LAMER-MA - Latin American Studies (MA)

The program does not accept external credit.

Coterminal students can count coursework taken in the three quarters immediately before their first graduate quarter toward their graduate degree. Summer quarter or a term on an approved leave of absence are not included in the three-quarter back count. Transfer of courses between the undergraduate and graduate careers requires review and approval by both the undergraduate and graduate departments. Courses cannot be transferred once the undergraduate degree is conferred. All course transfer requests must be submitted to the Student Services Center no later than the Late Application to Graduate Deadline of the intended bachelor’s degree conferral quarter.

The Center for Latin American Studies is committed to providing academic advising in support of graduate student scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by the advisor and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the advisor and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity.

Faculty advisors guide students in critical areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways. Program administrative staff are available to advise students on program policies, degree requirements, and course selection.

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship; they should proactively seek academic and professional guidance, take responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program, and remain aware of all program-specific and university-wide deadlines.  

At the start of graduate study, generally during autumn quarter, each student is assigned an advisor: A member of the program’s faculty who provides research advice and guidance in course selection and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways. Usually, the same faculty member serves as a program advisor for the duration of the master’s study; however, formal advisor change requests are possible in consultation with CLAS staff. We require at least one faculty advisor, per student, to be in the Stanford Academic Council.

Additionally, the CLAS director of graduate studies (DGS) provides academic advising and overall intellectual guidance to the Latin American Studies MA students. CLAS DGS has a secondary role to the assigned faculty advisor and may serve as a second reader of the LAS MA Theses and Capstone Papers. 

CLAS students should meet with their advisors at least twice per quarter. Students are expected to discuss with their advisors the courses they plan to take each quarter and seek their input and guidance.  

The CLAS academic and student services officer is also essential to the advising team. The student services officer informs students and advisors about university and department requirements, procedures, and opportunities and maintains the official records of advising assignments and approvals. 

In addition, MA students must participate in the CLAS MA quarterly meetings, which are held during the second half of each quarter. The CLAS director, director of graduate studies, associate director, and student services officer meet with all students during these mandatory quarterly meetings and are available by email and office hours during the academic year. 

See the Graduate Advising Policies and Graduate Advising for a university policy statement on graduate advising. Academic advising by Stanford faculty is a critical component of all graduate students’ education, and additional resources can be found in the Policies and Best Practices for Advising Relationships at Stanford and the Guidelines for Faculty-Student Advising at Stanford.