To receive the Master of Arts degree in Latin American Studies, with a specialization in Cultural Studies, a student must:

1. Demonstrate foreign language competence in Spanish or Portuguese.
2. Maintain a 3.0 grade point average in 40 units of course work (about ten courses), to be completed as follows:
   1. Latin American Studies Basic Seminar Sequence: Like all other LAS MA students, those students in the cultural studies concentration must take 12 units in the three required graduate seminars (LATI 200, methodology seminar, and theory seminar).
   2. Cultural Studies Concentration: 16 units must be taken in the Cultural Studies thematic specialization, as follows:
      1. Two seminars (8 units) from the approved list of core seminars. These may be used to satisfy the theory and methodology requirements of the LAS M.A. program.
      2. Two courses (8 units) from the approved list of elective courses within the thematic specialization.
      3. The selection of these seminars and courses must be formally approved by the student's personal advisor (by signing the student's graduate student general petition form). With approval from his/her advisor, however, students in the Cultural Studies concentration may take other seminars and courses that do not appear in the approved list (see link to courses below), provided that the content of the work that they do is directly related to Latin American issues, topics, or themes.
   3. General Electives: The remaining 12 units must be taken as follows: two courses from the Approved List of Courses on Latin America (8 units), and one course of Directed Reading or Independent Research (298 or 299, 4 units).
3. Successfully complete a master's thesis on a topic relevant to Latin American Cultural Studies.

At least 24 of the total 40 units must be taken at the graduate level (200 level). To convert an undergraduate level course (100 level) into a 298 graduate-level course, a student must attend all of the course meetings and incorporate a component of additional, graduate-level research work, upon arrangement with the faculty member teaching the course (a special form describing the supplementary work must be filled out by the student and approved by the instructor and the CILAS Academic Coordinator). In all such cases, the supplementary work should, (a) increase the amount of reading to match the regular reading expectations of a graduate seminar, (b) include additional meeting time with the professor for a graduate-level discussion of the material, and (c) require the student to write a research paper (which would generally be approximately 15-20 pages).