Course summary

Students come to the Centre of Latin American Studies from Britain, Latin America and across the world, attracted by the reputation of Cambridge as a world-class university, and by the rigour and breadth of the MPhil course. The hallmark of the Cambridge MPhil course is the personal attention paid to students' needs: teaching is generally done in small groups and can often accommodate students' interests. During the preparation of the dissertation, you will work closely with a supervisor whose own research expertise lies close to your chosen field of study. The MPhil course of study includes lectures, seminars and individual supervision, with teaching provided by University and College Lecturers. The MPhil comprises a Core Course and four taught modules of your choice. The assessment takes the form of three assessed essays of 5,000 words and a 15,000-word dissertation. A background in literary or cultural studies, anthropology, modern languages, area studies, history or economics, sociology, politics or development is useful but not essential. Evidence of interest in or commitment to Latin America is expected. This course is designed to meet the needs of two groups: those who have developed an interest in Latin America through study or work and wish to develop this for personal or professional reasons, and those who intend to proceed to a doctorate, and possibly an academic career in the field. The course seeks to provide participants with a critical understanding of Latin America in all its complexity, and of the means and methods that have been devised to study and understand it better. This is achieved through the three main elements of the course: A core course, highlighting key critical issues in Latin American Studies and providing a forum for interdisciplinary debate; Modules in a range of different fields, of which each student selects four, providing some sense of contrasting disciplinary methods; A dissertation of approximately 15,000 words, providing an opportunity to study a topic in depth. The dissertation is a very substantial element of the M.Phil. course, and the examination process and criteria for the assessment of the thesis are accordingly rather more stringent than on Master’s programmes at most other Universities, where (in the UK) the thesis typically represents only a quarter of the year’s work. In particular, there is a requirement for originality, which must be met either by research using primary sources (documents, interviews, official publications, or the like) or else by developing a distinctive approach to an existing debate or literature. This is consistent with the aim of the dissertation, which is to develop advanced skills in research and expression.