All graduate students in a Mexican American Studies program will be evaluated by MAS faculty and also by the Graduate College. The Graduate College has set minimum and essential requirements need for the completion of graduate degrees which are embedded into the MAS M.S. degree requirements.
Degree Requirements
The M.S. in Mexican American studies requires 33 units:
Core Courses (6 units)
Designed to provide students with an exposure to qualitative and quantitative decision-making methods, focusing on the Mexican American population. Graduate-level requirements include a research project.
A critical examination of Mexican American culture as portrayed in the social sciences. An assessment of the social, political, and economic factors influencing representations of Mexican Americans.
Specialization/Tracks (12 units)
A public health perspective in examining health and mental health issues affecting Latinos residing in the U.S., with particular emphasis on Mexican Americans.
Targeted for graduate students across campus, this course will focus on the study of Chicana/Latina perspectives that include feminisms, womanisms, and standpoints. The course will engage these perspectives from (her)storical, theoretical, empirical, and literary texts. The course will ground the application of these perspectives in educational research so as to enable participants to subsequently relate the ideas to their respective research areas like in public health or history.
Worldwide human migration and displacements are at an all time high because of political, economic, and environmental upheavals. In the Americas, in particular, there has been a steady increase in migration to the U.S. from Mexico and Latin America since the 1960s. The most significant change has been the greater participation of women due in part to the negative impact of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) resulting in the impoverishment of agricultural sectors and lack of employment opportunities, a combination known to produce the feminization of migration. In this class, we will explore this phenomenon and the various challenges borne by women and youths. We will consider relevant theories, such as structural violence, as well as a wide range of perspectives, combining demography, history, ethnography and public policy analysis to better understand issues of borders, transnational identities, human rights, labor rights, and responsibilities of host and sending states.
Elective Courses
Students will work with their advisor to identify 3 courses (9 units) to take as the elective option that will add to their thesis research interest.
See elective course options in the MAS Handbook. Look for courses taught by MAS core faculty, affiliated faculty and courses offered in the following departments:
- Anthropology
- College of Public Health
- Gender and Women's Studies
- History
- Language, Reading, and Cultures
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Spanish and Portuguese
- Teaching and Teacher Education
Thesis or Oral Examination
Students must complete 6 units by writing a thesis paper or presenting three 15-paged papers written in MAS courses in an oral presentation to MAS committee members.
Students choosing to complete a thesis will enroll in 6 units of MAS 910 (thesis coursework).
**If you are looking to register in thesis units (MAS 910), you will need to connect with the department's program coordinator and your advisor for registration.
Students choosing to complete an oral examination will enroll in 6 additional elective units.
Required Forms
All of the forms requried will be submitted online through GradPath, which will be routed for approval through the department, your advisor, and the Graduate College. To access GradPath, the student will need to visit UAccess > Advising > GradPath > GradPath Forms. Contact the MAS Degree Counselor for GradPath Support: Hayley Kral (hayleykral@arizona.edu).
The Responsible Conduct of Research Statement is submitted on GradPath. The form will need to be submited in order to continue on to the other forms.
Students in the M.S. program must complete a "Master's Plan of Study" form by the end of the first year in consultation with their Major Advisor. The form is submitted on GradPath.
Students can also use this template to outline your plan to discuss with your advisor before filling out the form on GradPath.You can also visit the FAQs page on the Graduate College page.
If you are writing a thesis (i.e., you are taking course number 910), you must report your thesis committee. The requirements for a thesis committee are detailed at https://grad.arizona.edu/gsas/degree-requirements/masters-degrees#thesis-committee.
A student completing a thesis is REQUIRED to submit the thesis to be archived by the UA Campus Repository and in the national archive maintained by ProQuest/UMI. Please see the information about thesis archiving at https://grad.arizona.edu/gsas/degree-requirements/masters-degrees#thesis-archiving.
The student will start the form by submiting it and will move on to the committee members to confirm a successful completition.