LAMER-MA - Latin American Studies (MA)

The program requires completion of a minimum of 48 graduate units including the language requirement. Each student is assigned a faculty advisor who works with the student to develop a customized program of study. All courses for the MA degree must be at the 100-level or higher, with at least half being at the 200-level or higher.

Grade requirements: All courses counted toward the MA must be taken for a letter grade and earn a B- or better. MA candidates must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. The only exceptions are Law School Courses and Graduate School of Business (GSB) courses.

Students must take a minimum of 15 units, selecting from courses listed within the three fields of specialization (Culture and Society; Environment, Ecology and Sustainability; and/or Political Economy) in the related curriculum with the guidance of the faculty advisor.

By filling out the CLAS Related Course Petition Form, students may petition for courses outside these lists to count toward the requirement.

9-15 units of elective courses from across the university’s offerings, selected with guidance and approval from the faculty advisor to further inform student academic interests. All academic courses for the MA degree must be at the 100-level or higher, with at least half being at the 200-level or higher.

After completing the language requirement (see Language Requirement section), up to six additional units of foreign language coursework may be applied toward the elective courses requirement. All foreign language coursework must be taken at the 100-level or higher. English as a Foreign Language (EFS) courses do not count towards the language requirement, nor towards the total amount of required units.

Students must either work on a capstone or thesis research project, in consultation with the faculty advisor, and submit a final paper.

Students working on a capstone may register for course - Master's Capstone/Thesis Research for up to three units under the guidance of an Academic Council faculty member.

Students working on a thesis may register for course - Master's Capstone/Thesis Research for up to six units of thesis research under the guidance of an Academic Council faculty member.

course units must be taken for letter grade and may be counted toward the related courses unit requirement.

In addition to the 45 units of required content coursework, at least three units of coursework on a second Latin American language are required. Students proficient in Spanish and Portuguese might take either an advanced fourth-year language course in either Spanish or Portuguese or a first year of a non-commonly taught language of Latin America (i.e., Quechua, Nahuatl, or Haitian Creole). Students proficient in only Spanish or Portuguese must take an introductory course in a second Latin American spoken language.

Up to six additional units of foreign language coursework may be applied toward the elective field unit requirements. All foreign language coursework must be taken at the 100-level or higher. A maximum of nine units can count towards the degree between the language requirement and additional units.

English as a Foreign Language (EFS) courses do not count towards the language requirement, nor towards the total amount of required units. Academic Year FLLAS fellowship recipients must take a language course each quarter (A, W, S).