Graduate Programs Overview

The Department of Chicano/Latino Studies actively engages in graduate student education, research capacity building, and professional development through the following five programmatic avenues:

1. Through Our Graduate Emphasis. This program awards a certificate to Ph.D. students who wish to complement and enhance their disciplinary course of study with training in Chicano/Latino Studies. Our faculty provide direct instruction in Chicano/Latino Studies through a required core seminar (ChcLat 200A) and graduate course offerings, many of which are cross-listed with other departments. The Emphasis also hosts a professional development workshop series focused on research, writing, and pedagogical skills, as well as events to facilitate community building and discussion of the unique challenges and needs of Latina/o/é students. In these ways, the Graduate Emphasis contributes to the recruitment, retention, and success of all graduate students at UCI.
    
2. Through the UC-Cuba Multi-Campus Academic Initiative. Founded by faculty in our department and housed in CHCLAT at UCI, the initiative provides systemwide graduate students across disciplines with funding and faculty mentorship to advance research related to Cuba and its diaspora. The annual graduate student workshop provides students with opportunities to share their research, engage in professional development, form meaningful relationships with Cuba scholars across the UC, and create community with other emerging scholars in the field. Through these activities, UC Cuba contributes to the success of a diverse range of graduate students while advancing the research mission of the entire University of California system.
    
3. Through the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). PRIME-LC was established in 2004 to prepare physician-leaders with the cultural toolkit necessary to address the specific needs of Latino patients in CA. Each year, the department offers three seminar-style courses that help students understand social determinants of health and deliver culturally competent care. Our department partners with the School of Medicine and provides crucial support in medical education at UCI by helping PRIME-LC students develop an M.A. thesis and by offering community-based, health-related projects.
    
4. Through Disciplinary Advising and Mentorship. Chicano Latino Studies faculty serve as advisors, dissertation Ph.D. committee members (including as Chairs and Co-Chairs), and readers for graduate students enrolled in doctoral programs in their disciplines of training. They serve as sources of scholarly expertise on Latina/o/é communities and topics that are not always available in Ph.D. students’ “home” departments, expanding the scope and diversity of doctoral research at UCI. Faculty members in our department also provide doctoral students with valuable mentorship. In these ways, they provide essential support to other departments’ graduate programs and contribute to the retention and success of UCI graduate students.
    
5. Through Major Research Grants and Projects. Our faculty serve as principal investigators on major research grants and projects that build UCI’s capacity to provide graduate research training. They routinely hire graduate student researchers to serve on their project teams, providing hands-on training, funding, and presentation and publication opportunities. Many of these grants uplift ideals of inclusion, assuring that projects further advance the retention and success of graduate students from all backgrounds.