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Julia Oliver Rajan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese at Northwestern University. She teaches a wide range of proficiency levels and specializes in creating tailored courses for Spanish Heritage Speakers. Before joining Northwestern, she designed the Spanish Heritage Speakers Track at the University of Iowa and served on the Placement Committee as a certified tester and rater for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Her notable accomplishments include the creation of 'Del cafetal al futuro,' a digital archive that captures the unique dialect of the coffee zone in Puerto Rico, and the well-regarded service-learning textbook, 'Amigos de la comunidad: Curso de aprendizaje-servicio en español.' Julia's scholarly work includes book chapters and articles published in national and international journals, notably Borealis – International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics. Currently, she is piloting an Open Educational Resource (OER) for Advanced Spanish Heritage Speakers, supported by a grant from the Hewlett Fund for Curricular Innovation. Julia has also made significant contributions to promoting the heritage language through her research and participation in events such as the IV Semana de la Lengua Española in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to her teaching and research, she is actively involved in academic governance, representing her department on the Faculty Senate and serving on the Learning Technology Advisory Committee (LTAC). She coordinates the Spanish Heritage Speakers Track and advises the Latin Music Ensemble. Julia has chaired the 5th Symposium on Spanish Heritage Language and is co-chairing the upcoming 12th Symposium at Northwestern University.
Standard PhD requirements for TGS departments including Chemistry, Physics, and Sociology.