IX. Graduate Programs
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
MA Program
This is the only Latin American and Caribbean Studies Master’s program in Canada to bridge the social sciences and the humanities. The program is particularly innovative in its collaboration with International Development. In addition to being able to finish the program in three semesters, students also have the benefit of studying in a community with the largest concentration of Latin American scholars internationally renowned for their major collaborative and individual research projects. Study Abroad gives students an opportunity to study and/or participate in projects at partner institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. LACS program does not train students for specific careers, but prepares them for a variety of jobs that require analytical skills, an international perspective, and the ability to communicate in both English and Spanish. The program prepares students for further study and research at the doctoral level, either in a related core discipline or in an interdisciplinary program.
Admission Requirements
The normal requirement for admission to the LACS MA program is the equivalent of an Honours degree from a recognized institution with at least a high second-class standing (78% or higher) in the last two years of study. Preference will be given to students who have taken upper-level undergraduate courses in areas such as Latin American and Caribbean history, society, politics, development, literature, art, languages, and music. A reading knowledge of Spanish will be required. Students wishing to enter the program normally do so in September.
Degree Requirements
LACS students will either take option 1 or 2. Study Abroad is not mandatory but strongly recommended to all students.
Option 1: take 6 courses (3.0 credits) and write a major research paper (1.0 credit). This option is recommended.
In addition to taking the four required courses students will also take two electives in the area of culture or society. Students who choose to go on an exchange in semester 2 of the program will not need to take LACS*6020 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 LACS*6100 Research Project (1.0 credits) consists of approximately 12,000 words and will be researched and written under the direction of one or two faculty members, one of whom could be from an exchange Latin American partner university.
Option 2: take 4 courses (2.0 credits) and write a thesis
All students will take four required courses:
| LACS*6000 | [0.50] | Research Methods Seminar |
| LACS*6010 | [0.50] | Latin American Identity & Culture I |
| LACS*6020 | [0.50] | Latin American Identity & Culture II |
| LACS*6030 | [0.50] | Globalization & Insecurity in the Americas |
Students who choose to write their major paper or thesis from a social science perspective may replace LACS*6000 with SOC*6140 (F) orSOC*6140 (W) orSOC*6130 (W).