Latino Studies at UT Austin

Latino Studies at UT Austin Latinx research and teaching at the University of Texas at Austin.

Born out of the activism of the civil rights movement, the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) was established in June 1970, with Professor Américo Paredes as one of its principal founders and first director. The establishment of CMAS represents the institutional recognition that the Mexican American people are important in the history of the United States. CMAS engages in community outreac

h efforts throughout the academic year that include hosting various lecture series, organizing an extensive public programming calendar, and fostering a variety of community and research partnerships. We thank you for visiting our page and invite you to learn more about CMAS and Mexican American studies at The University of Texas at Austin.

06/02/2026

As long as you’re on a crash course learning all things UT Austin, here’s one more critical piece of info: 📣 Latino Studies courses ROCK! 🤘🏽📚✨

Being Latine/a/o/x in this country is complicated, powerful, and rich with history, culture, politics, creativity, and resistance. That’s what our amazing faculty research and teach every day. When you step into a Latino Studies classroom, you become a vital part of that process. YOUR questions, perspectives, and lived experiences bring the curriculum to life. 🧡🤍

Find a way to fit a MAS course into your Fall 2026 schedule. You won’t be disappointed.

Our classes are open to all UT Longhorns! 🤠 Check out the link in bio to explore our digital course catalog with full course descriptions.

¡Bienvenidos UT Class of 2030! 🐂🔥

05/18/2026

🙏 Con permiso, but please don’t tell us it’s time to stop posting UT Austin graduation content, because honestly, we’re not done celebrating. 🤘🏽🎓✨

We’re still honoring these devoted graduates from the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies with our whole hearts. 🧡 We know they will carry what they’ve learned in Latino Studies into the world and do extraordinary things. 🌎✨

“Now you go out there and show them what a Latina, Latino, Latinx from the University of Texas at Austin can do!” — Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, 2026 MALS Commencement Speaker and Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies

Selected photos by 📸

🤘🏽🎓

✨Just one look 👀 at the expressions on these faces tells you how much it means to be a 2026 graduate of the 🎓Department ...
05/15/2026

✨Just one look 👀 at the expressions on these faces tells you how much it means to be a 2026 graduate of the 🎓Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. 🎓✨

These memories will be cherished for a lifetime, and the education our graduates earned will carry them far ✊🏽, empowering✊🏽them to make the world a better place. 🤘🏻🤘🏼¡What starts here changes the world! 🤘🏽🤘🏾

📸 Thank you for capturing these unforgettable moments. 🥹

Everyone is invited to experience the joy and magic of this beautiful ceremony by watching the full recording linked from our website 🎥. Link in bio 🔗

05/12/2026

🧡✨Can’t stop talking about the fantastic group of grads🎓 we celebrated this past Saturday! The house was packed, and believe us, there were not many dry eyes in the room. Check out what these scholars had to say about their academic journey with MALS to see why.📚
Natalie Isabel Gonzales:
“I went in my junior year with an undeclared minor, and I decided to sign up for a MALS class with Dr. Maria Cotera. This class educated me not only on the history of the Mexican-American pioneers that fought for their place in higher education during the 1960s student protests 📢 that connected with me as being half-Mexican, but also to the ongoing spaces that are looking for revolutionary college students with the fight in them to foster the true representation of my Salvadoran-half.🇸🇻🇲🇽I hope to add to the current influx of revolutionary academics that want to be a part of initiating the conversation of Central American Studies in rooms that would’ve be spoken otherwise.” 🗣️🤍
Devin Garza:
“During my time at UT, MALS and Latino Studies have been grounding spaces that affirmed both my identity and my purpose. MALS has given me more than just knowledge, it has given me community, representation, and a deeper connection to my roots.✊It reminded me how important it is to see ourselves reflected in what we study, and how powerful it is to learn in spaces that value our histories and voices.” 🎓✨
Paul E. Kimball III:
“What I value most is the unwavering support and encouragement from my professors. They consistently challenged me to think more critically and pushed me to grow, while also taking the time to offer genuine guidance and care.🤝🧡Their mentorship went beyond the classroom, they were always available, always invested, and always willing to share honest advice that helped me navigate both my academic path and my personal development.”
Hannah Vazquez:
“I’d like to give thanks to Professor Wanda Hernandez for believing in me and helping me through my graduate school process. To Professor Angie Gutierrez, for continually inspiring and pushing me to learn more about immigration policies.✍️She helped me solidify a passion for policy and political science.”🤘🏽🤘🏾🤟🏿

05/12/2026

A ondas, graduates! 🎓🧡✨ We are so proud to celebrate each of you and honor this incredible milestone with the MALS and Longhorn community. 🤘🏽📚

Swipe through to meet some of our graduating students and read highlights from their reflections below. 💫

Valeria Morales Tovar: 
“After graduation, I plan to attend law school and eventually give back to my community using the knowledge I’ve gained. ⚖️📖 I originally came to UT as a CNS girlie 🔬, but MALS ended up shaping my beliefs, values, and who I am as a person. Through these classes, I realized that learning can help us make a difference.” 🌎✨

Madison Wright:
“Within MALS, I found a true sense of belonging 🤎 — a community where I felt seen, supported, and comfortable embracing my identity. Professor C.J. Alvarez’s culturally responsive teaching transformed the way I learn and connect to education.” 📚✨

Danette Hidalgo Solis:
“Gracias a todos que lo hicieron posible! 🧡 MALS strengthened my decision to pursue social work 🤝🏽 and help the communities that raised me.”

Abigail Holguin:
“I’ll be attending law school this fall ⚖️🍂 with hopes of practicing immigration law one day. MALS deepened my passion for advocacy and helping migrant communities.”🗣️🤎

Natalia Guerrero:
“As a first-generation graduate 🎓✨, I am a testament to my family’s resilience and sacrifices. 🤎 MALS helped me find community, clarify my goals, and better understand how I can serve others through ethnic studies and political science.”📚🗳️

Congratulations, Class of 2026! 🎉🧡 Your stories, resilience, and commitment to community inspire us every day. 🤘🏽✨

🎉 ¡Te Aventaste! 🎉 This light-hearted gathering brings our community together each year to recognize and reflect on the ...
05/07/2026

🎉 ¡Te Aventaste! 🎉 This light-hearted gathering brings our community together each year to recognize and reflect on the significant 👏personal and professional milestones 🏆 accomplished by Latino Studies students faculty, affiliates, students and staff.



Coming together at the end of the semester this year to celebrate felt especially meaningful, as we recognized 🙌 our community’s resilience, spirit and courage 🙌 during challenging times. Exceptional work continues to define Latino Studies across all three units: the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, the Center for Mexican American Studies, and the Latino Research Institute. 🗣️

The Spanish phase ✨ te aventaste ✨ is often used metaphorically to recognize someone who took a bold step or accomplished something exceptional. 🤩Literally, the verb "aventar" translates as “to throw” or “to push.” 💪

🥳 ¡Felicidades a todos! 🎊

05/04/2026

🎓✨​ It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating MALS 2025 graduates! Now it's time to celebrate the brilliance, resilience, and achievements of our 2026 MALS graduates. They've worked so hard for this moment, let's show up and show out for them! 🧡

🎓 The Thirty-First Annual MALS Graduation Ceremony
📌 William C. Powers Jr. Student Activity Center, Room 1.402
🗓 Saturday, May 9, 2026
⏰ Ceremony begins at 10AM
🫔 Reception with food, dancing and festivities to follow, hosted by the Center for Mexican American Studies

#2026

🧠 The Latino Research Institute presents "Understanding Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) in Latino and Bilingual Popula...
05/01/2026

🧠 The Latino Research Institute presents "Understanding Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) in Latino and Bilingual Populations," a fact sheet developed in collaboration with Dr. Stephanie Grasso, PhD, CCC-SLP; Oriana Lozano Castro, MGPS; and Guadalupe Cantu, MPaff.

The fact sheet provides an overview of PPA, including its symptoms, diagnosis, and the ways bilingualism intersects with the condition.

Key takeaways include:

🗣️ Emerging research suggests that bilingualism may delay the onset of PPA symptoms, but it can also make early signs more difficult to recognize, potentially complicating diagnosis.

💬 Access to culturally and linguistically responsive speech-language pathologists (SLPs), or interpreters when needed, can support more personalized and effective therapy.

🧠 Unlike other forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, PPA affects a person’s speech and communication skills in its early stages, rather than memory.

👩‍⚕️ While there is no cure for PPA, early diagnosis, along with speech-language therapy, can help manage symptoms and support quality of life.

🔗 Visit our website to read the full news story on Dr. Stephanie Grasso’s research and explore the white paper behind this fact sheet. https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lri/news/ongoing-research-explores-primary-progressive-aphasia-ppa-in-bilingual-communities

Oriana Lozano Castro College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austin

05/01/2026

🎉 Latino Studies had the privilege of hosting a retirement celebration for Dr. Mary "Maggie" Rivas-Rodriguez on April 23rd. 🎉

Members from our extended UT community and across Austin gathered to honor her dedication to preserving Latino voices and histories over 27 years at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Rivas-Rodriguez is director of the Center for Mexican American Studies in Latino Studies at UT Austin, a professor in the School of Journalism and Media, and founder and director of the Voces Oral History Center, where she has built one of the nation’s most extensive collections of Latino oral histories, housed in the Benson Latin American Collection. Her retirement will begin in Fall 2026.

We will miss her dearly!

❤️❤️❤️

Voces Oral History Center Benson Latin American Collection

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210 W 24th Street
Austin, TX
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