LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM (LAS) - Graduate
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The Latin American Studies Program offers the master of arts degree in Latin American Studies. The degree is interdisciplinary in content and is administered jointly by the dean of the Graduate School and the director of the Latin American Studies Program, who is chairman of the Latin American Studies Steering Committee. The faculty is made up of a core of Latin American specialists from a number of departments and disciplines throughout the University.
The degree is structured primarily as a terminal degree for students planning a career of service in Latin America or planning to work with public or private institutions in capacities that require a broad knowledge of Latin America, its peoples, and its languages. The program has also served well as a base for doctoral work in the traditional disciplines.
The state of Alabama has in the last decade expanded its commercial and financial relations with many foreign nations. There is a growing demand for individuals trained in marketing and management skills who also have a knowledge of languages and an understanding of cultures other than their own. In view of these increasing opportunities, the College of Commerce and Business Administration has expanded its programs to provide students with courses designed for such careers. Since much of the emphasis of Alabama business is with nations of Latin America, the master of arts in Latin American studies may now be taken with a major concentration in the fields of international economics or international business.
Admission Requirements
Students will be
considered for admission to the program on the basis of a bachelor's degree
in any field of knowledge. An acceptable score must be submitted from the
GRE, MAT, or GMAT. A special requirement for the student enrolling in the
Latin American Studies Program is a reading knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese.
A designated member of the Department of Romance Languages and Classics
will certify the language proficiency of the candidates and will decide
whether additional language training is necessary prior to admission. By
special permission of the director of the Latin American Studies Program,
the language may be taken concurrently with graduate work.
For further admission
information, please refer to The University of Alabama Graduate School
catalog or web-page.
Degree Requirements
The master of arts degree is granted after 27 hours of coursework and acceptance of a thesis or after 33 hours of coursework without a thesis, for full-time students. This procedure provides for two separate plans for the degree, as follows:
Plan I. A
minimum of 27 semester hours for full-time students is required, with a
concentration of at least 15 hours of coursework in one department. These
courses must be selected with the assistance of the department adviser
and approved by the department concerned. At least 9 semester hours must
be taken in two related fields, and the courses must be approved by the
department concerned.
Other requirements
consist of a thesis in the area of concentration, the interdisciplinary
Seminar in Latin American Studies (3 semester hours of credit), and oral
proficiency in conversational Spanish or Portuguese. This language requirement
may be satisfied by successfully passing an oral examination given by the
appropriate member of the Department of Romance Languages and Classics.
Plan II. A minimum of 33 semester hours of coursework for full-time students is required, with a concentration of at least 15 hours in one department. Several alternatives are available for the related fields. Fifteen semester hours may be taken in the remaining two or more related fields. All courses must be selected with the assistance of the departmental adviser and approved by the department concerned. The student is also required to take the interdisciplinary Seminar in Latin American Studies (3 semester hours of credit). The language proficiency as given for Plan I is also required.
Areas of concentration offered at the present time are anthropology, economics, history, international business, political science, and Spanish.
Examinations. Under Plan I, the student is required to pass a final oral examination extending over the whole period of study and the thesis. This examination will be given during the last term of study, prior to the awarding of the degree. Under Plan II, during the last term of study the student is required to pass a written comprehensive examination and an oral examination in the area of concentration and in each of the related fields.
The examinations are designed primarily to determine the student's ability to relates meaningfully the various segments of knowledge covering the area of concentration and the related fields of study. The examining committee shall consist of a Latin American specialist from each discipline in the student's curriculum, and shall be appointed by the director of the Latin American Studies Program with the approval of the dean of the Graduate School.
Minors in Latin
American Studies. A certificate in Latin American Studies is offered
at the graduate level. Requirements for the certificate include the completion
of:
a) the Latin American
Studies Seminar (LAS 596);
b) two other Latin
American content courses outside the student's major field of study; and
c) a reading competency
in Spanish or Portuguese.
Candidates for the Ph.D. or Ed.D. degree may elect an outside field in Latin American content courses, including the Latin American Studies seminar (LAS 596). Six hours of Latin American-oriented courses may be taken within the individual's major field of study, with the permission of the major department and the director of the Latin American Studies Program. Students enrolled in the College of Education's Internship in Latin America may offer 3 hours toward the Latin American Studies field through that program.
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