Master of Arts Degree in Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies (LACS)

(Application code #015103)

UAlbany Graduate Admissions

Requirements: 30 credits.

ABOUT THE LACS M.A.

The MA Program in Latin American and Caribbean Studies in an interdisciplinary area and ethnic studies program with major strengths in the following areas: globalization studies, development studies, cultural studies, Mesoamerican anthropology, women's studies, migration studies, U.S. Latino Studies, and Caribbean studies.

When compared to other U.S. programs of its kind, the Department's programs provide a unique integration of area studies and ethnic studies. Beyond that, LACS’ multidisciplinary approaches are integral to its impressive applied research and service outreach activities to institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean and in local, national, and international multicultural communities.

The Master of Arts Program will provide students who want to work in fields involving the Latin American or the Caribbean regions and U.S. Latino populations with a broad humanistic and social scientific knowledge. There is an emphasis on Latin American and Caribbean culture and social processes, and problem-related or area-focused training to prepare students for professional research and policy-oriented careers in federal and state government, international organizations, foreign service, the private sector, and in areas such as education, business, journalism, social work, translation, law and many other employment opportunities that require knowledge of the Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino populations.

Comprehensive knowledge of these areas will be achieved through core interdisciplinary courses. In addition to the core courses offered by the Department of Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies, students will choose from related courses offered by the departments of Anthropology, History, Geography and Planning, Hispanic Studies (Spanish and Portuguese language and literature), Political Science, Sociology, Economics, English, Education, Music, Africana Studies, and Women's Studies. Instruction will also cover research methodology, both quantitative and qualitative, and issues in cross-cultural communication. The program will provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to apply their knowledge and skills in the form of a written master's project that addresses specific issues and problems related to these regions. Students choosing the MA terminal degree option are not required to do a Master's project, but must take a comprehensive exam.

Of all the State University of New York Research Centers, the University at Albany has the strongest interdisciplinary faculty with expertise in Latin America, the Caribbean and the U.S. Latino population.

Core Courses: 15 credits (See Course Descriptions)

LCS 502 (3 credits) Latin American Cultures and Societies I
LCS 503 (3 credits) Latin American Cultures and Societies II
LCS 504 (3 credits) Seminar: Latin America
LCS 505 (3 credits) Seminar: The Caribbean
LCS 506 (3 credits) Reading Seminar on U.S. Latinos

Supporting Courses: From specialty tracks (9 credits)
At least one 3-credit course from each of these three specialty tracts. Additional course offerings by track are listed in the Supporting Courses section below.

A. Culture, History, and Society:

LCS 506 Reading Seminar on U.S. Latinos
LCS 507 Three Island Revolutions
LCS 508 Seminar: U.S. Latinos
LCS 585 Land and Labor in Latin America
LCS 512 Tourism, Culture, and Identities
LCS 592 Transnationalism, Culture, and Power
LCS 696 Selected Topics in LACS (requires approval; see Guidelines)
HIS 665 Readings in Latin American History
HIS 571 Topics in Latin American and Caribbean History
HIS 572 History of Brazil
HIS 573 The United States and Latin Americna
NT 641 Seminar in Mesoamerican Ethnology
ANT 508 Proseminar in Ethnology

B. Public Policy and International Relations:

LCS 509 International Migration;
LCS 510 Workers and Globalization;
LCS (WSS, HIS) 551 Gender and Class in Latin American Development;
LCS 696 Selected Topics in LACS (requires approval; see Guidelines)
POS 553 Politics of Developing Countries
APS 603 The Political Economy of Educational Planning and Development

C. Language and Literature:

LCS (SPN 531) 514 Literature of the Hispanic Caribbean;
LCS (SPN) 515 Los Latinos en EE.UU.: Historia, Cultura, y Literatura
LCS 696 Selected Topics in LACS (requires approval; see Guidelines)
Other appropriate courses in Spanish or Portuguese.

Application of skill requirement: 6 credits to include Lcs 691 and Lcs 697 for students choosing the MA Project option.

LCS 691 Directed Readings Annotated Bibliography Filed (3 credits)
LCS 697 Directed Master’s Project approved for Degree Clearance (3 credits) - (see guidelines) or
MA Comprehensive Exam (This option is only available to students who are getting an MA as a terminal degree.) Students choosing this option must complete 3 additional elective credits in LACS.

Language Requirement

This requirement can be satisfied by graduate level courses in Spanish or a language proficiency examination in Spanish, Portuguese, French, or whenever possible, any language (other than English) widely used in Latin American and/or the Caribbean, must be successfully completed. A grade of B or better at the third year undergraduate level in any of these languages can be substituted for the proficiency examination.

Guidelines for the Preparation of the Master’s Project in LACS

MASTER’S PROJECT TIMELINE LCS 697

(This option is for students who are planning to continue in the LACS doctoral concentration in Cultural Studies, which is part of the Ph.D. in Spanish.)

The LACS M.A. is designed to be completed in two years of full-time study. Some students might choose to accelerate this timeline, by completing more than 9 credits per semester, for example, or by attending summer school. Students choosing this option should begin to think about a research topic for their Master’s project (LCS 697) not later than their first two semesters of coursework and after taking the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar (LCS 500) offered once a year in the Fall semester. Research for the Master’s project may take at least one academic year, and students should allow a minimum of one semester for writing the project. Students should also allow three to four weeks for the project director and the second reader to study a written version and suggest changes. To expedite the process, students should remember to submit, with all revised versions, all draft copies with the marginal and other comments of the readers intact, so that the reader might see how changes recommended in a prior version of the project have been incorporated in the most recent version.

MASTER'S PROJECT TIMELINE

(This option is for students who desire to take the MA as a terminal degree.)

Students choosing this option should begin to think about a research focus that will provide the basis for their comprehensive exam questions not later than their first two semesters of coursework and after taking the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar (Lcs 500) offered once a year in the Fall semester. Students choosing the MA Comprehensive Exam option will need to take an addition 3 elective credits from among the Lcs or supporting courses in the program in order to meet the total 30 credits required for the MA degree.

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Having thought about a Master’s project in a timely fashion, the student should submit a 10-15 page typed and double-spaced proposal to the faculty member selected to direct the project. The project proposal must include a reading list divided into three sections: 1. items related directly to the project; 2. items related to the background areas around the project; 3. items about theory and method necessary for research on the project. In consultation with the Project Director, the student will also select a second reader for the project at this time and submit the proposal to the second reader. After the Project Director and second reader have approved the project, the Project Director will submit the “LACS Master’s Project Proposal Form” to the Director of Graduate Studies for the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee.

DIRECTED READINGS - MA

Once the proposal has been approved by the Project Committee and by the Graduate Studies Committee, the student will enroll in LCS 691(Directed Readings) under the supervision of the project director. For successful completion of LCS 691, the student will prepare an annotated bibliography of the approved reading list. Annotations will demonstrate that the student has studied each item on the reading list and will explain briefly (in one paragraph) how each item on the reading list will be used for the preparation of the project. The project director will transmit a copy of the approved annotated reading list to the Director of Graduate Studies for placement in the student’s departmental file.

MASTER'S PROJECT OR COMPREHENSIVE EXAM OPTIONS

Students choosing the Master's Project option must register for LCS 697, Directed Master’s Project (3 credits), with the course number provided by the Project Director who has agreed to supervise the project approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. Students choosing the MA Comprehensive Exam alternative are also required to complete Lcs 691 (Directed Readings) and stubstitute Lcs 697 with another Lcs graduate course (3 credits) as advised.

PROJECT FORMAT

Master’s Projects should demonstrate writing skills as well as a command of theoretical and methodological skills in a particular discipline or area of study. They should also provide convincing evidence of the student’s ability to conduct independent research creatively, or they may attest to a special skill in a particular area (for example, creative writing, computer programming, photography, etc.). Creative writing projects and those that make use of multimedia or computer programs are acceptable only if they are accompanied by a written text that demonstrates extensive research and the appropriate application of analytical skills. All bibliographic references should follow a consistent format using a style sheet published by professional organizations like the MLA Handbook, the Chicago Manual of Style, or any of the style sheets published by the disciplinary organizations in the social sciences. Projects may be written in English or in any of the Latin American languages. Depending on the nature of the project, the length of the text may vary from at least 50 to 75 typed, double-spaced pages. The M.A. Project is not the equivalent of a thesis.

PROJECT COMMITTEE

To avoid conflicts of interest, the Project Director and the Second Reader should not be related to each other as spouses or partners. If the Graduate Studies Committee (which includes the Chair of LACS) determines that there is a potential for conflict of interest in the composition of any project committee, it will appoint a new project committee in consultation with the Project Director and the candidate.

DEGREE CLEARANCE

To receive grade credits and satisfy the requirements for LCS 697, Directed Master’s Project, the following conditions must be met: a) two identical copies of the final corrected typescript of the project incorporating all corrections and revisions must be submitted by the student for approval in writing by the Project Director and the Second Reader; b) one of these approved identical copies must be presented by the Project Director to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval by the Graduate Studies Committee before degree clearance can be authorized.

CLARIFICATION OF PROCEDURES

Students should seek clarification of these procedures first from their Faculty Advisor, Project Director, or Second Reader. Further clarification can also be sought from the Director of Graduate Studies or from the Department Chair.

Regulations and Requirements Governing the Master's Degree (Graduate Bulletin)

Supporting Courses For Specialty Tracts:

 

Culture, History, and Society

• Ant 508 Proseminar in Ethnology
• Lcs 509 (Soc 576) International Mig ration: History, Theory, Methodology
• Lcs 511 Introduction to Latin American Cultural Studies
• Lcs 572 (Gog 572) Issues in Latin American Geography
• Lcs 599 Special Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
• Spn 512 Cultural Foundations of Latin American Literature: Colonial Age
• Spn 513 Cultural Foundations of Latin American Literature: Since Independence
• Ant 533 Mesoamerican Archeology
• Ant 633 Seminar in Mesoamerican Archeology
• Ant 641 Seminar in Mesoamerican Ethnology
• Ant 666 Seminar in Ethnohistory *
• Ant 667 (Pln 672) Housing Problems and Policies in Third World Cities
• His 569 History of Mexico
• His 570 History of the West Indies and Central America
• His 572 History of Brazil
• His 665 Readings in Latin American History
• His 667 Seminar in Latin American History

Public Policy and International Relations

• His 573 The United States and Latin America
• His 568 Latin America in Conflict
• Eco 541 Theory and Problems of Economic Development *
• Eco 741 Economics of Development *
• Pos 556 Political Authoritarianism in Latin America
• Pos 593 International Relations of Latin America
• Lcs 599 Special Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
• Lcs 550 Minorities in U.S. Schools
• Aas 612 Race Theory and Social Thought
• Gog 526 (Pln 502) Regional Planning *
• Gog 540 Political Geography *
• Gog 617 Energy Resources *
• Pln 573 Comparative Metropolitan Planning *
• Pln 671 (Lcs 671) Urban Poverty an Labor in the Americas
• Pln 672 (Ant 667) Housing Problems and Policies in Third World Cities
• Soc 575 Ethnicity and Race *
• Soc 640 Gender Inequality *
• Tbi 627 Perspectives in Education: Bilingual Education
• Wss 590 Research Seminar in Women's Studies *
• Wss 599 Topics in Women's Studies *
• Aps 766 Education and Social Change in Developing Nations *
• E Soc 700 Seminar on the Impact of Immigration and Education *

Language

• Spn 500 Intensive Introduction in Spanish
• Spn 502 Spanish Syntax and Morphology
• Spn 505 History of the Spanish Language
• Spn (LCS) 511 Introduction to Latin American Cultural Studies
• Spn (LCS) 514 Latin American Cinema
• Spn 516 Topics in Hispanic Cultural Studies
• Spn 529 Lliterature and Culture of the Borderlands
• Spn 530 Latin American Short Story
• Spn (Lcs) 531) Literature of thei Hispanic Caribbean
• Spn 533 Latin American Essay
• Spn 534 Topics in Latin American Literature
• Spn 535 Latin American Romanticism
• Spn 537 Contemporary Latin American Novel
• Spn 539 Latin American Poetry
• Spn 541 Literature of the Americas
• Spn 546 Women Writing in Latin America
• Spn 551 Indigenismo
• Spn 554 Latin American Literature for High School Teaching
• Spn 593 Dialects of American Spanish
• Spn 602 Discourse Analysis
• Spn 604 Postcolonial Studies
• Spn 643 Travel Literature in Latin America
• *(Students must work on LACS-focused projects, if taking this course.)

 

 

(Program Revised Spring 2013 - 4-17-13 by P. Caban)