Eva Longoria GRADUATES -- I'm a MASTER of Chicano Studies

Eva Longoria had an interesting Wednesday night ... she GRADUATED from a master's program at Cal State University Northridge ... and TMZ has the video!

First off ... this was NO honorary degree -- 38-year-old Eva quietly busted her ass for the past 3 years (taking classes IN PERSON) to earn a master's degree in Chicano and Chicana Studies from CSUN.

A rep for Longoria tells us ... Eva began the program while she was still working on "Desperate Housewives" and found time to complete her schoolwork on the set.

We're told Eva's thesis was titled, "Success STEMS From Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers." FYI -- STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

After the ceremony, Eva celebrated like any other student -- she went out to dinner with her parents!

She also tweeted about the graduation yesterday -- writing, "Big day today!!! Very excited to graduate for my Master's degree in Chicano Studies! You're never too old or too busy to continue your education!"