IX. Graduate Programs
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
MA 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 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.
Program Requirements
LACS students will enroll in one of two study options, course work and major research paper or thesis. Study Abroad is not mandatory but strongly recommended to all students.
Thesis
Students take the following 4 required courses (2.0 credits) and write a thesis:
| LACS*6000 | [0.50] | Research Methods Seminar |
| LACS*6010 | [0.50] | Latin American Identity and Culture |
| LACS*6020 | [0.50] | Re-Imagining Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Communities |
| LACS*6030 | [0.50] | Globalization and Insecurity in the Americas |
Course Work and Major Research Paper
Students take 4 required courses (2.0 credits), 2 electives (1.0 credits) and write a major research paper (1.0 credit). This option is recommended because it gives students bredth in their study.
Required courses:
| LACS*6000 | [0.50] | Research Methods Seminar |
| LACS*6010 | [0.50] | Latin American Identity and Culture |
| LACS*6020 | [0.50] | Re-Imagining Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Communities |
| LACS*6030 | [0.50] | Globalization and Insecurity in the Americas |
In addition, 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 . 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.
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).