Master of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies

at Shorelight Group - University of Illinois at Chicago USA

Earth and environmental science majors and minors study the processes that occur at Earth's surface and in its interior, the evolution of these processes over time, and the solids, liquids, and gases that make up Earth materials. Earth is viewed as a dynamic body, with continual exchange of materials and energy among the planet’s interior and exterior, atmosphere, oceans, and life. Understanding  these Earth system processes is essential for evaluating the global environment, its natural variability, and changes that result from human activities.

A degree in earth and environmental sciences may lead to employment in industry, in the public sector, or in education. Many earth scientists establish careers in areas that are environmentally related, which may include the prevention, control, and remediation of pollutants from water and soil. Others work at predicting and preventing problems associated with natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, and volcanic eruptions. Employment possibilities also exist in the exploration, use, and management of resources such as water, metals, petroleum, and coal.

The fundamental goal of the science of physics is to develop a basic and comprehensive understanding and description of all forms of matter and energy. This goal is pursued through experimental and theoretical investigations, with experimental results pointing the way toward possible new theories and tentative theories suggesting new experiments. Physics occupies a middle ground between mathematics and engineering, using the techniques of the former and providing new ideas and materials (structures and properties) to the latter.

The Department of Physics offers the Bachelor of Science in Physics (Curriculum in Physics) and the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Major in Physics.

Industrial engineers find ways to make complex processes and systems work better. They help operations to run more efficiently and more safely, leading to improvements in the products we use every day, people’s jobs, and human satisfaction.

As an industrial engineer, you might design and implement better ways of doing things or making things. You might find ways to improve the value or profit of goods that we use every day. You also could oversee project management, devise improvements to manufacturing plants and factories, or harness the power of data to imaging the next generation of processes.

If you’ve ever looked at something and said to yourself, “I see a smarter way they could do this,” you could have the makings of a great industrial engineer.

Chemical engineering answers the question of what chemistry can do to improve the world around us. Chemical engineers are problem-solvers who take raw materials and turn them into useful materials. Our undergraduate program includes a thorough immersion in the core concepts of chemistry—general, organic, physical, and analytical—followed by a series of upper-level chemical engineering courses that develop your ability to apply these concepts to develop new, innovative solutions to engineering problems.

The coursework in our program culminates in the Senior Design course, in which student teams, working with industry mentors, put their knowledge to work on a real-world issue that matters to them. Recent projects have focused on creating biofuels from wood chips, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by using chemical solvents to capture carbon dioxide, and meeting an increasing global demand for the chemical propylene. Senior Design projects offer a true opportunity to pick a cause you are passionate about and spend two semesters working on it—and the experience often proves valuable when applying for full-time jobs.

UIC chemical engineering also is home to a concentration in biochemical engineering, which is of particular interest to students who love not only chemistry, but also biology. This concentration helps to position students for jobs or further study at the intersection of bioengineering and chemical engineering.

The MS program in Bioengineering provides education in the research and development of systems using modern engineering concepts and methods. These methods apply modern technology to problems of living systems and health care.

The human-centered computing concentration prepares students to pursue areas such as user-interface design and development and computer graphics and animation. Applications of these skills might include video games, movie special effects, and visualization in science, engineering, and medicine. In addition to the fundamental areas of computer science—programming, data structures, discrete mathematics, algorithms, formal languages, computer architecture, and operating systems—the concentration educates students in user-interface design, computer graphics, visual media, and natural language processing.

The Department of Art History introduces students to the study of both the built environment and the various forms of art and design. A major in Art History emphasizes visual as well as verbal and written literacy, which are critically important in a global society. A large selection of courses covers all periods of history and most of the world’s cultures. The study of Art History fosters skills that can serve as a foundation for careers in professions as diverse as law, medicine, and business. Alumni work in a variety of professions, including teaching, publishing, arts administration, museums, galleries, historic preservation, art libraries, journalism, advertising, and art conservation. Graduates from the program may consider a Master of Arts in Art History or Museum and Exhibition Studies at UIC or other prestigious universities.

The degree offers an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of Latin American societies and historical minorities and immigrants of Latin American descent living in the United States. It encourages an approach that ranges across the social sciences, humanities, literature and the arts, cultural studies, and history. The M.A. will train students to reflect on and engage with social issues of contemporary importance in the study of Latin American and Latino populations such as globalization, colonialism, postcolonialism, transnationalism, immigration, development, and equality as well as questions related to identity and membership, including race, culture, nationality, and gender.

The program will offer a unique set of research courses to prepare students, including a semester placement with a community-based organization in which students will be conducting research. Thus, the main goal of the M.A. is that students learn a series of specialized skills that place them on a solid career path, both in academic and non-academic settings

Why study Latin American & Latino Studies at UIC?

• Chicago is a unique city to study these topics. Over a million Latin Americans and Latinos live in the Chicago Metropolitan area. Virtually every Latin American nationality is represented. Ties with home countries are strong and there are numerous cultural and advocacy organizations.
• Our Program is also a member of Inter-University Program on Latino Research which offers a series of learning and professional opportunities to students. We currently host the IUPLR/Mellon Fellowship Program supporting doctoral students in the humanities writing a dissertation Latinx-related topics. Our Graduate Concentration also brings interested students from other departments at UIC to our program and classes, contributing to the richness of our scholarly milieu.

Bioinformatics develops methods and computing tools for understanding biological data. As an integrative field of science, bioinformatics combines computer science, statistics, mathematics and engineering to analyze and interpret biological data.