LALSI Curriculum

Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate major is ideal for students interested in Latin America and Latino issues who want to craft their own individualized major. The major draws on a range of courses from a wide variety of disciplines. Students can find mentors among the Latin American and Latino Studies Institute’s dedicated faculty and have an option of writing a senior thesis under their guidance. LALSI majors have gone on to law school, graduate school, careers in finance, transportation, teaching and social service. For more information on LALSI alumni, visit our alumni page.

LALSI offers an undergraduate major and minor at both Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses. Many students also choose Latin American and Latino Studies as part of a double major.

Major Requirements

The major consists of ten courses. Some Latin American and Latino Studies courses also count towards the core distributive requirements.

  • An introductory course An introductory course selected from one of the following: 
    • ANTH 3470, Peoples and Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean
    • HIST 1400, Understanding Historical Change: Latin America
    • LALS/SPAN 3005, Themes in Latino and Latin American Studies
    • PHIL 3653, Latin American Philosophy
    • POSC 3326, Latino Politics
    • POSC 3641, Latin American Politics
    • SOCI 3147, Latin America and Social Change
    • SPAN 3002: Spanish American Literature and Culture Survey
    • THEO 3847, Latino Theology
  • Two courses from the social sciences
  • Two courses from the humanities/arts
  • One upper-level elective in history
  • One capstone seminar (normally taken in the senior year)
  • Three electives
    • Competency in Spanish is normally demonstrated by taking a literature course at or above the 2001 level
    • Seniors may wish to write a senior thesis under the guidance of a program faculty member
    • Study abroad courses may count toward the major/minor. Please see section on Study Abroad

The Double Major

The LALS major is a perfect complement for other majors, particularly when these others include courses with Latin American content. There is a great deal of flexibility in combining LALS with another major and up to two courses from another major can be counted towards the LALS major.

Minor Requirements

The minor consists of six courses:

  • An introductory course An introductory course selected from one of the following: 
    • ANTH 3470, Peoples and Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean
    • HIST 1400, Understanding Historical Change: Latin America
    • LALS/SPAN 3005, Themes in Latino and Latin American Studies
    • PHIL 3653, Latin American Philosophy
    • POSC 3326, Latino Politics
    • POSC 3641, Latin American Politics
    • SOCI 3147, Latin America and Social Change
    • SPAN 3002: Spanish American Literature and Culture Survey
    • THEO 3847, Latino Theology
  • Two courses from the social sciences
  • Two courses from the humanities/arts
  • One elective
    • Competency in Spanish is normally demonstrated by taking a literature course at or above the 2001 level
    • LALSI minors may “double count” up to two courses towards their major field of study
    • Study abroad courses may count toward the major/minor. Please see section on Study Abroad.