Latin American Studies

• Undergraduate Program
• Graduate Program

Academic Calendar

M.A.L.A.S./M.B.A.: Offered jointly with the Robert O. Anderson School of Management (ASM), this program is designed to train management professionals with special expertise in Latin America. The dual degree reduces requirements to complete the two degrees by approximately 12 hours, to a minimum of 57 hours and a maximum of 72 hours past the Bachelor’s, depending on the number of waivers granted by ASM for core requirements. Competency in Spanish or Portuguese is required for admission to the dual degree. Applicants must meet entrance requirements for both programs; applications should be submitted simultaneously to both programs.

In order to meet the M.B.A. requirements, a student must complete 48 credit hours of study, unless the student is eligible to waive some of the courses. If waivers are granted, a total of 33 credit hours must be completed. M.B.A. core requirements include MGT 501, 502, 504, 506, 508, 511, 520, 522, 526, 598. Students must complete 30 hours of core courses or be waived from these courses (with the exception of MGT 598). Students must also complete 18 hours of elective management courses.

For the Latin American Studies component, students are required to complete 24 credit hours, including a minimum of 9 hours in each of two concentrations chosen from the following: Anthropology (with an emphasis in either Archaeology, Ethnology, or Human Evolutionary Ecology), Art History, (with an emphasis in either Pre-Columbian, Colonial, or Modern), Brazilian Literature & Culture, Communication, Community & Regional Planning, Economics, Gender Studies, History, Human Rights, International Management, Political Science, Religion & Philosophy, Sociology, Southwest Studies, Spanish American Literature, and Spanish Linguistics. The combination of areas must ensure that the program is interdisciplinary. For example, students selecting Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology as one concentration may not select Anthropology with an emphasis in Ethnology as the second concentration. Students also are required to have no more than one interdisciplinary concentration. For example, a student may not choose both Human Rights and Gender Studies. The remaining 6 hours may be used for thesis (under Plan I) or electives (under Plan II).

Under Plan I, students are required to present an oral defense of the thesis before a thesis committee composed of at least two faculty members in one area of concentration and one faculty member from the second concentration. Students also are required to sit for the comprehensive examination in the second concentration, administered by three faculty members from that concentration. Under Plan II, students are required to sit for the comprehensive examinations in both areas of concentration. The examinations are administered by a Committee on Studies composed of two faculty members from each concentration.

Under both Plans I and II, students must complete a minimum of 6 credits in graduate seminars numbered 500 or above (excluding 551 or 552 Problems courses). Students should consult with the Associate Director to determine which courses are considered seminars.

There are two fellowships that are available specifically for M.A.L.A.S./M.B.A. dual degree students: Bank of America M.A.L.A.S./M.B.A. Fellowship and Wells Fargo M.A.L.A.S./M.B.A. Fellowship. Both fellowships provide $2000 for one year and can be renewed.

M.A.L.A.S./M.C.R.P.: The joint master’s program in Latin American Studies and Community & Regional Planning is designed for students who are interested in the professional practice of planning in a Latin American context.

The Community & Regional Planning Program at the University of New Mexico is dedicated to planning and advocating for sustainable communities and ecosystems throughout the Southwest region and Latin America. M.A.L.A.S./M.C.R.P. graduates possess the knowledge and skills necessary to support planning by diverse human communities throughout the Western Hemisphere. M.A.L.A.S./M.C.R.P. students learn to assist Latin American communities to create community-based plans and programs that sustain and enhance their culture, resource base, built environment and economic vitality. The program promotes participatory processes that respond to community identities and development needs.

Prerequisites to the program are competence in either Spanish or Portuguese (at least two years of undergraduate course work or equivalent language training) and basic course work in economics (micro and/or macro) and statistics. Deficit courses in economics and statistics may be made up after admission to the program.

The program requires a minimum of 54 hours of graduate credit (compared to 72 hours if the two degrees were pursued separately). The required graduate credit hours include: 1) CRP 578, a 3 credit hour bridge seminar; 2) 27 credit hours of thesis and course work in Community & Regional Planning; and 3) 24 credit hours of course work in Latin American Studies. For the 27 credit hours in Community & Regional Planning, students must complete CRP 500, 510, 511, 521, 545 (or 580), 588, and 599. For the 24 credit hours in Latin American Studies, students must complete a minimum of 9 hours in each of two concentrations chosen from the following: Anthropology (with an emphasis in either Archaeology, Ethnology, or Human Evolutionary Ecology), Art History, (with an emphasis in either Pre-Columbian, Colonial, or Modern), Brazilian Literature & Culture, Communication, Community & Regional Planning, Economics, Gender Studies, History, Human Rights, International Management, Political Science, Religion & Philosophy, Sociology, Southwest Studies, Spanish American Literature, and Spanish Linguistics. The combination of areas must ensure that the program is interdisciplinary. For example, students selecting Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology as one concentration may not select Anthropology with an emphasis in Ethnology as the second concentration. Students also are required to have no more than one interdisciplinary concentration. For example, a student may not choose both Human Rights and Gender Studies. Each candidate is required to prepare a thesis (Plan I). The Master’s examination will consist of an oral examination at the final presentation of the thesis; this examination will include coverage of the student’s two concentrations in Latin American Studies. The student’s Committee on Studies, comprised of at least two faculty members in one concentration and one faculty member from the second concentration, preside over the examination. The Chair of the Committee on Studies must be a faculty member from Community & Regional Planning.

Students must complete a minimum of 6 credits in graduate seminars numbered 500 or above (excluding 551 or 552 Problems courses). Students should consult with the Associate Director to determine which courses are considered seminars.

M.A.L.A.S./J.D.: This dual degree program is intended to prepare legal professionals for work in Latin America or with Hispanic peoples in the United States by combining legal training with Latin American language and area studies. The program enables students to develop professional skills directly applicable to Latin American nations and populations. Prerequisites to the program are competence in either Spanish or Portuguese (at least two years of undergraduate course work or equivalent language training). The program requires 80 credit hours of Law course work that must include 9 credit hours of international law, 24 credit hours of Latin American Studies course work, and a 3 credit hour bridge course containing subject matter linking Law and Latin American Studies.

The first-year Law curriculum consists of required courses that emphasize methods of legal reasoning, policy analysis, and the analysis of legal institutions. During their second and third years, students can choose from approximately 100 elective courses in developing individualized programs suited to their career goals.

The Latin American Studies component requires that students complete a minimum of 9 hours in each of two concentrations chosen from the following: Anthropology (with an emphasis in either Archaeology, Ethnology, or Human Evolutionary Ecology), Art History, (with an emphasis in either Pre-Columbian, Colonial, or Modern), Brazilian Literature & Culture, Communication, Community & Regional Planning, Economics, Gender Studies, History, Human Rights, International Management, Political Science, Religion & Philosophy, Sociology, Southwest Studies, Spanish American Literature, and Spanish Linguistics. The combination of areas must ensure that the program is interdisciplinary. For example, students selecting Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology as one concentration may not select Anthropology with an emphasis in Ethnology as the second concentration. Students also are required to have no more than one interdisciplinary concentration. For example, a student may not choose both Human Rights and Gender Studies. The remaining 6 credit hours may be used for electives. Students must complete a minimum of 6 credits in graduate seminars numbered 500 or above (excluding 551 or 552 Problems courses). Students should consult with the Associate Director to determine which courses are considered seminars.

To meet the exit requirements for the Latin American Studies component, students must 1) sit for the comprehensive examinations in both concentrations. The examinations are administered by a Committee on Studies composed of two faculty members from each concentration; or 2) sit for a comprehensive examination in one concentration and complete an article length professional paper (jointly supervised by one member of the Law faculty and one non-Law Latin American-specialized faculty member) in the student’s other area of concentration.

M.A.L.A.S./M.A. in LLSS: The Latin American Studies Program and the College of Education offer a dual degree program leading to master’s degrees in Latin American Studies and Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies. This program is intended to allow education professionals to enhance their secondary school teaching with Latin American topics in the humanities and social sciences. The program combines advanced professional development in education with advanced interdisciplinary study of Latin America and is designed to help students integrate the two fields through coordinated advisement and bridge courses.

The program requires 51 credit hours of course work for students who hold teaching certificates. It includes three components: 1) 21 credit hours of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies courses with a concentration in social studies; 2) 21 credit hours of Latin American Studies course work with at least 9 hours in each of two areas of concentration chosen from the following: Anthropology (with an emphasis in either Archaeology, Ethnology, or Human Evolutionary Ecology), Art History, (with an emphasis in either Pre-Columbian, Colonial, or Modern), Brazilian Literature & Culture, Communication, Community & Regional Planning, Economics, Gender Studies, History, Human Rights, International Management, Political Science, Religion & Philosophy, Sociology, Southwest Studies, Spanish American Literature, and Spanish Linguistics. The combination of areas must ensure that the program is interdisciplinary. For example, students selecting Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology as one concentration may not select Anthropology with an emphasis in Ethnology as the second concentration. Students also are required to have no more than one interdisciplinary concentration. For example, a student may not choose both Human Rights and Gender Studies. The remaining 3 credit hours may be used for electives; and 3) 9 credit hours of bridge courses.

Students must complete a minimum of 6 credits in graduate seminars numbered 500 or above (excluding 551 or 552 Problems courses). Students should consult with the Associate Director to determine which courses are considered seminars.

All students follow Plan II (non-thesis) and are required to sit for the comprehensive examinations in both concentrations. The examinations are administered by a Committee on Studies composed of two faculty members from each concentration. Students also must meet exit requirements for the LLSS degree.

M.A.L.A.S./M.P.H.: The Master of Arts in Latin American Studies and Masters of Public Health dual degree program is intended to prepare graduates to improve the health of Latin American populations and Lation populations in the United States, with a primary focus on New Mexico, the Southwest, the United States/Mexico border region, and regions south of the border. it supplements the M.P.H. program with in-depth study of languages, cultures, and societies that will help prepare graduates to work effectively either in Latin America, or with Latin American immigrant populations within the United States.

The dual degree reduces requires 63 graduate credit hours, as compared to the 78 hours of graduate credits required to complete the two degrees separately. A minimum of 42 hours are required in Public health courses, and a minimum of 21 hours are required in Latin American Studies courses. At least 13 hours of the M.P.H. component must have significant content related to Latin America or Latin American immigrant communities in the United States, to enable the student to integrate the content and practice of the two degrees.

Applicants for the dual degree program must apply separately to and meet the entrance requirements of each program. For acceptance into the M.P.H. program, applicants are required to have completed two years of work or volunteer experience in the public health field, including community development, research, health education, health science, health promotion or other health-related work. M.A.L.A.S./M.P.H. applicants may complete one year of the required experience while beginning the M.A.L.A.S. degree program. 

The M.P.H. component of the dual degree requires a minimum of 42 credits as follows:

• PH 501, 502, 506, 508, 509, 511, 513, and STAT 538;   
• PH 507 or 510, PH 505 or 552, PH 596 or 597; 
• M.P.H. studies with LAS content (13 hours) as follows: PH 583 or 560; PH 598; the M.P.H. culminating experience chosen from PH 596 or 597 (2 -3 credit hours); and Public Health courses with Latin American/U.S. Latino content or courses throughout the university with demonstrated content on Health and Latin America (6 credit hours).
• Electives to complete the 42-credit requirement may be taken in the M.P.H. program or selected from throughout the university. 
  Courses approved to meet the minimum requirement of 9 credit hours of integrated content or M.P.H. electives include PH 560, CJ 550, CJ 555, SOC 540, SOC 595.  Students may seek approval from the M.P.H. Program Director and the LAII Associate Director for Academic Programs to count other graduate courses with demonstrated health and Latin American content toward their elective hours.

Coursework for the M.A.L.A.S. component of the dual degree includes a minimum of 9 graduate credit hours in each of two areas of concentration, selected from among Anthropology, Art History, Brazilian Literature and Culture, Communication, community and Regional Planning, Economics, Gender Studies, History, Human Rights, International Management, Political Science, Religion and Philosophy, Sociology, Southwest Studies, Spanish American Literature, and Spanish Linguistics. The combination of areas must ensure that the program is interdisciplinary. For example, students selecting Anthropology with an emphasis in Ethnology as one concentration may not select Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology as the second concentration. Students also are required to have no more than one interdisciplinary concentration. For example, a student may not choose both Human Rights and Gender Studies. The remaining 3 graduate credits for LAS may be completed as electives. Of the total 21 hours for LAS, students must complete at least 6 hours of graduate seminar course credits. To maintain and improve language proficiency during graduate studies, students who are not concentrating in Brazilian Literature and Culture, Spanish American Literature, or Spanish Linguistics will be required to take an upper-division language course: Spanish 307 or above; Portuguese 311 or above; or a course in one of Latin America's indigenous languages. If the course is available for graduate credit, it can count as one of the student's elective courses.

Exit requirements for the dual degree include a comprehensive examination in one area of concentration in Latin American Studies, a master's exam in Public Health and either PH 596 Professional Paper or PH 597 Public Health Integrative Experience. The Integrative experience or the professional paper must address a public health topic related to Latin America or Latin American populations in the U.S. The professional paper will be supervised by a committee of 3 faculty members, including at least one Latin American Studies faculty member from outside the M.P.H. program.

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Keys and Symbols Reference

Courses

LTAM 354. Introduction to Latin American Society I: Social Sciences. (3)

LTAM 355. Introduction to Latin American Society II: Humanities. (3)

LTAM 400. Topics in Latin American Studies. (3, no limit Δ)

LTAM 497. Independent Studies. (1-3, repeatable to a maximum of 3 times Δ)

LTAM 499. Senior Honors Thesis. (3)

LTAM 500. Topics in Latin American Studies. (3, no limit Δ)

LTAM 504. Seminar in Latin American Studies. (3, no limit Δ)

LTAM 551. Master’s Problems. (1-3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)

LTAM 578. Latin American Development and Planning. (3)

LTAM 599. Master’s Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)

LTAM 699. Latin American Studies Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)

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