University of North Texas 
The Latina/o & Mexican American Studies (LMAS) program mission is to create a student-centered, stimulating and innovative environment to advance and support the teaching, research and advocacy of LMAS knowledge at the University of North Texas. Goals of the LMAS academic program include providing students with an understanding of the implications of Latina/o and Mexican-America past, current, and future history and culture on regional communities and beyond.
LMAS is an interdisciplinary field designed to provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to examine the historical and contemporary experiences of Latinas/os in the United States. The curriculum promotes knowledge, and appreciation of the politics, history, language, culture, literature, sociology, anthropology, economics, and creative (art, dance, drama, film, music) accomplishments in Latina/o communities.
The interdisciplinary nature of Latina/o & Mexican American Studies at UNT allows students to diversify their course work across multiple departments such as Anthropology, Economics, Dance & Theater, English, History, Political Science, and Spanish.
Background:
The Latinx and Mexican-American Studies (LMAS) Program started in the Fall 2013 as an initiative under the jurisdiction of Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann, Senior Vice-Provost, Provost and VP Academic Affairs of UNT. Through this initiative, an LMAS Committee was created that consisted of the following faculty members:
Dr. Alicia Re Cruz, UNT Anthropology Department;
Dr. Valerie Martinez-Ebers, UNT Department of Political Science;
Dr. Roberto Calderon, UNT Department of History;
Dr. Mariela Nuñez-Janes, UNT Department of Anthropology;
Dr. Javier Jaime Rodriguez, UNT Department of English,
Dr. Lorenzo Garcia, UNT Department of Dance and Theatre.
An Interim Director, Dr. Leticia Anaya, Senior Lecturer from the UNT Department of Engineering Technology, was selected to implement the initiative and to start up the LMAS Program. Valerie Martinez-Ebers was the appointed director from 2015 to 2024. Diego Esparza was appointed in the 2024-2025 schoolyear. Briefly, the UNT LMAS Program offers:
Students majoring in LLAS examine the culture, history, economics, policy/politics, language, literature, sociology, anthropology, economics, and creative accomplishments of Hispanics/Latinos. In addition to the university core curriculum, students take four required courses (12 hours), four courses (12 hours) in at least two of the three elective areas and also complete either an internship and/or senior research paper (6 hours). The major requires a total of 30 hours. The required classes provide a foundation for understanding the socio-economic and political experiences of Latinos/as in the United States. The elective tracks deepen students' knowledge of Latina/os in the areas of: 1) culture and humanities; 2) policy and politics; or 3) country of origins study.