The Latin American Studies program provides students the flexibility to design a major that combines courses from several departments across campus. Add career training to the analytical skills of a liberal arts education through core courses and a range of relevant electives.

Major Requirements

A total of 48 credits are required for the Latin American studies major:

• 40 of the 48 credits must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C- or better. (Up to eight credits may be taken pass/no pass.)
• 36 of the 48 credits must be upper-division (300- or 400-level).
• 28 of the 48 credits must be taken at the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, OR.

Note these additional parameters for the LAS major:

• Limit on multiple department credits: No more than 16 credits from any single department can count toward the major.
• Limit on LAS credits focused on United States topics: No more than 16 credits in courses related to United States Latino studies or US Hispanic culture or society can count toward the major.
• Social science credits required: Eight of the 48 credits must be from the Social Sciences, other than History and LAS (ANTH, EC, ENVS, ES, EURO, GEOG, GLBL, PS, SOC, WGS).
• Pre-1800s credits required: A minimum of eight credits must be earned through completion of a course or courses whose focus is on Pre-1800s Latin America. Take one of the following courses to satisfy this requirement: LAS 200*, HIST 380*, HIST 381*, HIST 480, HIST 482, SPAN 341, SPAN 342*, or SPAN 343*. *NOTE: If any of these courses are taken as required courses for the LAS major, they cannot also apply toward elective total credits, though they may be used to satisfy the Pre-1800s Latin America requirement.
• Limit on Individualized Study credits: Eight credits maximum may be independent study or internship credit
• Allowances for Study Abroad and Study Away (i.e.,Escuela Helvetia) Credits: Eight credits may be earned through successful completion of pre-approved courses in a study abroad program at an accredited Latin American college or university, a faculty-led field school; transfer credits from universities outside Latin America are considered individually, following existing procedures in appropriate departments for determining their equivalence to UO courses

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Core Courses

Students must complete core courses for a total of 28 credits.

One Required Introduction Course (4 credits)

Preferred course:

• LAS 200 Introduction to Latin American Studies*

Substitution options for current major:

• PS 330 Governments and Politics in Latin America

One Additional Required 200-Level Course (4 credits)

Preferred courses options:

• LAS 211 Latin American Humanities: [course title varies]

Substitution options for current major:

• PHIL 342 Introduction to Latin American Philosophy

One Required 400-Level Course (4 credits)

Preferred course:

• LAS 407 Seminar: [course title varies]

Substitution options for current major:

• GLBL 446 Development and Social Change in Latin America
• SPAN 490 20th-Century Latin American Literature: [course title varies]

Two Required Hispanic Cultures through Literature SPAN Courses (8 credits)

Two of the following courses satisfy this requirement:

• SPAN 342 Hispanic Cultures through Literature II*
• SPAN 343 Hispanic Cultures through Literature III*
• SPAN 344 Hispanic Cultures through Literature IV

Substitution options for current major (exceptionally granted—not encouraged):

• ENG 363 Chicano and Latino Writers
• SPAN 341 Hispanic Cultures through Literature*
• SPAN 348 Latinx Culture and Society

Two Required Latin America History Courses (8 credits)

Two of the following courses satisfy this requirement:

• HIST 380 Latin America
• HIST 381 Latin America
• HIST 382 Latin America

Substitution options for current major (exceptionally granted—not encouraged):

• HIST 480 Mexico*
• HIST 483 Latin America: [course title varies]

*These courses satisfy the pre-1800 requirement for LAS majors.

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Electives

When picking courses, students should keep in mind breadth requirements as well as upper-division course requirements. Take four or more of the courses listed below as approved electives:

**Required courses: exceptional substitution, not encouraged.

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Language Requirement

In addition to the minimum of 48 credits in required and elective courses, all majors are required to demonstrate a third-year level of proficiency in Spanish, Portuguese, or an Indigenous language from the LAS area of study.

Students will need to complete (with a grade of C– or better or P) the basic two years of college-level language courses, plus at least four 300-level courses taught in the respective foreign language. Examples of courses that would satisfy this for the Spanish language include:

• SPAN 301 Cultura y Lengua: Identidades Hispanas
• SPAN 303 Cultura y lengua: Expresiones Artisticas
• SPAN 305 Cultura y lengua: Cambios Sociales
• SPAN 343 Hispanic Cultures through Literature III
• SPAN 344 Hispanic Cultures through Literature IV

Note: Upper-division language courses are not pre-approved as electives for the LAS major. Upper-division language courses may be considered as substitutions on an exception basis for elective credit for the LAS major if the student has already completed their language requirement. Advisors are authorized to review, consider, and approve, when applicable, such substitution requests.

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