Undergraduate Minor
The Center for Latin American Studies falls under the division of Stanford Global Studies (SGS). As a part of SGS, CLAS is pleased to offer a Minor in Global Studies with a specialization in Latin American Studies (GS-LAS). The GS-LAS minor is especially well-suited for undergraduates who plan to make service, research, or study abroad in Latin America a part of their Stanford experience. The minor and the specialization appear on the transcript but not on the diploma.
What is Global Studies?
Global studies encompasses the insights and knowledge base of area studies: The interdisciplinary study of world regions and their intersecting cultures, languages, history, politics, and societies. Global studies advances this concept further by applying multi-disciplinary knowledge, from human biology and earth sciences to music and engineering, to better understand the character of world regions, their respective developmental trajectories, and the way those trajectories fit within the larger context of globalization.
Why Study Latin America?
- Engage in the integrated understanding of the region's history and culture, political economy, and environmental sustainability.
- Gain a conceptual foundation to pursue a variety of career paths in the public and private sectors pertaining to the region.
- Acquire language and cultural competency.
Global Studies Minor in Latin American Studies
The Global Studies Minor is available to Stanford undergraduates from any major, and is designed to provide students an opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary study in one of six specializations, including in-depth language study, while integrating this knowledge within a larger global perspective. The minor in Global Studies, Latin American Studies consists of courses surveying the Latin American region’s history, politics, society, ecology, and culture through in-depth coursework and language training. We welcome all majors.
Students planning to pursue the GS-LAS minor must develop their individual program and set up an appointment with a GS-LAS minor advisor (either the CLAS Academic and Student Services Officer or the Associate Director) to review their minor plan prior to declaring on Axess no later than the second quarter of their junior year. The minor must be completed by the second quarter of the senior year. Units taken for a student’s major cannot be double-counted towards the minor. GS-LAS minor students are required to complete 28 units, including either GLOBAL 101 - Global Studies Gateway Course (3 units) or (for freshman only) COLLEGE 119 - Making of the Modern World. Students participating in the Bing Overseas Studies Program are especially encouraged to enroll.
Global 101
In this introductory course, students will examine globalism and globalization in historical and contemporary contexts; engage with theoretical frameworks and a range of case studies from a variety of national/regional contexts; and use these to analyze global economic, political, environmental, and socio-cultural networks, trends, and issues, exploring the interconnectedness of the local and the global. The aim of this course is to encourage students to think comparatively across major world regions, and to work on issues that integrate specific regions within the larger international community.
Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Honors
The Interdisciplinary Honors Program in Latin American Studies is no longer accepting applications. Please contact the Center for Latin American Studies if you wish to incorporate Latin America into your honors thesis project.
