BA in Mexican American Studies
Core Curriculum - 42 hours
Current Semester Offerings: Spring 2023 MAS Courses
The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculumas outlined below.
The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once. The courses listed below fulfill core curriculum and major requirements. Students who have completed a core curriculum category with courses other than those listed below will still be required to take the listed course(s) to meet major requirements.
040 Language, Philosophy and Culture - 3 hours
| MASC 2301 | Introduction to Mexican American Studies |
060 American History - 6 hours
| MASC 2327 | Mexican American History I |
| MASC 2328 | Mexican American History II |
Major Requirements - 36 hours
Required Courses - 18 hours
Mexican American Studies - 9 hours
| MASC 2351 | Introduction to Mexican American Literature |
| MASC 3332 | Mexican American History |
| MASC 4350 | Research Methods in Mexican American/Chicanx/Latinx Studies |
Spanish language - 9 hours
Choose from:
| SPAN 1311 | Beginning Spanish I |
| SPAN 1312 | Beginning Spanish II |
| SPAN 2311 | Intermediate Spanish I for Non-Native Speakers |
| SPAN 2312 | Intermediate Spanish II |
| SPAN 1315 | Spanish for Heritage Language Learners I |
| SPAN 2313 | Spanish for Heritage Language Learners II |
| SPAN 2315 | Spanish for Heritage Language Learners III |
Prescribed Electives - 18 hours
Complete 6 hours from 3 categories below for a total of 18 hours. 12 hours must be advanced.
Special Topics courses may be offered and applied to the Mexican American Studies degree plan at the discretion of the department.
Anthropology
| ANTH 4304 | Indians of North America |
| ANTH 4323 | Mexican American Culture |
| ANTH 4348 | Peoples and Cultures of Mexico |
| ANTH 4350 | Mexican American Folk Medicine |
| ANTH 4369 | Archaeology of Mexico and Central America |
| ANTH 4375 | Mexican American Folklore |
Creative and Fine Arts
| ARTS 3350 | Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Art and Architecture |
| ARTS 4352 | Latin American Art and Architecture |
| ARTS 4354 | Modern Mexican Art, 1785-1940 |
| ARTS 4355 | Modern Mexican Art since 1940 |
| ARTS 3356 | Mexican Viceregal Art and Architecture |
| MASC 4357 | Latin@ Art History |
| ARTS 4357 | Latin@ Art History |
| ARTS 4358 | Research Methods in Latin American Art and Architectural History |
| DANC 1250 | Introduction to Folklorico II |
| DANC 1249 | Introduction to Folklorico I |
| DANC 2250 | Folklorico I |
| Or | |
| DANC 2349 | Folklorico I |
| DANC 3250 | Folklorico II |
| Or | |
| DANC 3349 | Folklorico II |
| DANC 4250 | Folklorico III |
| Or | |
| DANC 4349 | Folklorico III |
| MASC 1307 | Mexican Folk Music |
History
| HIST 3300 | Historiography and Methods |
| HIST 3333 | Texas History |
| HIST 3361 | Colonial Latin America |
| HIST 3362 | Modern Latin America |
| HIST 3336 | Spanish Borderlands to 1821 |
| MASC 4331 | Mexican-American Civil Rights |
| MASC 4332 | Chicano Movement |
| HIST 4360 | Mexico's First Century as an Independent Republic |
| HIST 4361 | Contemporary Mexico |
| HIST 4362 | History of Mexican Culture |
| HIST 4363 | History of Mexican Cinema |
| HIST 4393 | Special Topics in Latin American History |
HIST 3300 only required for 4000 history courses.
Language and Literature and Linguistics
| MASC 4317 | Mexican-American Literature |
| ENGL 4318 | South Texas Literature |
| MASC 4370 | Introduction To Border Language |
| MASC 4385 | Topics In Border Studies |
| SPAN 2317 | Spanish for Healthcare Professionals I |
| SPAN 2318 | Spanish for Healthcare Professionals II |
| SPAN 2320 | Latina/o Culture and Civilization in Spanish |
| SPAN 2321 | Spanish in the United States |
| SPAN 3300 | Advanced Spanish Grammar & Composition I |
| SPAN 3301 | Advanced Spanish Grammar & Composition II |
| MASC 3308 | Introduction to Latina/o Literature |
| SPAN 3348 | Advanced Spanish for Healthcare Professionals |
| SPAN 4315 | Acquisition of the Spanish Language |
| SPAN 4320 | The Mexican Novel |
| SPAN 4321 | Mexican Literature |
| SPAN 4326 | Chicano Narrative |
| SPAN 4331 | The Spanish American Short Story |
| WRLS 2301 | Multilingual Writing in Academic and Community Contexts |
Mexican-American Studies
| MASC 4300 | Learning and Reflective Service (Practicum) |
| MASC 4324 | Crimmigration and the Militarization of the U.S.-Mexican Border |
| MASC 4392 | Special Topics in Mexican American Studies |
Philosophy
| PHIL 1305 | Introduction to Latin American Philosophy |
| PHIL 1362 | Race, Sexuality, and Class |
| PHIL 3365 | Chicana and Latin American Feminisms |
| PHIL 4305 | Special Topics in Latin American Philosophy |
| PHIL 4345 | Mexican/Mexican-American Philosophy |
Political Science
| MASC 4316 | U.S. Latin@ Politics |
| MASC 4333 | U.S. Mexico Border Relations |
| MASC 4354 | Immigration, Race, and Citizenship |
| POLS 4320 | Latin American Politics |
| POLS 4321 | Central American Politics |
| POLS 4323 | Mexican Politics |
Sociology
| SOCI 1301 | Introduction to Sociology |
| SOCI 3313 | Criminology |
| SOCI 3325 | Social Psychology |
| SOCI 3333 | Urban Sociology |
| SOCI 3347 | Sociology of Immigration |
| SOCI 4313 | Race and Ethnic Relations |
| MASC 4323 | The Mexican American Experience |
| SOCI 4352 | Social Stratification |
Interdisciplinary Studies
| EDFR 2301 | Intercultural Context of Schooling |
| GEOG 3333 | Latin American Geography |
| MASC 3325 | Latino Health |
| PSYC 2301 | General Psychology |
| MASC 4328 | Psychological Issues in the Mexican-American Community |
| SOCW 3333 | Special Topics in Social Work Issues |
| SPAN 4348 | Spanish for Healthcare Professionals and Latino Health |
PSYC 2301 required in advanced psychology courses.
Free Electives - 42 hours
Free elective credit hours at the advanced level may be needed to achieve the institutional minimum of 42 advanced hours.
Students interested in applying free elective hours towards a double major or minor should see an advisor for more information.
Advanced Minimum Credit Hours: 42
Total Credit Hours: 120
New courses and special topics courses appear all of the time. Any course with a minimum 50% MAS content may be petitioned as part of a students’ degree plan. Classes are available at both Brownsville & Edinburg Campuses