Degree Requirements for International Migration Concentration

To receive the Master of Arts degree in Latin American Studies with a concentration in International Migration, 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:
a. Latin American Studies Basic Seminar Sequence: 8 units must be taken in the required Core Seminar in Latin American Studies (LATI 200, 4 units), and Latin American Library Resources and Research Methodology (LATI 210A and LATI 210B, 2 units each).
b. Migration Studies Concentration: 16 additional units must be taken in the Migration Studies thematic concentration, as follows:
i. One course focused on Economic and Social Factors in International Migration (4 units in any of the following: POLI 248, IRGN 490, ETHN 118, ETHN 134);
ii. One course focused on Immigration Policy (4 units in any of the following: POLI 236, IRGN 490, POLI 150);
iii. One course focused on Latin American International Migration (4 units in any of the following: COHI 175, ETHN 189, ETHN 189, ETHN 189, HIUS 180, HIUS 186, IRGN 490, LTSP 177);
iv. One course of Directed Reading (4 units in a 298 course, focused on a topic relevant to Latin American migratory movements).
c. General Electives: The remaining 16 units must be taken as follows: two courses from the Approved List of Courses on Latin America (8 units), 4 units of Directed Reading (298) and 4 units of Independent Research (299).

3. Successfully complete a master's thesis on a topic relevant to Latin American International Migration.

All of the concentration specific units, and at least 50 percent of the General Elective units must be taken at graduate level (200 level). Within a concentration, a maximum of two undergraduate level courses (100 level) may be upgraded to graduate level 298 courses. 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 by the student and approved by the instructor and 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).

M.A. students who were previously enrolled as undergraduates at UCSD will not be allowed to repeat courses for credit toward the concentration. In all cases there are alternatives, and those students will be expected to take other classes to fulfill the requirements.