新墨西哥大学

The Master of Arts (MA) in Latin American Studies (MALAS) offers students the opportunity to explore the cultures, languages, histories, and societies of Latin America. The program provides students access to a large and diverse faculty, selecting content drawn from over thirty departments and nine Colleges/Schools at UNM. The program encourages students to design an interdisciplinary program of study that reflect their particular interests. LAS concentrations allow students to customize their individual program of study to best suit their academic and professional goals while also developing valuable research skills and in-depth knowledge. The MALAS is used by some students to prepare for graduate training in a specific discipline at the PhD level or in a professional school. Other students use the MALAS as an entry-level degree for careers in government service, teaching, business, travel and tourism, advocacy, or inter-American organizations.

Degree Requirements

The MALAS program requires 36 credit hours of coursework and the completion of either a thesis (Plan I) or a capstone project/comprehensive examination (Plan II) in their chosen concentration.

Plan I: Students must take LTAM 510: Pro-Seminar in Latin American Studies (3 credit hours), concentration courses (21 credit hours), elective courses (6 credit hours), and LTAM 599: Master's Thesis (6 credit hours). Three credit hours from the chosen concentration requirement must be devoted to a methods course that advances the student's inquiry of study. Plan I students present an oral defense of the thesis, which integrates their chosen concentration with field research or other forms of original research, before a thesis committee.

Plan II: Students must take LTAM 510: Pro-Seminar in Latin American Studies (3 credit hours), concentration courses (21 credit hours), elective courses (9 credit hours), and LTAM 551: Master's Problems (3 credit hours). Three credit hours from the chosen concentration requirement must be devoted to a methods course that advances the student's inquiry of study. Plan II students complete a capstone project or comprehensive examination focused on the concentration area.

Indigeneity in the Americas

This concentration provides students with a foundation in ethical, theoretical, and empirical frameworks critical to a deeper understanding of Indigenous issues. Coursework explores diverse cultural traditions, the legacies of colonialism, social movements, belief systems, and political ecologies that shape the experience of Indigenous communities throughout the Americas. Coursework is selected from, but not limited to, the departments of Anthropology, Art & Art History, Community and Regional Planning, History, Linguistics, and Spanish and Portuguese departments, as well as from the UNM School of Law. The concentration also draws on UNM’s outstanding resources as a premier research institution within the Indigenous Southwest, offering students the unique opportunity for comparative Hemispheric study.