Chicano and Latin American Studies

Latin American Studies Major

Mission

The Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies program supports and furthers the California State University’s commitment to diversity, internationalization, and inclusion. The major is designed to offer an interdisciplinary area studies program that provides students the opportunity to take courses in several departments, introducing them to different perspectives, and approaches to the study of Latin America.

Why Study Latin America?

Latin American Studies is exciting area of academic activity that attracts students from a wide range of disciplines and interests, including history, music, film and media studies, economics, languages, geography, politics, anthropology, international relations, sociology and literature.

Latin Americanists are interested primarily in the region or individual countries, giving them a well-rounded knowledge of the region and their specialist area. The interdisciplinary nature of Latin American Studies encourages students to think in a fluid way about issues and events, borrowing ideas from different academic approaches.

Students of Latin America study important traditional topics, such as poverty, injustice and inequality, but also exciting contemporary developments. As such, Latin American Studies provides students with an important window on power, society, and life beyond the region, creating an opportunity to bring important new perspectives to the study of so-called developed countries.

Career Opportunities

The B.A. in Latin American Studies will prepare students for a wide variety of jobs in different fields, including:

the private sector, with an emphasis in international business or specialized focus on Latin America
government agencies
international agency service
the non-profit sector
teaching in the social science, humanities, or language fields
graduate work

Major, Double Major, and Minor

Latin American Major

Students seeking the B.A. degree will take a core set of courses offered by the Departments of Chicano and Latin American Studies, History, and Economics. Majors are required to see a CLAS advisor during their first semester on campus.

Latin American Double Major

Students seeking a double B.A. degree will take a core set of courses offered by the Departments of Chicano and Latin American Studies, History, and Economics. Double majors can have the Latin American B.A. as either a primary or secondary major. Double majors are required to see a CLAS advisor during their first semester on campus.

Minor

Students are encouraged to focus on an area of interest in Latin America, such as a country, region, or social issue affecting a particular region. The Latin American Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary program consisting of courses dealing with Latin America and the Caribbean with course offerings from several departments.