The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Option in Latin American Studies

Using science, the arts and technology for innovation and empowerment

The GIS Option in Latin American Studies is for very motivated students who wish to pursue careers in a wide variety of fields that would benefit from the culturally sensitive application of technological skills in geo-spatial analysis, digital cartography and geographic information systems (GIS).

The GIS Option allows students to learn and apply the skills of Geographic Information Science in field contexts in Latin America, the Caribbean, and U.S. Latino/Caribbean communities.

GIS is used by policy analysts, planners, natural scientists in many fields, and increasingly, community organizations and NGOs. 

The GIS- LAS combination combines technical skills with the cultural-institutional knowledge of area studies. It imparts contextual knowledge and methodologies that are both  scientific and reflexive.

Some of the areas of specialization include:

• Sustainability and Innovation,
• Security Studies,
• Politics and Political Communication,
• Creative Industries and Journalism,
• and Global Interactions.

 One of the most marketable among the new information technology skill sets, GIS  has already been used by UM students to map HIV incidence in the Dominican Republic, land cover change in Ecuador related to oil extraction, polluted wells in Massachusetts, teen pregnancy rates across Miami-Dade County, and incidences of Xenophobic violence in South Africa.

Projects under development include a mapping of Miami-Dade County arts organizations and Cuban theater groups in the United States.

 

The curriculum

The MA in Latin American Studies is a 30-credit Master of Arts program that can be completed in two semesters and a summer.

Students enrolling in the GIS Option take the 6-credit LAS core, the 9-credit GIS core , a tailored track of electives worth 9 credits, and then an applied field project worth 6 credits. The breakdown for these credits are usually as follows:

Fall Semester (12 credits):

• LAS 501 (3 credits) – Inter-disciplinarity in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
• GEG 599 (3 credits) – Introduction to GIS
• 2 LAS electives  (6 credits)

Spring Semester (12 credits):

• LAS 502 (3 credits) – Research Methodologies in LAS.
• GEG 591 (3 credits) – Intermediate GIS
• GEG  592 (3 credits) – Environmental Remote Sensing. Or appropriate GIS or methods elective.
• 1 LAS elective with GIS part of project (3 credits)

Summer Semester A and B (6 credits)

• LAS 5XX – Field Project in Latin American Studies. (6 credits)

Language Requirement – Students must pass a language competency exam in a language of the region other than English. Passage of an advanced language course will be counted in place of an exam. Students entering the program without these skills may need an additional  semester of coursework to meet this requirement.