Programs of Study (LACS) | College of Arts

Programs of Study (LACS)

Diego Riveria Rockefeller Mural

LACS students can choose option A or option B. Option A is recommended.
A. Students take 6 courses (3.0 credits) and write a major paper (1.0 credit), or
B. Students take 4 courses (2.0 credits) and write a thesis.

Fall Required Courses

  • LACS*6000 Methodology
  • LACS*6010 Latin American Identity and Culture I
  • LACS*6030 Globalization and Insecurity

Winter Required Courses

  • LACS*6020 Latin American Identity and Culture II
  • Any of the 2 electives suggested below

Summer or Fall semester
LACS*6100 Major Research Paper or Thesis if preference B

STUDENTS IN LACS-IDEV COLLABORATIVE MA WILL TAKE THE FOLLOWING COURSES:

IDS Master’s Core Courses
IDEV*6200 [1.00] Development Theory, Issues and Process (September to April course)
IDEV*6300 [0.5] Research and Analysis in a Development Context. IDEV6300 runs Fall and Winter every other week and is less intensive in the fall.

Latin American and Caribbean courses
LACS*6000 [05] Methodology
LACS*6010 [0.5] Latin American Identity and Culture
LACS*6030 [0.5] Globalization and Insecurity in the Americas
LACS*6020 [0.5] Re-Imagining Community in Latin America
One 0.5 elective
Plus:
Thesis or LACS*6100 [1.0] Research Project

 

Electives

  • LACS*6300 Experiential Learning U [0.5] This course allows students to gain insight into different institutional (government, business), political (party, NGO), and cultural operations and practices. Students are encouraged to design a project related to their interests. This course is normally slated for the spring/summer semester; however, students may begin occasional work earlier. 
  • LACS*6040 Novel & Nation in Spanish America W [0.5]
  • LACS*6070 Civil Society and Activism in Latin America U [0.5]
  • LACS*6200 Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies U [0.5]
  • ECON*6370 Economic Development in Historical Perspective
  • ENGL*6811 Special Topics in English U [0.50] (When this course is offered as "Border Thinking: Chicana/o Latina/o Perspectives") U [0.5]FREN*6022 Topics in Caribbean and African Literatures F [0.50]
  • HIST*6520 Topics in Latin American History U [0.50]
  • HIST*6521 Latin American Research U [0.50]
  • POLS*6370 Latin America and the Caribbean U [0.5]
  • POLS*6250 Comparative Governments in the Americas U [0.50]
  • SOC*6500 Social Movements in Latin America W [0.5]
  • SOC*6460 Gender and Development F [0.50]
  • SOC*6420 Global Agro-Food Systems, Community and Rural Change U [0.5]

Students who chose to go on an exchange in semester 2 of the program will not need to take the Latin American and Caribbean Identity and Culture II course. They can replace the winter portion of the course with a comparable course taken at the host university. While abroad, students will have the opportunity to develop language proficiency, and to conduct research or take courses for their major project. The major paper or LACS*6100 Research Paper/Project (1.0 credits) of approximately 12,000 words may be researched at another institution and written under the direction of two faculty members, one of whom could be from an exchange Latin American partner university. The same is true for the thesis writing which is more extensive and academically demanding than the major paper. The major papers and the thesis can be written in either Spanish or English.