Undergraduate Studies

The undergraduate major/minor in LAS provides a solid foundation in language skills and area competence for careers in business, public service, or for further graduate/professional training.

Students work closely with the Academic Program Manager in planning their program of study. All coursework taken in fulfillment of the major or minor must be approved by either the Academic Program Manager or the Director of LAS. The Academic Program Manager produces a list of LAS-related courses each semester. Students should consult this list to determine which courses are appropriate for the major or minor. If a student is interested in a course that is not listed in this document, he/she may petition to include the course in his/her program of study for the major or minor. If the course is deemed to have relevant and sufficient LAS content, it may be approved.

MAJOR

The major requires a minimum of 36 credit hours of LAS-related coursework.

The curriculum is comprised of 3 areas: language courses, core courses, and elective courses.

  1. LANGUAGE: Students are required to achieve proficiency in two Latin American languages. 12 credit hours must be completed in one of the following seven options.
    • Spanish concentration with Portuguese support skills: SPAN 301, SPAN 302, PORT 275
    • Portuguese concentration with Spanish support skills: PORT 311, PORT 312, SPAN 101, SPAN 102
    • Balanced concentration: SPAN 201, SPAN 202, PORT 276
    • Spanish concentration with Quichua support skills: SPAN 301, SPAN 302, LING 401 (Topics: Quichua I), LING 402 (Topics: Quichua II)
    • Spanish concentration with Quiche Maya support skills: SPAN 301, SPAN 302, LING 401 (Topics: Quiche Maya I), LING 402 (Topics: Quiche Maya II)
    • Portuguese concentration with Quichua support skills: PORT 311, PORT 312, LING 401 (Topics: Quichua I), LING 402 (Topics: Quichua II)
    • Portuguese concentration with Quiche Maya support skills: PORT 311, PORT 312, LING 401 (Topics: Quiche Maya I), LING 402 (Topics: Quiche Maya II)
  2. CORE COURSES: Students are required to complete at least 15 credit hours of LAS-related coursework in one of the following three tracks.
    1. Humanities: Courses must be selected from Art History, Brazilian Literature and Culture, History, Media Arts, Religious Studies, and Spanish American Literature.
    2. Social and Natural Sciences: Courses must be selected from Anthropology, Biology, Community and Regional Planning, Economics, History, Management, Political Science, and Sociology.
    3. Core Area Focus: Students design a customized curriculum that focuses on a particular theme (e.g. environment and ecology, development, gender, U.S.-Latin American relations). Students work with the Academic Program Manager and the Director of LAS to develop their program of study. Students must demonstrate that faculty and courses will be available to complete their program of study in the customized area of focus.
  3. ELECTIVES: Students must complete 9 credit hours of LAS-related elective courses. Electives may fall within the humanities or social/natural sciences, regardless of the chosen Core.

Please note that 18 of the 36 credit hours completed for the LAS major must be at the 300 level or above. Also, courses completed for the Core and Electives must represent at least three different disciplines. Students are encouraged to pursue study abroad, if desired; however, at least 18 of the 36 hours required for the major must be taken on the main campus of UNM.

BRAZILIAN STUDIES CONCENTRATION top

LAS majors may earn a Certificate of Concentration in Brazilian Studies by completing the Portuguese concentration language track and five of the following courses:

  • HIST 376
  • HIST 377
  • PHIL 388
  • PORT 200
  • PORT 335
  • PORT414
  • PORT 415

Students may petition to include other courses with substantial Brazil content.

MINORtop

The minor requires a minimum of 24 credit hours of LAS-related coursework.

The curriculum is comprised of 3 areas: language courses, core courses, and elective courses.

  1. LANGUAGE: Students are required to achieve proficiency in one Latin American language. 6 credit hours must be completed in one of the following two options.
    • Spanish: SPAN 301 and SPAN 302
    • Portuguese: PORT 311 and PORT 312
  2. CORE COURSES: Students are required to complete at least 12 credit hours of LAS-related coursework in one of the following three tracks.
    1. Humanities: Courses must be selected from Art History, Brazilian Literature and Culture, History, Media Arts, Religious Studies, and Spanish American Literature.
    2. Social and Natural Sciences: Courses must be selected from Anthropology, Biology, Community and Regional Planning, Economics, History, Management, Political Science, and Sociology.
    3. Core Area Focus: Students design a customized curriculum that focuses on a particular theme (e.g. environment and ecology, development, gender, U.S.-Latin American relations). Students work with the Academic Program Manager and the Director of LAS to develop their program of study. Students must demonstrate that faculty and courses will be available to complete their program of study in the customized area of focus.
  3. ELECTIVES: Students must complete 6 credit hours of LAS-related elective courses. Electives may fall within the humanities or social/natural sciences, regardless of the chosen Core. Please note that 18 of the 24 credit hours completed for the LAS minor must be at the 300 level or above. Also, courses completed for the Core and Electives must represent at least three different disciplines. At least 12 of the 24 hours required for the minor must be taken on the main campus of UNM.

COURSE EXAMPLEStop

Because the LAS major and minor are interdisciplinary in nature and draw on coursework from many departments at UNM, qualifying courses change frequently. Students are always encouraged to consult the list of LAS-related courses that is produced before the registration period commences. Below is a list of typically offered courses that count towards the major/minor.

Humanities: ARTHI 343, ARTHI 411, ARTHI 412, ARTHI 450, ARTHI 488, ARTHI 489, ARTHI 490, ARTHI 493, ARTHI 494, HIST 281, HIST 282, HIST 300, HIST 363, HIST 370, HIST 371, HIST 372, HIST 373, HIST 374, HIST 375, HIST 376, HIST 377, HIST 389, HIST 390, HIST 463, HIST 464, HIST 465, HIST 468, HIST 469, HIST 470, HIST 471, HIST 472, HIST 473, HIST 474, HIST 475, HIST 476, LING 401, LING 402, LTAM 400 (depending upon content), MA 310, MA 410, PHIL 388, PHIL 389, PHIL 390, PORT 276, PORT 311, PORT 312, PORT 335, PORT 414, PORT 415, PORT 416, PORT 417, PORT 421, PORT 457, PORT 458, PORT 461, RELIG 387, SPAN 301, SPAN 302, SPAN 307, SPAN 350, SPAN 351, SPAN 352, SPAN 353, SPAN 411, SPAN 412, SPAN 430, SPAN 431, SPAN 432, SPAN 433, SPAN 435, SPAN 438, SPAN 439

Social/Natural Sciences: ANTH 322, ANTH 324, ANTH 332, ANTH 333, ANTH 339, ANTH 343, ANTH 344, ANTH 345, ANTH 366, ANTH 384, ANTH 387, BIOL 461L, ECON 321, ECON 421, ECON 423, ECON 424, ECON 429, GEOG 301, HIST 281, HIST 282, HIST 300, HIST 363, HIST 370, HIST 371, HIST 372, HIST 373, HIST 374, HIST 375, HIST 376, HIST 377, HIST 389, HIST 390, HIST 463, HIST 464, HIST 465, HIST 468, HIST 469, HIST 470, HIST 471, HIST 472, HIST 473, HIST 474, HIST 475, HIST 476, LTAM 400 (depending upon content), POLSC 321, POLSC 322, POLSC 345, POLSC 346, POLSC 355, POLSC 356, POLSC 441, POLSC 442, POLSC 455, SOC 221, SOC 250, SOC 350, SOC 389, SOC 390, SOC 420, SOC 422, SOC 450, SOC 484, WMST 331

Electives: ANTH 322, ANTH 324, ANTH 332, ANTH 333, ANTH 339, ANTH 343, ANTH 344, ANTH 345, ANTH 366, ANTH 384, ANTH 387, ARTHI 343, ARTHI 411, ARTHI 412, ARTHI 450, ARTHI 488, ARTHI 489, ARTHI 490, ARTHI 493, ARTHI 494, BIOL 461L, ECON 321, ECON 421, ECON 423, ECON 424, ECON 429, GEOG 301, HIST 281, HIST 282, HIST 300, HIST 363, HIST 370, HIST 371, HIST 372, HIST 373, HIST 374, HIST 375, HIST 376, HIST 377, HIST 389, HIST 390, HIST 463, HIST 464, HIST 465, HIST 468, HIST 469, HIST 470, HIST 471, HIST 472, HIST 473, HIST 474, HIST 475, HIST 476, LING 401, LING 402, LTAM 400, MA 310, MA 410, PHIL 388, PHIL 389, PHIL 390, POLSC 321, POLSC 322, POLSC 345, POLSC 346, POLSC 355, POLSC 356, POLSC 441, POLSC 442, POLSC 455, PORT 276, PORT 311, PORT 312, PORT 335, PORT 414, PORT 415, PORT 416, PORT 417, PORT 421, PORT 457, PORT 458, PORT 461, RELIG 387, SOC 221, SOC 250, SOC 350, SOC 389, SOC 390, SOC 420, SOC 422, SOC 450, SOC 484, SPAN 301, SPAN 302, SPAN 307, SPAN 350, SPAN 351, SPAN 352, SPAN 353, SPAN 411, SPAN 412, SPAN 430, SPAN 431, SPAN 432, SPAN 433, SPAN 435, SPAN 438, SPAN 439, WMST 331

HONORS top

The Latin American Studies (LAS) program at UNM offers an Honors option for LAS majors. Students who wish to be considered for Honors must have an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and submit this form for review no later than the last semester of their junior year.

Students who are accepted are required to complete LTAM 497-Independent Studies (3 credit hours) and LTAM 499-Senior Honors Thesis (3 credit hours) and successfully write and orally defend a Senior Honors Thesis.

Students who pursue Honors in Latin American Studies work closely with a faculty advisor to develop and write the Seniors Honors Thesis. Students take LTAM 497 and 499 under the direction of the chosen faculty advisor