Mexican American Studies

College of Social And Behavioral Sciences

When you enroll in the Bachelor of Arts in Mexican American Studies (MAS) major, you gain a deep insight into how government and public policy, minority health disparities, immigration, language, and more affect the Mexican-American population. Current U.S. demographic trends show that Mexican Americans who live and work in the Midwest, Southwest, and Southern communities also need a workforce knowledgeable about the challenges and trajectories of Mexican Americans. Students with this degree are in critical positions to inform, direct, and contribute to the progressive future of this diverse population. 

The B.A. is an interdisciplinary program designed to study, recover, and disseminate knowledge of the history, culture, and intellectual legacy of Chicanx, Mexican, Indigenous, and Latinx peoples in the United States.

Mexican American Studies as a discipline uses a social justice approach to examine evidence-based social science and cultural studies to understand barriers (past and present) to the integration of Mexican Americans into U.S. society, as well as how challenges have been overcome to emerge as the largest ethnic/linguistic group in the U.S. 

The MAS program is firmly committed to training future generations of scholars whose research is rooted in social justice through decolonial epistemologies, pedagogies, and scholarship at the intersections of race, class, gender and sexuality, colonialism, patriarchy, and their contemporary manifestations. The department works collaboratively with community organizations to address issues and produce knowledge benefiting historically marginalized communities in the U.S. and transnationally.

*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.