Program Description

The Latin American Studies Program promotes a greater understanding of Latin America through academic coursework, internships, research, and language acquisition.

 At Ohio University nearly twenty-five faculty members from ten disciplines are dedicated Latin American scholars. The field work they conduct in Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Honduras, and elsewhere in Latin America has produced an impressive list of academic publications. The faculty’s research and experience in the region create an intellectual  atmosphere where students are challenged to  understand Latin America within a context of  regional and global change.

 This program goal is enhanced by our McKay Costa speaker series which brings Latin American scholars and activists to  campus. Students find that the program’s curricular flexibility, enhanced language option, and “skills minor” allow them to pursue their professional and academic goals.

Latin American Studies Degree Requirements

1. 40 credit hours in core courses (courses with at least 25 percent Latin American content).  To promote the program’s multi-disciplinary goal, the 40 hours must be distributed among at least three academic disciplines. 
    
2. 25 credit hours in a minor. (These should not overlap with core courses). The minor is a professional skills development area which could be a discipline (e.g. history, geography, political science, anthropology, international economics, journalism, etc.) or a theme (environment and development, development, communications, development, population and the environment, etc.). The minor must be approved by the director.
    
3. INST 500—Introduction to graduate studies—two credit hours. This course requires colloquium attendance on Friday afternoons (3:00 pm). This course may be waived if a student can prove relevant research skills gained in undergraduate work, but the colloquium requirement remains for all students whether enrolled in INST 500 or not.
    
4. Two Latin American-content graduate seminars. The seminar requirement can be met by taking two seminars on Latin America offered in the individual disciplines  (HIST, POLS, SPAN, TCOM, etc.) with the director’s approval. The seminar requirement is part of the 40-hour LA-content requirement mentioned above; courses taken to fulfill the seminar requirement count toward the Latin American studies coursework requirement (core courses). The INST 610B seminar is also an option and may be required any given year.
    
5. 5 hours of methodology coursework related to the student's minor. Students can choose from a number of qualitative or quantitative courses. Examples include: Statistics in any appropriate discipline, Life History (ANTH), Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, Field Research in Developing Countries, or another course, subject to the director’s approval.
    
6. Written Comprehensive Examination: Students pursuing the non-thesis track will culminate his/her program by taking a written comprehensive exam in three subject areas. The exam is normally given on the Friday of the seventh week of each quarter.
   
   or
   
   Thesis: A thesis may substitute for the Comprehensive Exam. With successful completion of the thesis and oral defense, a maximum of ten credit hours may be used to satisfy the degree requirements listed in sections 1 and 2 above. Students interested in writing a thesis must consult with the director early in the program so that appropriate course work and research methods courses can be planned. As part of the thesis requirement, students must develop a committee of three professors (from at least two disciplines), write a research proposal, and defend it to the committee’s satisfaction. The research proposal should be approved by the committee by the end of the third quarter of the student’s participation in the program, but no later than the fourth quarter. See “thesis requirements” for specific guidelines and expectations.
    
7. Language Requirement: All LAS MA candidates must have or attain knowledge of one of Latin America’s languages (normally Spanish or Portuguese). This requirement may be fulfilled through native proficiency or testing (FSI, ACTFL). Your language abilites will be evaluated at the beginning of your program.

The "Enhanced Language" option: Students entering the program with proficiency in Portuguese or Spanish are encouraged to obtain basic skills in the other of these two languages. Advanced Spanish-speakers may enroll in Portuguese, which is taught as a “critical language”, for three credits per quarter. Grades will be given each quarter, however, the full 9 credits will only count towards the proficiency requirement if a student completes all 3 courses and passes the proficiency exam at the end of the academic year (June) earns at least a “B” in the course. Likewise, native Portuguese speakers may earn proficiency in Spanish by completing the second year of Spanish with a “B” or higher and passing a proficiency exam. Credits for basic language courses will not count towards core courses, but may count towards the "skills" minor if so desired.