In 1985 the University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University formed a Latin American Studies Consortium and were funded as one of the twelve Title VI National Resource Centers for Latin America in the United States. In 1993, as part of the consortium a collaborative graduate student exchange program was implemented. The purpose of the exchange program is to expand the curriculum available to graduate students of Latin American Studies. This is not a joint degree. Students may take courses as guests of the Host campus which are transferred back to their Home campus and applied toward their own Master's program. While on the Host campus, students are subject to all the policies (such as add/drop/grading, etc.) of that campus.

A student must notify the Home Latin American Studies Program of intentions to participate in the exchange program. This will be approved if the student has graduate status and is in good standing. Then obtain the required signatures on the attached course approval form before submitting the form to the Home Graduate Office for final approval. The Host Graduate Office will facilitate the student's registration. The form must be submitted at least three weeks prior to the beginning of the term (quarter or semester) remembering that the two universities are on different schedules. The student will pay fees at the Home campus and is not eligible for any services or privileges on the Host campus.

Students may enroll for one course per term at the Host institution and must maintain their full time status through a combination of the courses taken at UCSD and SDSU. Courses will count approximately one for one toward the Master's requirements although the credits computed will be different.