Degree Requirements

Master of Arts

The MA degree is available only to students enrolled in the PhD degree program in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. Details are available from the Graduate Adviser.

Doctor of Philosophy

Students pursuing the Doctor of Philosophy degree are required to complete forty-five credit hours of coursework including six credit hours of dissertation. A coursework checklist can be found on the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies website.

Coursework for the doctoral degree includes Mexican American Studies 390, Introduction to Mexican American and Latina/o Studies; Mexican American Studies 395C, Theories in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies; Mexican American Studies 398T, Supervised Teaching in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies; Mexican American Studies 395D, Theoretical Foundations of Behavioral and Social Science; and Mexican American Studies 395M, Interpretive Methods. In addition, all doctoral students must complete twenty-seven hours of graduate-level elective coursework, including four courses offered by the Department of MALS and five courses offered by other traditional disciplines, with a preference for courses that include a minimum of 30% MALS content.Students with a master’s degree from another institution may elect to take up to a maximum of six credit hours of conference coursework in preparation for the qualifying exam and Mexican American Studies 398T, Supervised Teaching in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. Students who have not previously earned a master’s degree must also complete Mexican American Studies 398R, Master's Report.

Students must complete a three-field qualifying exam prior to advancing to candidacy and continuing in the program. If a student does not pass the examination, they will not continue onto candidacy and their doctoral degree program will be terminated. If a student is given a conditional pass, they will have one month to make the corrections and/or edits requested by the committee. Failure to meet the one-month deadline or implement the requested changes will result in termination from the PhD program.

Before completing the program, all students must demonstrate competence in one language in addition to English (preferably Spanish, Portuguese, or a relevant Indigenous language) by means approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.