Latin American Studies

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OFFICE: Room 1, Gildred Latin American Studies Building,
Institute of the Americas Complex
http://cilas.ucsd.edu

The Latin American Studies Program

UC San Diego’s program in Latin American studies has attained national and international distinction for its excellence in teaching, research, and public service. Each year its faculty offers approximately 100 Latin America-related courses in fourteen academic departments, and the Latin American Studies Program offers three interdisciplinary degrees:

Latin American studies at UCSD offers distinct advantages:

Degree programs in Latin American studies are supervised by an interdisciplinary faculty group under the direction of the director and program director of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies.

The Curricular Program

Undergraduate Major in Latin American Studies

The bachelor of arts in Latin American studies blends coverage of methodological and theoretical approaches to the study of Latin America with a broad foundation in the humanities and social sciences. Students receiving this degree will be prepared for private and government employment or for graduate training; the major also provides a valuable supplement for those who subsequently pursue professional degrees in business, law, engineering, medicine, or other fields.

To satisfactorily complete the B.A. degree, students must take a broad range of courses from at least three of UCSD’s humanities and social science departments. The collection of courses should be structured so as to provide both depth in a special area of study and breadth across the broader field. Students must also demonstrate proficiency in Spanish.

All students entering the major must enroll in LATI 50 “Introduction to Latin America,” an interdisciplinary course that prepares majors to build a coherent curriculum on Latin America. During the senior year, all B.A. candidates are required to successfully complete LATI 190, a writing seminar. This course will culminate in the preparation of an interpretive paper based on the secondary analysis of existing scholarly research (approximately twenty to forty pages in length). As part of the overall requirements, students are strongly encouraged to enroll in four credits of Individual Study (LATI 199) with a member of the Latin Americanist faculty, who will serve as the student’s principal advisor.

All upper-division courses applied to the requirements of the major must be taken for a letter grade (with the sole exception of LATI 199). A 2.0 grade-point average is required in the major, and students must earn at least a C– in each course counted for the major.

Students majoring in Latin American studies are also urged to minor in a core discipline such as anthropology, economics, history, literature, political science, or sociology. In summary, the requirements for the bachelor of arts in Latin American studies are:

Lower-Division Requirements

  1. The equivalent of at least two years of college-level language instruction in Spanish, comparable to satisfactory completion of Literature/Spanish 2C; students who satisfy this requirement are strongly encouraged to study Portuguese.
  2. LATI 50: Introduction to Latin America

Upper-Division Requirements

  1. Eleven upper-division courses selected from the approved interdisciplinary course list for Latin American studies as follows:
    1. Course work must be in at least three departments.
    2. At least three courses must be from one department.
    3. No more than five courses from one department will count for credit.
    4. At least two courses must concentrate exclusively on periods earlier than the twentieth century.
  2. Enrollment in the four-credit Senior Seminar (LATI 190), usually to be taken in the winter quarter of the senior year; satisfactory completion of a substantial paper is required of all graduating majors.
  3. Maintain a 2.0 grade-point average, earning at least a C– in each course counting for the major. With the sole exception of LATI 199, all courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Honors in Latin American Studies

The Latin American Studies Program offers an Honors Program for students who demonstrate excellence in the major. In order to receive Honors in Latin American Studies a student must

  1. Satisfy all lower-division requirements of the major program;
  2. Complete nine upper-division courses selected from the Approved Interdisciplinary Course List for Latin American Studies as follows:
    1. Course work must be in at least three departments.
    2. At least three courses must be from one department.
    3. No more than five courses from one department will count for credit.
    4. At least two courses must concentrate exclusively on periods earlier than the twentieth century.
  3. Complete a three-course sequence in the senior year consisting of Individual Study, the Senior Seminar, and the Honors Seminar (LATI 199, 190, and 191, respectively);
  4. Produce an original thesis based on primary research under the direction of a mentor selected from the Latin Americanist faculty, and defend this thesis during the spring quarter before an interdisciplinary faculty committee; and
  5. Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major.

Undergraduate Minor in Latin American Studies

The Latin American studies minor allows students to explore interdisciplinary approaches to a significant world region while pursuing a major in an academic discipline. To complete the program, students take at least seven classes (twenty-eight units) in Latin American studies, five (twenty units) of which must be upper-division. These courses need to be approved Latin American studies classes from the humanities and social sciences. All classes need to be taken for a letter grade and satisfactorily completed.

Education Abroad

Students in Latin American studies are encouraged to participate in the Education Abroad Program (EAP) in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, or Mexico, or in other study abroad programs offered by the Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP). Subject to approval by petition after courses have been completed (based on syllabi and course work), courses taken through EAP/OAP will be accepted for credit toward the major or minor. The equivalent of six UCSD upper-division courses can be petitioned for credit toward the major, and a maximum of two UCSD upper-division courses can be petitioned for credit toward the minor.

Students interested in studying abroad should see the Latin American studies student affairs coordinator to discuss appropriate courses and programs for their plan of study before they leave. They should also visit the following Web site: http://pao.ucsd.edu/acadint/CILASabroad.htm. Information on EAP/OAP is given in the “Education Abroad Program” section of the UC San Diego General Catalog. Interested students should contact the Programs Abroad Office in the International Center and visit its Web site at http://pao.ucsd.edu. Financial aid can be used for EAP/OAP study, and special study-abroad scholarships are also available.