The Latin American Studies Major

Students majoring in Latin American Studies develop both regionally and globally focused expertise by taking courses across departments.  This multi-disciplinary approach allows students flexibility in building their own fields of specialization within the major, while acquiring a strong foundation of knowledge about the region.  Latin American Studies majors go on to a variety of careers, working in the private sector and for governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the United States and Latin America in fields related to global development, foreign policy, human rights, education, public health, urban infrastructure, and rural development. Many LASP majors pursue graduate education in a variety of fields, from law, business, medicine, and public policy to the humanities and social sciences.

Students who wish to major or minor in Latin American Studies should meet with the interim director of the Latin American Studies Program to design a course of study.  The office of the interim director, David Nemer, Department of Media Studies, is in Wilson Hall 203. He can be reached at: nemer@virginia.edu. Students should contact Linda Newman in the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, New Cabell Hall, 444, linda@virginia.edu, with questions on how to declare a Latin American Studies major or minor.

Requirements for a major in Latin American Studies:

+ Language: SPAN 2020 and/or Portuguese 2120 or their equivalents.  Please note: Spanish classes at the 1000 and 2000 level do not count as part of the major's 30 credit hours requirement.  Portuguese classes at the 1000 and 2000 level can count towards EITHER   the major's required 30 credit hours OR (in the case of PORT 2120)  towards the major's language requirement, but not towards both.

+  LAST 2050 (formerly LAST4050)  Interdisciplinary Seminar in Latin American Studies.  Please note: LAST 2050 (and LAST 4050) DO count towards the 30 credit hours required for the major.

+  30 semester credits hours of courses in the Latin American field offered by the departments of Anthropology, Economics, English, French, Government and Foreign Affairs, History, Spanish, Italian, & Portuguese, and others. No more than 15 credits in any single department can be counted for the major. The major must include courses in a minimum of four departments.

Students can sign up for any classes listed in the Undergraduate Record on the web (not all classes listed there are taught every semester - see our current Course Offerings.) To count other classes as part of the major, the student needs the director’s permission. Students may be required to perform additional exercises or to submit additional material in connection with the Major Assessment Program.

Fourth-Year Research Project

Fourth-year Latin American Studies majors have the option of completing either a two-semester or one-semester final extended research project within any of the academic fields offered by the College.  This could be a long research paper or thesis, a photo essay, short film, piece of creative writing, graphic art, or a musical arrangement -- in other words, any substantive work capable of being evaluated and graded for its creative, innovative, and/or literate output pertaining to Latin American Studies.  The final project must be approved by the Director of the Latin American Studies Program and have the endorsement of a professor from the Latin American Studies Program, who will serve as the student’s project advisor in tandem with the program director.  Majors who have chosen to produce a final project shall register in their fourth year for LAST 4993 and/or LAST 4999 (3 credits each), which count toward the 30 credits required to complete the major.

Distinguished Majors Program (DMP)

The Distinguished Majors thesis is not required, but is offered as an option for students interested in specific topics of research in Latin American Studies.  Exceptional students are encouraged to investigate the program for distinguished majors.  For further information please visit Distinguished Majors Program in Latin American Studies.  Students who choose to write a DMP shall register for in their fourth year for LAST 4993 and LAST 4999 (3 credits each), which count toward the 30 credits required to complete the major.

The Declaration Process

When you are ready to declare, please email Linda Newman at linda@virginia.edu 

“The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found at http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/index.php.”