Department website: http://liberalarts.utexas.edu/llilas/

Graduate work toward a degree in Latin American studies may be concentrated in any academic area in which courses with Latin American content are offered.

Graduate Handbook

Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.

Admission

The entering master’s degree student must have a bachelor’s degree, with a major in any discipline. Reading and speaking knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is required.

Total Hours Required: 33

Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Hours chosen from: major field		15
Hours chosen from: minor field		9
LAS 384	Proseminar: Current Issues in Latin America	3
Hours chosen from:		6
LAS 698	Thesis
LAS X97R & LAS X98R	Secondary Report and Master's Report
Graduate Liberal Arts Requirements
Graduate University Requirements
Total Hours		33

Additional Requirements

Major and minor fields may be:

1. any disciplinary areas that offer Latin American or relevant methodological content coursework, such as Anthropology, Community and Regional Planning, Economics, Geography, Government, History, Sociology, Public Policy, Literature/Culture, Art History, etc.;
2. any interdisciplinary areas with content relevant to the student's academic interests such as African and African Diaspora Studies, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Religious Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, etc.;
3. general themes such as violence, feminism, the environment, media, LGTBQ studies, etc.; or 
4. methodologies such as Statistics, Geographical Information Systems, Information Technologies, qualitative methods, etc. 

Students may also organize their coursework to fulfill the requirements for one of the Portfolio Programs offered by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Typical Portfolio Programs that some Latin American Studies Master's students complete include: Digital Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies. 

Under all the Master of Arts degree plans, the student must develop a proficiency (reading level competency) in Spanish, Portuguese, an indigenous language of Latin America, or another language as approved by the Graduate Advisor with substantial scholarship in the student’s field of interest. Examinations are held each academic year, and the student may repeat them until proficiency is indicated.

During the first year after admission, students will work to select two supervising professors to serve in their thesis committee. The committee chair or mentor must be a member of the Latin American Studies Graduate Studies Committee. The second member or reader can be a faculty member from any other unit within The University of Texas at Austin. The thesis format must be in accordance with the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requirements and must also be approved by the two thesis committee members. Master's students who wish to write a thesis or report in a language other than English must consult with their mentor(s) and the graduate advisor before submitting a formal petition to the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.