previous institution information and dates attended
- Standardized tests: Standardized tests will be reported under Program Materials, click on "I am Not Adding Any Standardized Tests"
- GPA entries: Graduate Studies will calculate your GPA from your previous institution transcripts, click on "Don't have a GPA to add"
Quadrant III: Supporting Information
- Experiences: You may opt out of all supporting materials, unless your intended program instructs you to use these fields. Select "I Am Not Adding Any Experiences" in this section of the application.
Quadrant IV: Program Materials
- Program materials is composed of 4 separate tabs. Carefully read the Home tab as the program lists all required materials and important information on this tab.
- Questions: All required questions must be answered
- Documents: All required documents must be uploaded. Attach documents that are legible. You may need to resize any scanned PDFs so that you do not exceed the MB limit for each document.
- Recommendations: Once you have submitted names and emails for recommendations, recommendation requests are automatically generated.
- Do not wait for recommendations to be returned. Continue with the application process in order to meet your deadline.
After Submitting
- Applications will be sent electronically to the program once all materials have arrived and evaluators have evaluated the minimum requirements are met.
- The program reviews applications and makes their recommendations to the Graduate Division.
- You will receive an email notifying you that a decision is ready.
- Log into your Student Center to review the acceptance checklist. If you have not already arranged for submission of official copies of transcripts, test scores and degree certificates, you will need to make these arrangements.

United States of America, San Francisco