LAS Undergraduate Requirements

Major Concentration in Latin American Studies

The Latin American Studies (LAS) Major provides students with a solid grounding in the  culture, history, and contemporary realities of Latin America. The major consists of eleven courses distributed by level and field, as well as a foreign language requirement.  Coursework toward the major includes seven courses across the three topical groups, three electives, and a capstone seminar.

Requirements of the Major

  • Two courses in Group 1
  • One course in Group 2
  • Four courses in Group 3
  • Three elective courses
  • A final capstone seminar
  • Coursework must fulfill the Course Level Requirement
  • Coursework through the fifth semester in either Spanish or Portuguese

Coursework

Group Coursework

Coursework toward the LAS Major is divided into three groups by field: Historical Context, Art & Literature, and Contemporary Context.  Students choose two classes from the first group, one class from the second, and four from the third.  The courses available in each group can be found by following the links below.

Group 1: Historical Context Group 2: Art & Literature Group 3: Contemporary Context

Elective Courses

Students choose (at least) three electives from any of the three groups of LAS coursework.

Capstone Seminar

During the second semester of their senior year, students take  a capstone seminar, IR 410 Latin America Today: An Interdisciplinary Approach. This course includes presentations by a variety of faculty in their special areas of expertise, bringing together different perspectives in an interdisciplinary mode.

Course Level Requirement

In choosing their coursework, LAS majors also must follow requirements regarding the level of the courses they are taking.  These requirements are as follows:

  • No more than two 200 level courses
  • No more than three 300 level courses
  • At least six courses (including the capstone course) at the 400 level or above

Language Requirement

Students are required to take language courses through the fifth semester in either Spanish or Portuguese.  This is one course more than is required to satisfy the College of Arts & Sciences language requirement.

Note that students are required to take language courses through the fifth semester, not necessarily five semesters of courses.  Thus, if a student has AP credit for one or more courses, that student would only need to take language courses through the fifth semester, which would total less than five classes.

Intensive study in Argentina, Ecuador, or Peru with Boston University’s international programs can count toward satisfying this requirement.

Minor Concentration in Latin American Studies

The LAS Minor enables students in other majors to develop a flexible and versatile minor concentration in Latin American Studies. The minor concentration consists of six courses.

Requirements of the Minor

  • At least one course from each of the three topical groups
  • At least three courses at the 400 level or above
  • The capstone course is optional but encouraged.