This is the only Latin American and Caribbean Studies Master’s program in Canada to bridge the social sciences and the humanities. The program is particularly innovative with its participation in the collaborative specialization in International Development. In addition to being able to finish the program in three semesters, students also have the benefit of studying in a community with the largest concentration of Latin American scholars internationally renowned for their major collaborative and individual research projects. Study Abroad gives students an opportunity to study and/or participate in projects at partner institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. LACS program does not train students for specific careers, but prepares them for a variety of jobs that require analytical skills, an international perspective, and the ability to communicate in both English and Spanish. The program prepares students for further study and research at the doctoral level, either in a related core discipline or in an interdisciplinary program.

Administrative Staff

Interim Director
John Walsh (266 MacKinnon, Ext. 53167)
waljo@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Coordinator
Gordana Yovanovich (277 MacKinnon, Ext. 53180)
gyovanov@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Assistant
Enrica Aurora Cominetti (267 MacKinnon, Ext. 56887)
ecominet@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Faculty

This list may include Regular Graduate Faculty, Associated Graduate Faculty and/or Graduate Faculty from other universities.

MA Program

Admission Requirements

The normal requirement for admission to the LACS MA program is the equivalent of an Honours degree from a recognized institution with at least 78% or higher in the last two years of study. Preference will be given to students who have taken upper-level undergraduate courses in areas such as Latin American and Caribbean history, society, politics, development, literature, art, languages, and music. A reading knowledge of Spanish will be required. Students wishing to enter the program normally do so in September.

Program Requirements

LACS students will enroll in one of two study options, course work and major research paper or thesis. Study Abroad is not mandatory but strongly recommended to all students.

Thesis

Students take the following 4 required courses (2.0 credits) and write a thesis:

Course Work and Major Research Paper

Students take 4 required courses (2.0 credits), 2 electives (1.0 credits) and write a major research paper (1.0 credit). This option is recommended because it gives students bredth in their study.

Required courses:

In addition, students will also take two electives in the area of culture or society. Students who choose to go on an exchange in semester 2 of the program will not need to take LACS*6020 Re-Imagining Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Communities. They can replace the winter portion of the course with a comparable course taken at the host university. While abroad, students will have the opportunity to develop language proficiency, and to conduct research or take courses for their major project. The major paper LACS*6100 Research Project consists of approximately 12,000 words and will be researched and written under the direction of one or two faculty members, one of whom could be from an exchange Latin American partner university.

Students who choose to write their major paper or thesis from a social science perspective may replace LACS*6000 Research Methods Seminar with SOC*6140 Qualitative Research Methods (F) or SOC*6140 Qualitative Research Methods (W) or SOC*6130 Quantitative Research Methods (W).

Collaborative Specializations

International Development Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies graduate students have the opportunity to pursue the MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies with the designation “International Development Studies.” Students wishing to take MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) in conjunction with the International Development Studies (IDS) collaborative specialization must enter the LACS program and satisfy both the LACS admission requirements and the IDS admission requirements. Please consult the International Development Studies listing for a detailed description of the MA collaborative specialization including the special additional requirements for each of the participating departments or programs.

Sexualities, Genders and Bodies

The Latin American and Caribbean Studies program participates in the collaborative specialization in Sexualities, Genders and Bodies. MA students wishing to undertake thesis research or their major research paper/project with an emphasis on sexualities, genders and bodies are eligible to apply to register concurrently in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and the collaborative specialization. Students should consult the Sexualities, Genders and Bodies listing for more information.

Courses