  I review recent progress in exploring the formation times of spheroidal
stellar populations (elliptical galaxies and large spiral bulges) using
spectrophotometric techniques. A quickly growing body of evidence shows that
although massive spheroids can form at early times, there are strong
environmental dependencies, and major transitions in star formation histories
and even morphologies are detectable to surprisingly small redshifts (z ~ 0.2).
These features are consistent with neither the strict monolithic collapse nor
hierarchical merging scenarios. Restframe UV observations are a promising means
of improving our understanding of spheroid evolution.
