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MALAS / MCRP

Master of Arts in Latin American Studies (MALAS) and Master of Community and
Regional Planning (MCRP)

Prof. Claudia Isaac, cisaac@unm.edu, phone: 505.277.5939

The MALAS/MCRP degree is jointly awarded by the Latin American Studies and the Community & Regional Planning programs. The Latin American Studies program is housed at the Latin American and Iberian Institute, 801 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM (505.277.2961).

The dual degree is designed for students who are interested in the professional practice of planning in a Latin American context. Issues of particular importance to Latin American planners include land development, natural resources management, energy and water issues, economic development, migration, decentralization, regional integration, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots organizing.

Students are encouraged to build skills in socioeconomic analysis and in project development, implementation and evaluation. The program draws from the regional and national planning traditions in Latin America. Planning in Latin America involves developing public sector solutions to an array of social, economic, and political concerns.

Prerequisites to the program are competence in either Spanish or Portuguese (a fourth semester course or higher) and basic course work in economics (micro and/or macro) and statistics. Deficits may be made up after admission to the program.

The program requires a minimum of 53 hours of graduate credit, compared to 72 hours if the two degrees were pursued separately.

The required 53 graduate credit hours are distributed among:
- 3 hour bridge seminar, CRP/LAS 578: Latin American Development Planning

- 26 hours of core course work in CRP, and

- 24 hours of course work in two Latin American Studies concentrations.
MALAS/MCRP candidates are required to prepare a Thesis (Plan I).

The Master's Exam will consist of an oral examination at the final presentation of the thesis.

This examination will include coverage of the student's two areas of concentration in Latin American Studies.

Please note that applications are only accepted in the Fall.

Graduate Program

• Community Development


• Natural Resource Planning


• Physical Planning

• Latin American Studies


• Public Administration

• Historic Preservation & Regionalism


• Town Design

Undergraduate

Minor