Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies Graduate Certificate

The Executive Committee of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies administers the Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Graduate Certificate Program and advises interested students. Committee members are:

Director: Sonia E. Alvarez (Political Science)
Chief Adviser: Gloria Bernabe-Ramos
Katherine Bliss (History)
Marta Calás (Management)
Carlene Edie (Political Science)
Manuel Frau-Ramos (Education)
Agustín Laó-Montes (Sociology)
Ellen Pader (Regional Planning)
Maribel Paredes (Communication)
Daphne Patai (Spanish and Portuguese)
Márgara Russotto (Spanish and Portuguese)
Peter Stern (Library)
Millicent Thayer (Sociology)
Richard Wilkie (Geosciences)

Associate Faculty

The Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Graduate Certificate draws upon associated faculty in other University departments. The teaching faculty for the program varies each semester depending upon course offerings.

The Program

The Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies offers an interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies in conjunction with a disciplinary master's or doctoral degree program. Overseen by the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Executive Committee, it is intended to certify competency in area and language studies. An opportunity for graduate students to pursue interdisciplinary studies, the Graduate Certificate contributes to training in internationalism, multi-culturalism, and foreign language competence.

Requirements

1. Students must be enrolled in a regular M.A., M.S., M.B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D. or Ed.D. program.

2. Four area study courses at the 500 to 800 level in three disciplines from a listing of "core" courses. Core courses are defined as those containing at least 25 percent Latin American, Caribbean or Latino studies content.*

i) One of the four courses may be a "support" course if the student writes a research paper on a Latin American, Caribbean or Latino studies theme.*

ii) One of the four courses may be an independent study.

iii) Up to two undergraduate courses may be taken as graduate independent studies if the student writes an additional research paper on a Latin American, Caribbean or Latino studies theme for the course. This option is subject to the instructor's approval.

iv) Two undergraduate courses at the 300 or 400 level may be substituted for one graduate level course.

v) A grade of B or better must be obtained in all courses; only one course may be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

3. All course work must be above and beyond that completed as an undergraduate, with the ex-ception of language proficiency (see 4. below).

4. Language Proficiency: demonstrated reading knowledge and conversational ability in Spanish or Portuguese. This may be met by having completed language studies through the third year (Spanish 301 and 310, 311 or 312; or Portuguese 301 and 302 at the University, or their equivalent at other institutions) or by examination.

5. Master's thesis or doctoral dissertation on a Latin American, Caribbean or Latino studies theme. In departments in which qualifying exams are offered in the field of Latin American, Caribbean or Latino studies, these may be substituted for the Master's thesis. In departments that offer a Master's degree without a thesis requirement or a comprehensive exam in Latin American Studies, students complete a special Master's Project, of at least three credits, with the approval of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Executive Committee. Credits toward the master's Project will be above and beyond the credits required in 2. above.

6. A presentation of research results in the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Research Workshop.

For further information, contact Sonia E. Alvarez, Director, tel. 545-4648, 926 Thompson Hall, or Gloria Bernabe-Ramos, Associate Director, tel. 545-4868, 928 Thompson Hall.

*A list of approved courses may be obtained at the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies office, 924 Thompson Hall.