;

Undergraduate Catalog 2024-2025

Mexican American Studies B.A. – Liberal Arts Concentration

Program Overview

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Contact: Department of Chicana/o and Latinx Studies 

Location: Candelaria 0140 

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:

  1. Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
  2. Required Major Credits
  3. Required Track Credits
  4. 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 35 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 is recommended to fulfill Social & Behavioral Sciences and U.S. Multicultural Studies requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.

MAS 110 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 — 35 credits

Required Major courses

MAS 100Introduction to Mexican American StudiesLAB3LAMS

3

MAS 101Careers in Mexican American Studies

1

MAS 110Contemporary Chicano LiteratureLAA2LAMS

3

MAS 301Mexican American Politics and Leadership

3

MAS 337Chicana/o Literature and Theory

3

MAS 380US Mexico Immigration

3

MAS 420Chicana/o Civil Rights Movement

3

MAS 446Chicana/o Theory

3

MAS 450Internship in Mexican American Studies

4

MAS 460Narco Corrido and Mexican Folk Culture

3

SPAN 100Introductory Spanish

3

Select 3 credit-hours from the following:

MAS 225Latina/Latino HistoryLAH1LAMS

3

MAS 280Topics in Chicana/Chicano Art and Culture

3

3. Track — 12 credits

Complete all courses in one of the following tracks. It is recommended that students seek advising for the track.

Community Health and Nutrition Track

Select 12 credit hours from the following:

FND 250Principles of NutritionLAS1

3

HUSR 209Foundations of Health Promotion/Health Education

3

HUSR 300Human Services Helping Skills

3

HUSR 350Introduction to Environmental Health

3

SOC 375Sociology of Health and Illness

3

Globalization, Borders and Migration Track

Select 12 credit hours from the following:

ANT 331Anthropology and Contemporary Human Problems

3

PSCI 240Globalization

3

SOC 235Social Change in a Global ContextLAB3LAIS

3

SOC 388Global Immigration

3

Social Justice and Public Policy Track

Select 12 credits hours from the following:

AFS 240Dynamics of Racism

3

COMM 223Intercultural CommunicationLAB3

3

GNDR 240Gender, Race, Class, and SexualityLAB3LAMS

3

LEAD 100Fundamentals of Leadership

3

PSCI 303Public Policy in the United States

3

TESL, Bilingualism: Mexican American and the U.S. Educational Experience Track

Required 12 credit hours:

COMM 223Intercultural CommunicationLAB3

3

ECLD 260Language Acquisition in Multilingual SocietiesLAB3LAMS

3

MAS 275Education of Mexican American Students

3

WLC 390History and Philosophy of Multilingual Education

3

Youth Advocacy Track

Select 12 credit hours from the following:

HUSR 238Contemporary Issues in Drug Abuse

3

SOC 237Sociology of Race, Racism, and PowerLAB3LAMS

3

SOC 247Social Deviance

3

SOC 340Juvenile Delinquency

3

SOC 347Sociology of Corrections

3

4. University-Wide Credits — 42 credits*

Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for any degree at UNC; for this program, that will typically be 42 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.

Four Year Plan

This four year plan is a recommended schedule to complete this bachelor's degree in 4 years. Courses are subject to availability. Students must consult with their major advisor to receive information on any additional graduation requirements and course sequence guidance. 

Year 1 – 28 credits

Fall Semester

MAS 100Introduction to Mexican American StudiesLAB3LAMS

3

MAS 101Careers in Mexican American Studies

1

Liberal Arts Curriculum

3

Liberal Arts Curriculum

3

SPAN 100Introductory Spanish

3

Total Credit Hours:13

Spring Semester

MAS 110Contemporary Chicano LiteratureLAA2LAMS

3

Liberal Arts Curriculum

3

Liberal Arts Curriculum

3

Liberal Arts Curriculum

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Year 2 – 31 credits

Fall Semester

MAS 225Latina/Latino HistoryLAH1LAMS

3

or

MAS 280Topics in Chicana/Chicano Art and Culture

3

Liberal Arts Curriculum

3

Liberal Arts Curriculum

3

Liberal Arts Curriculum

4

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:16

Spring Semester

MAS 301Mexican American Politics and Leadership

3

Concentration Elective

3

Concentration Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Year 3 – 30 credits

Fall Semester

MAS 337Chicana/o Literature and Theory

3

MAS 380US Mexico Immigration

3

MAS 420Chicana/o Civil Rights Movement

3

Concentration Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Spring Semester

MAS 446Chicana/o Theory

3

Concentration Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Year 4 – 31 credits

Fall Semester

MAS 450Internship in Mexican American Studies

4

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:16

Spring Semester

MAS 460Narco Corrido and Mexican Folk Culture

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Back to Top