Mexican American Studies, Bachelor of Arts

The mission of the UTRGV Mexican American Studies (MASC) program is to prepare students to critically investigate community knowledge and socio-political, economic, cultural, and artistic conditions of and contributions by Mexican Americans, Chicana/ os and Latina/ os to the history, culture, and institutions of the United States and broader Americas. The Mexican American Studies program offers a Bachelors of Arts in Mexican American Studies, a Minor in Mexican American Studies, a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in Mexican American Studies, and a Graduate Certificate.

The goal of the BA in MASC is to recognize, validate, and engage students, faculty, and Mexican American, Chicana/o and Latina/o communities as agents of conocimiento and knowledge. Our place-based pedagogies and transdisciplinary methods provide a holistic approach to the study of complex and dynamic Mexican American experiences. We prepare students to critically investigate community knowledge and socio-political, economic, cultural, and artistic conditions of and contributions by Mexican Americans, Chicana/ os and Latina/ os .

Students develop the skills to engage in self-discovery and to communicate their conocimientos to produce salient applied research to effect positive social change in their comunidades . Our position en la frontera requires and enables MASC to have a simultaneous local and hemispheric concentration. This unique transcultural context shapes academic and public conversations regionally, nationally, and globally.

Note: For a PDF version of the degree requirements for this program go to the Undergraduate Programs page on the UTRGV website. 

 

Core Curriculum Requirements – 42 Hours

Students must fulfill the Core Curriculum requirements. The courses listed below satisfy both degree requirements and Core Curriculum requirements.

Recommended

Language, Philosophy, and Culture – 3 hours

MASC 2301

Introduction to Mexican American Studies

3

Major Requirements – 36 Hours (12 advanced minimum)

Mexican American Studies Core – 15 hours (6 advanced)

Choose one:

MASC 2301	Introduction to Mexican American Studies	3
MCLL 2301	Special Topics in Modern and Classical Literature	3

Choose one:

MASC 3332/HIST 3332	Mexican American History	3
HIST 3332	Mexican-American History	3

Required

MASC 4300	Learning and Reflective Service	3
	Any 6 hours of SPAN

MASC 4300: Capstone

Mexican American Studies Electives – 21 hours (6 advanced minimum)

Humanities Electives – 6 hours

Choose from:

MASC 1307	Mexican Folk Music	3
	Or
MUSI 1307	Mexican Folk Music	3
MASC 2302/MCLL 2301	Border Corrido	3
	Or
MCLL 2301	Special Topics in Modern and Classical Literature	3
MASC 2303/MCLL 2301	Border Literature	3
	Or
MCLL 2301	Special Topics in Modern and Classical Literature	3
MASC 2351/ENGL 2351	Introduction to Mexican American Literature	3
	Or
ENGL 2351	Introduction to Mexican American Literature	3
MASC 3308/SPAN 3308	Introduction to Latina/o Literature	3
	Or
SPAN 3308/MASC 3308	Introduction to Latina/o Literature	3
MASC 3365	Chicana and Latin American Feminisms	3
	Or
PHIL 3365	Chicana and Latin American Feminisms	3
MASC 4300	Learning and Reflective Service	3
MASC 4317/ENGL 4317	Mexican-American Literature	3
	Or
ENGL 4317	Mexican American Literature	3
MASC 4331/HIST 4331	Mexican-American Civil Rights	3
	Or
HIST 4331	Mexican-American Civil Rights	3
MASC 4332/HIST 4332	Chicano Movement	3
	Or
HIST 4332	Chicano Movement	3
MASC 4348/SPAN 4348	Sociolinguistics and Latino Health	3
	Or
SPAN 4348/TRSP 4348/MASC 4348	Sociolinguistics and Latino Health	3
MASC 4357/ARTS 4357	Latin@ Art History	3
	Or
ARTS 4357	Latin@ Art History	3
MASC 4370/ENGL 4370	Introduction To Border Language	3
	Or
ENGL 4370	Introduction to Border Language	3
MASC 4385/ENGL 4385	Topics In Border Studies	3
	Or
ENGL 4385	Topics in Border Studies	3
MASC 4392	Special Topics in Mexican American Studies	3

MASC 4357: or ARTS 4357

The following courses are only allowable when topic is Chican@/Latin@:

ENGL 4395	Advanced Topics in English	3
HIST 3307	Women in History	3
HIST 4393	Special Topics in Latin American History	3
SPAN 4317	Special Topics in Hispanic Linguistics	3
SPAN 4335	Special Topics in Hispanic Literatures	3

Social Behavioral Sciences, Education, and/or Health Sciences Electives – 6 hours (6 advanced)

Choose from:

ANTH 4323	Mexican American Culture	3
ANTH 4348	Peoples and Cultures of Mexico	3
ANTH 4350	Mexican American Folk Medicine	3
ANTH 4375	Mexican American Folklore	3
MASC 3322/EDBE 3322/EDSL 3322	Foundations of Bilingual Education and ESL	3
	Or
EDBE 3322	Foundations of Bilingual Education and ESL	3
MASC 3325/HLTH 3325	Latino Health	3
	Or
HLTH 3325	Latino Health	3
MASC 3346/SOCI 3346	Hispanics in Global Society	3
	Or
SOCI 3346/MASC 3346	Hispanics in Global Society	3
MASC 4316/POLS 4316	U.S. Latin@ Politics	3
	Or
POLS 4316/MASC 4316	U.S. Latin@ Politics	3
MASC 4333/POLS 4333	U.S. - Mexico Border Relations	3
	Or
POLS 4333	U.S. ? Mexico Border Relations	3
MASC 4354/POLS 4354	Immigration, Race, and Citizenship	3
	Or
POLS 4354	Immigration, Race, and Citizenship	3
MASC 4323/SOCI 4323	The Mexican American Experience	3
	Or
SOCI 4323/MASC 4323	The Mexican American Experience	3
MASC 4328/PSYC 4328	Psychological Issues in the Mexican-American Community	3
	Or
PSYC 4328/MASC 4328	Psychological Issues in the Mexican-American Community	3

Mexican American Electives – 9 hours

Choose 9 hours of Electives from the above sections or listed below.

New courses and special topics courses appear frequently. Any course with a minimum 50% MASC content may be petitioned as part of a students’ degree plan to the MASC program by presenting course syllabus.

ANTH 4385	Topics in Anthropology	3
ANTH 4369	Archeology of Mexico and Central America	3
ARTS 3350	Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Art and Architecture	3
ARTS 3356	Mexican Viceregal Art and Architecture	3
ARTS 4352	Latin American Art and Architecture	3
ARTS 4354	Modern Mexican Art, 1785-1940	3
ARTS 4355	Modern Mexican Art since 1940	3
ARTS 4352	Latin American Art and Architecture	3
ARTS 4357	Latin@ Art History	3
ARTS 4358	Research Methods in Latin American Art and Architectural History	3
COMM 3336	Media, Race, and Ethnicity	3
DANC 2250	Folklorico I	2
DANC 2349	Folklorico I	3
DANC 3250	Folklorico II	2
DANC 3349	Folklorico II	3
DANC 4250	Folklorico III	2
DANC 4349	Folklorico III	3
DANC 1249	Introduction to Folklorico I	2
DANC 1250	Introduction to Folklorico II	2
ENGL 4318	South Texas Literature	3
GEOG 3333	Latin American Geography	3
HIST 3333	Texas History	3
HIST 3363	Mexico from Pre-Conquest to the Present	3
HIST 3361	Colonial Latin America	3
HIST 4321	The Spanish Southwest to 1821	3
HIST 4322	American Southwest and Borderlands after 1821	3
HIST 4362	History of Mexican Culture	3
HIST 4361	Contemporary Mexico	3
HIST 4363	History of Mexican Cinema	3
HIST 3364	Mexico through Independence	3
HIST 3365	Mexico since Independence	3
HIST 3362	Modern Latin America	3
HIST 4393	Special Topics in Latin American History	3
LAMS 2301	Introduction to Inter-American Studies	3
LAMS 3377	Latin American Womanhood in the Modern Era	3
LAMS 3378	Women in Colonial Latin America	3
LAMS 4301	Seminar on Latin American Studies	3
LAMS 4391	Latin American Philosophy: Special Topics	3
MCLL 2301	Special Topics in Modern and Classical Literature	3
PHIL 1305	Introduction to Latin American Philosophy	3
PHIL 3365	Chicana and Latin American Feminisms	3
PHIL 4305/LAMS 4391	Special Topics in Latin American Philosophy	3
PSYC 4328/MASC 4328	Psychological Issues in the Mexican-American Community	3
POLS 4354	Immigration, Race, and Citizenship	3
POLS 4320	Latin American Politics	3
POLS 4321	Central American and Caribbean Politics	3
SOCI 4313	Race and Ethnic Relations	3
SOCI 4352	Social Stratification	3
SOCI 4380	Social Protest and Social Movements	3
SOCW 4370	Mexican American Mental Health	3
SPAN 1311	Beginning Spanish I	3
SPAN 1312	Beginning Spanish II	3
SPAN 2313	Spanish for Heritage Language Learners II	3
SPAN 2315	Spanish for Heritage Language Learners III	3
SPAN 2317	Spanish for Healthcare Professionals I	3
SPAN 2318	Spanish for Healthcare Professionals II	3
SPAN 3300	Advanced Spanish Grammar & Composition I	3
SPAN 3301	Advanced Spanish Grammar & Composition II	3
SPAN 4320	The Mexican Novel	3
SPAN 3307	Introduction to Latin American Literature	3
SPAN 4318	Spanish Language Media Studies	3
SPAN 2320	Latina/o Culture and Civilization in Spanish	3
SPAN 2340	Fundamentals of Hispanic Culture	3
SPAN 3348	Advanced Spanish for Healthcare Professionals II	3
SPAN 4321	Mexican Literature	3
SPAN 4328	Mexico's Contemporary Literature	3
SPAN 4323	Spanish American Novel	3

The following courses are only allowable when topic is Chican@/Latin@:

ANTH 1354	The Anthropology of Expressive Culture	3
ANTH 4345	Anthropological Theory and Methodology	3
ARTS 4359	Seminar on Topics in Art History	3
COMM 4303	Special Topics	3
ENGL 4395	Advanced Topics in English	3
ENGL 3370	Language and Culture	3
ENGL 3337	Children's and Adolescent Literature	3
ENGL 4313	Topics in Single Author	3
HIST 4393	Special Topics in Latin American History	3
INTS 4315/ANTH 4315	Discovering the Rio Grande Valley	3
PSYC 4383	Special Problems	3
SPAN 4338	Children's Literature in Spanish	3
SPAN 4360	Topics Studies in Hispanic Culture	3
SPAN 4352	Hispanic Theater	3

Double-Major or Minor – 42 Hours

Credit hours should be used to attain minor and/or second major in a different discipline. After earning enough credit hours for a minor and/or second major in a different discipline, students may choose advanced MASC courses, a second minor, or use as advanced electives in other disciplines.

Total Credit Hours: 42

Total Credit Hours: 120