Program Overview
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Contact: Mexican American Studies
Location: Candelaria 0295
Email: HSS@unco.edu
Website: www.unco.edu/hss/chicana-chicano-latinx-studies/
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- Required Concentration Credits
- University-Wide Credits
Program Description:
The fundamental objective of the bachelor's in Mexican American Studies is to provide the student with knowledge and understanding of the historical development and cultural experience of the largest Latino community in the United States: Mexican Americans. Emphasis is placed on its contemporary reality by various theoretical perspectives and areas of academic inquiry through the arts and sciences: history, literature, sociology, political science, gender studies and psychology.
This integrative approach seeks to help the student develop critical thinking and writing skills in order to establish a solid foundation in the liberal arts. It provides the essential tools for making informed judgments about the complex nature of our diverse society. The program culminates with the capstone course, an extensive research project, which fuses theoretical concepts with practical knowledge. The Mexican American Studies major prepares the student to pursue careers in the fields of law, business, public service, and education.
Program Admission Requirements:
Academic Good Standing
Program Requirements:
At least 50 percent of the required major credits taken to complete the major must be upper division courses, 300-400 level.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the 37 required major credits.
Any additional coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
Select any course to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
MAS 100 (3) is recommended to fulfill Social & Behavioral Sciences and U.S. Multicultural Studies requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
MAS 110 (3) is recommended to fulfill Arts & Humanities and U.S. Multicultural Studies requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major courses — 37 credits
Required Major courses
| MAS 100 | Introduction to Mexican American StudiesLAB3LAMS | 3 |
| MAS 101 | Careers in Mexican American Studies | 1 |
| MAS 110 | Contemporary Chicano LiteratureLAA2LAMS | 3 |
| MAS 301 | Mexican American Politics and Leadership | 3 |
| MAS 337 | Chicana/o Literature and Theory | 3 |
| MAS 380 | US Mexico Immigration | 3 |
| MAS 420 | Chicana/o Civil Rights Movement | 3 |
| MAS 446 | Chicana/o Theory | 3 |
| MAS 450 | Internship in Mexican American Studies | 4 |
| MAS 460 | Narco Corrido and Mexican Folk Culture | 3 |
| SPAN 101 | Elementary Spanish I | 5 |
Select 3 credit-hours from the following:
| MAS 225 | Latina/Latino HistoryLAH1LAMS | 3 |
| MAS 280 | Topics in Chicana/Chicano Art and Culture | 3 |
3. Concentration — 12 credits
Choose one of the following concentrations. It is recommended that students seek advising for the concentration.
Community Health and Nutrition Concentration
Select 12 credit hours from the following:
| FND 250 | Principles of NutritionLAS1 | 3 |
| HUSR 209 | Foundations of Health Promotion/Health Education | 3 |
| HUSR 300 | Human Services Helping Skills | 3 |
| HUSR 350 | Introduction to Environmental Health | 3 |
| SOC 375 | Sociology of Health and Illness | 3 |
Globalization, Borders and Migration Concentration
Select 12 credit hours from the following:
Social Justice and Public Policy Concentration
Select 12 credits hours from the following:
| AFS 240 | Dynamics of Racism | 3 |
| COMM 223 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| GNDR 240 | Gender, Race, Class, and SexualityLAB3LAMS | 3 |
| LEAD 100 | Fundamentals of Leadership | 3 |
| PSCI 303 | Public Policy in the United States | 3 |
TESL, Bilingualism: Mexican American and the U.S. Educational Experience Concentration
Required 12 credit hours:
| COMM 223 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| ECLD 360 | Second Language Acquisition | 3 |
| MAS 275 | Education of Mexican American Students | 3 |
| WLC 390 | History and Philosophy of Multilingual Education | 3 |
Youth Advocacy Concentration
Select 12 credit hours from the following:
| HUSR 238 | Contemporary Issues in Drug Abuse | 3 |
| SOC 237 | Sociology of Race, Racism, and PowerLAB3LAMS | 3 |
| SOC 247 | Social Deviance | 3 |
| SOC 340 | Juvenile Delinquency | 3 |
| SOC 347 | Sociology of Corrections | 3 |
4. University-Wide Credits — 40 credits*
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for any degree at UNC; for this program, that will typically be 40 credits.
*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.