Latin American Studies

Latin American Studies is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program administered by the Faculty of Arts through First-Year & Interdisciplinary Programs (FYIP). In consultation with the program chair, students may complete a Major or a Minor in the program. Both the Major and the Minor allow students to construct interdisciplinary approaches to their programs, incorporating a range of disciplines within Arts.

Major in Latin American Studies

The Major program is designed to give students a general knowledge of and strong interdisciplinary approach to the cultures, languages, societies, geography, political systems, and history of Latin America.

Credits required for the Major: 42

Language Requirements

Students must take at least 6 credits in SPAN_V or PORT_V, whether a language course or upper-level course taught primarily in Spanish or Portuguese. Courses with the SPAN_V or PORT_V code that are taught in English do not count towards this requirement. These six credits can count toward the credit requirements required for the Major. Students with previous knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese should take a course at the appropriate level. All LAS majors are required to take 6 credits taught in a language of Latin America.

Required courses

At least 6 credits of LAST courses at any level.

Lower-Level Requirements

Students take 12 credits of courses in the Faculty of Arts with a primary focus on Latin America. Additional courses with Latin American content not listed here may be eligible towards the requirement upon consultation with the program chair.

  • LAST_V 100
  • LAST_V 201
  • LAST_V 205
  • ANTH_V 202*
  • ARTH_V 261
  • HIST_V 250
  • POLI_V 220*
  • PORT_V 222
  • SPAN_V 221
  • SPAN_V 222
  • SPAN_V 280

Upper-Level Requirements

Students take 30 credits of courses in the Faculty of Arts with a primary focus on Latin America. Additional courses with Latin American content not listed here may be eligible towards the requirement upon consultation with the program chair. The 30 credits have to include courses with at least three distinct course codes. At least 3 of these 30 credits must involve a seminar.

  • ANTH_V 303*, 323, 332*, 353, 403*, 411*
  • ARTH_V 320, 342, 370, 371, 372, 373, 440*, 471 (3)
  • FIST_V/CINE_V 332*, 430*, 434*
  • GEOG_V 395, 495
  • GRSJ_V 306*, 311, 315*, 316*, 320*, 415*
  • HIST_V 357, 358, 444, 450, 451, 453, 455, 456
  • LAST_V 301, 303, 315, 415
  • POLI_V 316*, 332
  • PORT_V 392, 405*
  • SOCI_V 301*
  • SOWK_V 440*
  • SPAN_V 312, 322, 364, 365, 404*, 405*, 406*, 450, 470, 490, 495*

*These courses are variable in content and thus may be counted toward the Major only when the topic concerns Latin America to a significant degree (approximately half of any given course). The courses will be approved by the Program Chair.

Minor in Latin American Studies

Credits required for the Minor: 24

This is an interdisciplinary program intended to provide students with a broad exposure to the cultures, histories, and societies of Latin America. Ideally, the Minor complements a major in one of the participating disciplines that comprise Latin American Studies, but it can be combined with any major program in Arts.

Required courses

At least 6 credits of LAST courses at any level.

Language Requirement

Students must take at least 3 credits in SPAN_V or PORT_V, whether a language course or upper-level course taught primarily in Spanish or Portuguese. Courses with the SPAN_V or PORT_V code that are taught in English do not count towards this requirement. These three credits can count toward the total credit requirements for the Minor. Students with previous knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese should take a course at the appropriate level. All LAS minors are required to take 3 credits taught in a language of Latin America.

Lower-Level Requirements

Students take at least 9 credits of courses in the Faculty of Arts with a primary focus on Latin America. Additional courses with Latin American content not listed here may be eligible towards the requirement upon consultation with the program chair. See above list of suitable courses, as for the Major.

Upper-Level Requirements

Students take at least 15 credits of upper-level courses with Latin American content with at least two distinct course codes. See above list of suitable courses, as for the Major.

Up to 6 credits from these courses counted towards a different major may also be counted toward the Latin American Studies Minor.


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