The Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) is an interdisciplinary program, involving multiple departments within the College of Arts and Sciences, which provides a specialized concentration focusing on Latin America and Latinos in the US. This program, housed within the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies, offers students a wide range of course options that examine Latin American societies from the perspective of their history, social structure, economic and political structures, literature, art, and culture. The fifteen-hour program may be completed as a "stand alone" program, or in conjunction with other graduate programs.

Admissions Requirements and Process

Applicants need to have completed an undergraduate baccalaureate degree granted by a United States institution of higher education or its equivalent in another country. To be accepted into the LALS Graduate Certificate Program, students must meet the standard criteria for general admission to the University of Louisville School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies, and supply all standard documentation required for admission. Students wishing to pursue the graduate certificate in conjunction with a graduate degree program in another UofL department should first apply and be admitted to the degree program before applying for admission to the LALS Graduate Certificate Program. The Director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program will interview each student as part of the application process and an Admissions Committee will review applications and decide if a student may be recommended to the LALS Graduate Certificate Program.

Curriculum Requirements

1. The minimum requirement for completion of the LAS graduate certificate is 15 credit hours.

2. Three of the five required courses must be taken at the 600 level.

3. Of the 15 required credit hours, students must take courses with a substantial Latin American content from at least three different disciplines. These may include the following disciplines, but could include others if a course is offered with a substantial Latin American content: Anthropology, Art History, History, Humanities, Linguistics, Modern Languages, Pan-African Studies, Political Science, Portuguese, and Spanish, and Women's and Gender Studies.

4. Of the 15 required credit hours, students must take at least one course from the following list: LAS 680 Issues in Latin America, Spanish 670: Special Topics (seminar with a Latin American topic), Political Science 647: Seminar on Latin America, or History 503/PAS 510: Race Class, and Identity in Latin America.

5. Students must meet a minimum language requirement of three hours of Spanish or Portuguese at the 200 level or above, or demonstrate equivalent language proficiency.

6. A single course may satisfy more than one requirement.

7. Substitutions may be made at the discretion of the Director of Latin American and Latino Studies.

8. Course work toward the graduate certificate in LALS may also count toward the student's graduate degree.

9. Students may not apply 500-level courses taken for undergraduate credit.

 Additional courses with substantial Latin American content, which are not listed below, may also be taken to fulfill the requirements for the LALS Graduate Certificate. This list is updated regularly on the LALS Website: http://louisville.edu/latinamericanstudies