In January 2019, El Instituto and the Department of Public Policy (DPP) debuted two new joint Masters degree programs in Public Administration (MPA) and Latina/o & Latin American Studies and Public Policy (MPP) and Latina/o & Latin American Studies.
The objective of the joint MPA/MPP and Latina/o & Latin American Studies degree programs is to prepare students with functional skills and knowledge in public administration and public policy and at the same time engage them in interdisciplinary study and in-depth research related to Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American worlds.
These joint Masters degree programs permit students to complete the requirements for the two MAs in three years rather than the four years it would take to complete both degrees separately.
Exciting research opportunities are available for students in this program to devise their own studies and contribute to UConn faculty research into the status of Latinx and Latin American populations. Our aim is to graduate Latinx and Latin American community-serving applied researchers, who are endowed with both the analytic and intercultural/international skills to address the information needs of policymakers, social service providers, and intergovernmental and non-governmental human development and social justice organizations.
If you are interested in applying for one of these joint Masters degree programs, you need to apply to, and be accepted to, both El Instituto’s and DPP’s graduate programs. Graduate stipends and tuition waivers from El Instituto are competitively available to students admitted to our International Studies MA with a concentration in Latina/o and Latin American Studies. Support through El Instituto is also competitively available for exploratory field research (typically done in the summer after year one in the Latina/o and Latin American Studies program). In year three of the program, DPP offers funding for students to do internships with employers in their preferred public administration or public policy area of specialization.
For more information please write to El Instituto: elinstituto@uconn.edu, or the Department of Public Policy: dpp@uconn.edu.