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Graduate Program

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at the University of Arizona hosts an outstanding interdisciplinary faculty with particular regional strengths in Mexico, Central America and Brazil, and in thematic areas focusing on Borders of the Americas and Immigration, Environment and Development, History and Culture, and Power and Inequality. CLAS coordinates a broad range of instructional, research and outreach activities relating to Latin America and offers Dual Degree programs with Law (J.D.) and Public Administration (M.P.A.) and Public Health (M.P.H). 

The program’s excellence was recognized in 2000 and 2003 (along with its counterpart at Arizona State University) with an instructional and outreach grant under the U.S. Department of Education Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies Program, placing it in a favorable position in relation to the nation’s top Latin American Studies programs.  This grant enabled both Arizona universities to expand curriculum offerings and research programs and provide additional outreach to schools, businesses and the public in the region.  In 2007 CLAS received a Title VI-B grant for its proposal on “Undergraduate International Studies: AN Integrative and Multidisciplinary Approach Engaging Students and Faculty with a Local Resource-The Mexican Borderlands,”  The grant will provide support over a three year period.

Requirements for the Master of Arts (M.A.) Degree in Latin American Studies

The interdisciplinary MA program combines two fields of study, Spanish and Portuguese language skills, three core LAS courses, optional electives or thesis. Students need a total of 36 graduate units (500 level courses or above) and the successful completion and defense of a thesis or a passing grade on the written/oral Master’s exam.
Graduate Coursework

During their first semester of study, all LAS graduate students are required to take a 3- credit seminar (LAS 500) designed to introduce them to Latin American studies and research.  A research methods course (such as LAS 595D – “Qualitative Research Methods for Latin America”) and a LAS interdisciplinary research seminar (taught by a member of CLAS’s core faculty) are also required at some point during subsequent semesters.

Students select a primary field of concentration and complete 12 graduate units in this field including at least one research seminar.  The fields of study available for areas of primary concentration include the thematic areas of Borders of the Americas and Immigration, Environment and Development, History and Culture, and Power and Inequality, as well as regional studies focusing on Mexico, Central America or Brazil. Disciplinary areas currently available for primary areas of concentration are Anthropology, Geography and Regional Development, History, and Latin American Literature (Spanish and Portuguese).

Students also choose a secondary area of concentration, requiring nine graduate units.  The secondary area can have a thematic or regional focus or can be selected from one of the disciplinary areas listed above in addition to Art History, Journalism, Language, Reading and Culture, Political Science, and Women’s Studies.

Internship credit can be applied to the M.A. degree and used to fulfill appropriate elective fields.

Eligible Courses

Courses accepted for Latin American Studies credit can be found on line, and the Center tries to provide a list of campus-wide offerings each semester.  We do not always have an exact list of all courses being offered by LAS faculty because seminar topics can change from year to year. There are also a number of courses not cross-listed with LAS that can be taken for LAS credit with permission of the LAS Graduate Advisor.  The criteria for LAS credit might include writing a course paper on a Latin American topic or that the course has comparative (e.g. comparative politics), theoretical (e.g. development or literary theory), methodological (e.g. ethnography), or professional (e.g. trade law) relevance to Latin American studies.

Although many jointly convened graduate/undergraduate (400/500) courses can be taken as part of the program, we recommend that students try to take advantage of the many graduate seminars and courses (500 and 600-level) offered at the university.  These courses are designed specifically for graduate students and allow for more faculty-student interaction.  Students may also develop a directed reading or independent study course (599, 699) on a particular topic of interest with a faculty member as part of their program.

Language Requirements

Because of the interdisciplinary nature and regional emphasis of the Latin American Studies program, both Spanish and Portuguese skills are required; one at the level of competence demonstrated by completing Portuguese 305a or Spanish 251 with a minimum grade of B or by an equivalency exam; the other at the level of proficiency demonstrated by the completion of Portuguese 325 or Spanish 330 with a minimum grade of B or by an equivalency exam. Students accepted into the program who do not meet one or both of the language requirements may satisfy this deficiency during the course of their graduate studies.  Portuguese 305a is specifically designed as an intensive course for those fluent in Spanish.  All incoming students are evaluated for language ability at the beginning of their first semester.  An indigenous language of Latin America may be substituted with the approval of the LAS Graduate Advisor and the student’s Faculty/Thesis Advisor.

Application and Admission to the Graduate Program in Latin American Studies

CLAS offers an interdisciplinary Master’s degree that focuses on the social sciences and humanities.  If you have a strong academic background in one of these fields and some experience living, working or traveling in Latin America, we encourage you to apply to our graduate program.  Applications will be evaluated on academic background and performance (generally a minimum GPA of 3.0), professional experience, competitive GRE test scores (with more attention given to the verbal and the analytical writing scores), proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese as demonstrated by advanced coursework and/or experience in Latin America, at least two letters of recommendation (preferably from academicians), and a personal statement of intent.  Your statement of intent should provide a description of your research interests or your likely area of focus in the Latin American Studies Graduate program at the University of Arizona.

The application materials which should be mailed directly to CLAS include: the letters of recommendation, the two-page (around 500 words) statement of intent, résumé or CV, official transcripts, and scores from the Graduate Record Examination.  An admissions committee considers all factors in the evaluation process.  The deadline for fall admissions and funding considerations is December 1 for international students and February 1 for domestic students. The official online University of Arizona application and information for the Graduate College are found online https://apply.grad.arizona.edu .

Ph.D. Minor

Doctoral students in other departments may elect a minor in Latin American Studies.  Requirements include a minimum of 15 units in courses related to the student’s major and demonstrated competence, as defined above, in either Portuguese of Spanish.

Graduate Advising and Mentoring

Mentoring and advising are important components of a graduate student’s educational experience, and the Center for Latin American Studies pays close attention to facilitating the mentoring process.  Incoming students are encouraged to seek out one of the core faculty as a mentor during their first semester; mentors can give suggestions as to courses, faculty and other resources available on campus in the students’ area of interest. Students may make appointments with the core faculty by calling the Center (626-7242) and are also encouraged to communicate with them by email. Each student is expected to maintain regular contact (at least once a semester) with the LAS Graduate Program Advisor.  Any new information about the program (such as announcements of courses and jobs) is circulated to students by email and posted in the Center.  Please keep us up-to-date concerning your email and postal address.

Each graduate student will be required to have a faculty advisor chosen from the area of primary concentration. Students must choose a faculty advisor by March 15 (midway through the second semester). This faculty advisor provides important input and direction and assists the program advisor in academic guidance and monitoring.  If a student chooses to do a thesis s/he will work closely with this faculty advisor in the undertaking of that work.  One of the best ways to get to know LAS faculty is to take a course, preferably a seminar, with them.

Fellow students are another important source of information.  They can provide useful advice on the design of your program, good courses to take, and other general ideas about how to succeed in the program.  The orientation at the beginning of each semester is a good way for incoming students to meet some of the continuing students. The LAS Colloquium series also brings graduate students together in an informal, interdisciplinary setting.

Master’s Exam Options

All students will be required to take exams at the end of their fourth semester in the program. There are two options for this exam.

Option 1: The M.A. Thesis

The M.A. thesis is expected to be a full explication of a significant problem using primary sources (interviews, archives or analogous materials) or substantive secondary sources. Its length depends on the expectations of the thesis committee (a good target is 80-100 pages). Previous LAS theses are on file in the Center.

A potential thesis topic should be developed as early as the first semester of coursework and a thesis director and committee structure planned before the end of the second semester. Preliminary research should be conducted during the summer following the second semester. Students are encouraged to apply for Center-administered Tinker Travel Grants to support summer field research in Latin America. The thesis draft should be advanced during the third semester, and the final thesis should be written and defended during the fourth semester.

The thesis committee is comprised of a director, representing the student’s primary field of concentration, and two other faculty members whose interests are germane to the research project. The thesis director must be a tenured or tenure-track faculty member (rather that “adjunct” or “visiting” faculty). Consult with the Graduate Advisor for initial advice about committee selection and again before finalizing your committee.

Thesis defense.  There is a two-hour oral defense of the M.A. thesis at the end of the fourth semester. During the defense, the committee members will discuss with the student any revisions that must be completed before the thesis is signed by the advisor.  Revisions at this point should not be major, but they may take a week or more to complete, and the thesis defense must be scheduled with sufficient time so that the student can complete any required revisions before the end of the fourth semester. The thesis should be given to committee members at least two weeks prior to the defense.  A copy of the final, approved thesis must be given to the Center for Latin American Studies.  The University requirements for thesis formatting are available from the graduate college (http://grad.arizona.edu/documents/PDF/Diss_Manual.pdf).

Option 2: Comprehensive Examinations

Comprehensive written and oral examinations will permit students to examine substantive theoretical and methodological issues related to their areas of concentration. Early in their graduate career, students should begin to define their major intellectual interests and the issues they wish to tackle in their master’s project. The student will choose a faculty advisor and two additional academic committee members.  The advisor will guide the student in drawing up a reading list in consultation with each committee member. Students should begin early in their graduate career to identify the subject areas of their exams and possible committee members.

It is expected that students will work closely with their faculty advisor and committee members to focus their intellectual interests and elaborate a reading list in preparation for the comprehensive exams. The exam process will allow students to examine broad issues and questions from multiple angles. (To give just one example, if a student has a broad interest in environmental politics in Latin America, s/he might work with one committee member to make up a reading list on recent works in political ecology, another committee member to elaborate a reading list on environmental movements in Latin America, and a third committee member for a reading list on a specific topic of interest, such as water rights, or free trade and the environment.) The length and content of the reading lists will be determined in consultation with the student’s committee members, but as a general guideline the total length of the combined reading list should be between 75 and 100 items (books and/or articles). Key to the process is that the subject area reading lists should be constructed around a set of theoretical or methodological questions that the student will develop in consultation with the three faculty members who comprise the student’s academic committee. For this reason, in the semester prior to the exam, the student is requested to submit to the committee a five to ten-page statement of interest, along with a preliminary reading list.

Toward the end of the fourth semester, each committee member will submit one written question based on the reading list to the student’s principle advisor. The written exam will be a take-home exam; the student will have one week to complete all three questions that comprise the written portion of the comprehensive exam. The written answer to each question should be a maximum of ten double-spaced pages. The advisor will guide the student as to the level of rigor that is expected in the essays.

The student will then meet with the committee for the oral portion of the comprehensive exam (usually a two-hour exam). Committee members may ask students to elaborate on their written answers or to comment on one or more of the specific readings.

The faculty advisor will serve as chair of the examination committee along with two faculty representatives of the student’s primary or secondary areas of concentration. At least one member of the committee should be from the core CLAS faculty.

Please be aware that not all faculty are equally available to participate on student committees and offer faculty advising. Students are encouraged to determine faculty availability and interest by taking seminars offered by a particular professor, meeting with the professor and discussing options with core CLAS faculty and students. Appropriate committee members from outside of faculty associated with CLAS can be added with permission of the CLAS Graduate Advisor and the graduate college. Students are advised to meet with individual members of their committee in order to ascertain their expectations of the student for the exam. In coordination with the program advisor and the committee, the student selects a date and time for the oral examination.   The  CLAS Master’s exam has four evaluation categories - High Pass, Pass, Low Pass and Fail. 

Sample Schedule for Completion

Year 1: Fall
*     Nine units of graduate credit, plus course for language requirement
*     Select areas of concentration

Year 1: Spring
*     Nine units of graduate credit

By April 1: students must select committee chair and M.A. option. A four to five-page statement on the M.A. project must be turned in to the committee chair (faculty advisor) and the LAS Graduate Advisor, as part of the student’s annual report. The statement is expected to describe the student's major areas of concentrations, regional focus, and provide a brief overview of the central theoretical or methodological questions the student wishes to explore through one of the two M.A. options.

Summer:
Research pursuant to M.A. project, intensive language study, or internship.

Year 2: Fall
*     Nine units of graduate credit
*     By November 1 (Option 1): a thesis prospectus, including a preliminary chapter outline, must be submitted to the student’s full M.A. committee. The prospectus        should be five to ten pages and, in addition, should include a preliminary bibliography.
*     By November 1 (Option 2): Preliminary reading list and five to ten-page statement submitted to full committee. The statement is expected to be a fuller           explanation of the substantive issues the student intends to explore in the M.A. project, as well as the student’s areas of focus and critical approach, and it provides the intellectual framework for the exam preparation.

Year 2: Spring
*    Take six to nine graduate units. Generally, students take fewer units during their last semester, in order to write their thesis or prepare for the comprehensive exams. Students may enroll for up to six credits for thesis writing.
*    By April 1: thesis defense or exam dates finalized. Final reading list approved by committee (Option 2).
 
Students enrolled in dual degree programs (Law, Public Administration, Public Health) will follow similar schedules which reflect their particular three or four (Law) year programs and should consult their graduate advisors in each program.
 

Why do an M.A. in Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona?