Applicable only to students admitted during the 2011-2012 academic year.

Chicana and Chicano Studies

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Chicana and Chicano Studies.

Admission

Program Name

Chicana and Chicano Studies

Address

7349 Bunche Hall
Box 951559
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1559 

Phone

(310) 206-7695 

Email

gradadvisor@chavez.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A., Ph.D.

The department admits only applicants whose objective is the PhD. 

Admission Limited to

Fall 

Deadline to apply

December 15th 

GRE (General and/or Subject)

GRE: General 

Letters of Recommendation 

3 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University’s minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are required to submit a personal statement and a writing sample. Evidence of creative work relevant to the degree program may also be included. 

Master’s Degree

Advising

The vice chair for graduate studies is assigned as provisional adviser to all incoming M.A. students until a permanent faculty adviser is selected in the second year. The faculty adviser assists students with planning their program of study. Students are expected to meet with their faculty adviser at least once a quarter, usually at the beginning of the quarter to have their enrollment plan approved. The student affairs officer provides assistance with policy and procedure.

Areas of Study

Students are expected to master one interdisciplinary area of study from among the following: 1) border and transnational studies; 2) expressive arts; 3) history, culture, and language of the Americas; and 4) labor, law, and policy studies.

Foreign Language Requirement

Reading fluency in Spanish is required. Students may satisfy the language requirement in one of the following ways: 1) satisfactory completion of two years of coursework at the University level; or 2) passing a language proficiency examination deemed appropriate by the department. It is recommended that this requirement be met in the first year of graduate work.

Course Requirements

Completion of the M.A. degree requirements is required for the Ph.D. degree program; the M.A. program is not a terminal or stand-alone degree program. Students must successfully complete a total of 36 units (normally nine courses), all for a letter grade. Of the 36 units, 28 must be completed at the graduate level. Up to eight units of upper division courses may be applied to the 36-unit requirement. One 500-series course (up to four units) may be applied toward the 36-unit requirement.

Required courses:

Chicana/o Studies 200 and 201 to be taken in the first year.
One graduate methodology course in the first area of study.
Three seminars, one of which may be an upper division course, in the first area of study.
Eight elective units (two courses) may be an upper division course or taken outside the department.
Four units of Chicana/o Studies 598 (master’s thesis research) or 597 (examination preparation).

Teaching assistants may enroll in Chicana/o Studies 495 when they receive their first teaching appointment and must enroll in Chicana/o Studies 375 each quarter in which they hold a teaching appointment. Neither of these courses may be counted toward the degree requirements.

Because University of California policy specifies that courses already applied to a graduate degree cannot be applied to another, students who enter the program with a previously earned M.A. degree will be required, at a minimum, to take the structured core of two required graduate courses: Chicana/o Studies 200 and 201. It is recommended that students who already have a master’s degree take all of the required courses in the first year of graduate study.

The minimum course load is 12 units per quarter. Students must be continuously registered and enrolled unless they are on an approved leave of absence.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Required for some areas of study. Students should consult the department for more information.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

Students may choose to take a comprehensive examination that consists of a series of essay questions designed to demonstrate the student’s knowledge of theories and methods in the field of Chicana/o Studies, and their ability to apply these ideas to their chosen area of study. Students may enroll in Chicana/o Studies 597 (examination preparation) while preparing for the examination. The examination is developed and administered by the student’s faculty adviser, and evaluated by the adviser and either the department chair or vice-chair for graduate studies. A grade of B or better is required for successful completion of the master’s comprehensive examination.

Thesis Plan

Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.

Students may choose to complete a master’s thesis relevant to their chosen area of study. The thesis should be submitted at the end of the second year, but no later than Spring Quarter of the third year. Students must enroll in Chicana/o Studies 598 (thesis research) under the guidance of the faculty adviser. Students should consult Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA for the policy on thesis committee membership. The department requires an outside member. The committee must be appointed no later than Fall Quarter of the student’s second year. The thesis is evaluated by the committee on a pass/no pass basis.

Time-to-degree

Full-time students are expected to complete the requirements for the master’s degree within two years (six quarters) of registration.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The vice chair for graduate studies is assigned as provisional adviser to all incoming students until a permanent faculty adviser is selected in the second year. After completing coursework for the Ph.D. degree but before taking the University Oral Qualifying Examination, students submit a nomination of doctoral committee that requires approval of the department and appointment by the Graduate Division. The doctoral committee is responsible for supervision, review, and approval of the doctoral dissertation. The student affairs officer provides assistance with policy and procedure.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Doctoral students are expected to specialize in two area of study from among the following: 1) border and transnational studies; 2) expressive arts; 3) history, culture, and language of the Americas; and 4) labor, law, and policy studies.

Foreign Language Requirement

Reading fluency in Spanish is the minimum requirement. The foreign language requirement is typically completed in the first year of graduate study, but must be completed before the student is allowed to take the University Oral Qualifying Examination and advance to candidacy.

Course Requirements

Doctoral students are required to complete a total of 16 units (generally four courses) in addition to the course requirements for the M.A. degree. These 16 units are to be completed in the second area of study. Competency in the two areas of study is expected by the time doctoral coursework is completed. Students are required to complete one graduate methodology course related to the second area of study and three seminars in the second area of study, one of which may be taken outside the department.

Teaching assistants may enroll in Chicana/o Studies 495 when they receive their first teaching appointment and must enroll in Chicana/o Studies 375 each quarter in which they hold a teaching appointment. Neither of these courses may be counted toward the degree requirements.

Teaching Experience

Doctoral students are expected to fulfill at least one year of teaching experience as teaching assistants in the department.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

The written qualifying examination consists of two parts. Part one covers the student’s general knowledge of the history of the field of Chicana/o Studies. Part two covers the student’s two chosen areas of study. Students may enroll in Chicana/o Studies 597 (examination preparation) while preparing for the examination. Students who fail either part of the written qualifying examination may retake it once without petition, as early as the following quarter. Students who fail the written qualifying examination a second time will not advance to doctoral candidacy.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is required after completion of the written qualifying examination, completion of the dissertation proposal, and appointment of a doctoral committee in accord with University regulations. This examination, administered by the four-member doctoral committee, is focused on the dissertation proposal, and lasts approximately two hours.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy degree (C.Phil.) upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Full-time graduate students should normally complete the requirements for the Ph.D. degree within five years of completion of the requirements for the master’s degree, with the total time from admission to graduate status until completion of the Ph.D. being seven years.

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special departmental or program policy

A recommendation for termination is made by the vice chair for graduate studies after a vote of the faculty. Before the recommendation is sent to the Graduate Division, a student is notified in writing and given two weeks to respond in writing to the chair. An appeal is reviewed by the department’s faculty, which makes the final departmental recommendation to the Graduate Division.