Academic Planning: Latin American Area Studies

The top 5 things to consider when planning a major in latin american area studies

  1. Anyone interested in Latin American Area Studies (LAAS) as a major must register with the LAAS coordinator (Adam Coon, [email protected]). In addition to required courses, students must complete 24 electives credits for majors (with at least 12 credits at the advanced level) and 20 credits for minors in 3 different disciplines. Thus, LAAS complements many majors and explores a wide range of opportunities to become familiar with Latin America’s diversity.
  2. The only prerequisite/sequence for LAAS is 2 years of Spanish, which may be taken prior to declaring LAAS your major. Students may have a 3 course overlap with Spanish courses.
  3. The LAAS 2100 Contemporary Latin America is offered during the spring and the LAAS senior capstone course (LAAS 4901) is offered during the fall.
  4. LAAS does not require, but highly recommends, study abroad in Latin America. A number of internships, field schools, and research opportunities are available in both the US and Latin America. UMM hosts a number of venues such as Jane Addams, Spanish Conversation Table, La Unión Latinx, and Vamos Juntos.
  5. LAAS has a number of new course additions. Contact Adam Coon ([email protected]) for more information.