Program in Latin American Studies

The Program in Latin American Studies promotes interdisciplinary study and seeks to foster knowledge of and experience in Latin America.

Courses are offered by the Departments of African American Studies, Anthropology, Art and Archaeology, Comparative Literature, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Economics, English, French and Italian (appropriate French courses only), History, Music, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Sociology, Spanish and Portuguese, the School of Architecture, the School of Engineering, the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, the Program in Latino Studies, and the Program in Latin American Studies (PLAS). Through various approaches in the humanities and the social and natural sciences, the program seeks to guide students toward an understanding of Latin American arts, cultures, histories, socioeconomic conditions, politics, and natural environments. The student's work is supervised by a departmental adviser and is combined with a departmental program in a regular field of concentration.

Experience abroad is not required, but PLAS strongly encourages students to travel to and explore Latin America. Funds are available to support student travel to Latin America for research purposes. First- and second-year students are eligible for exploratory research grants, and juniors and seniors can apply for senior thesis research funding. Seniors are encouraged to apply to Princeton in Latin America (PiLA) for postgraduate opportunities.

Admission to the Program

Students from all departments are welcome. There are no prerequisites to enroll. Interested students should complete our online enrollment form. 

Program of Study

The Program in Latin American Studies offers two tracks of study: Latin American Studies and Brazilian Studies. For satisfactory completion of the program, a student must meet the following requirements:

1. Completion of the requirements of a departmental concentration.

2. Completion of the language requirement in Spanish, Portuguese, or French (for students focusing on the French-speaking Caribbean). 

3. For students pursuing the Latin American Studies track, satisfactory completion of four courses across several disciplines, and at least one of the following courses must be a seminar. 

• One humanities course cross-listed with LAS or with strong Latin American content
• Three courses from any field cross-listed with LAS or with strong Latin American content

With the program director's permission, a maximum of two courses from study abroad may count toward fulfilling the course requirements.

In agreement with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, only one course can be used toward both the certificate in the Program in Latin American Studies and a certificate in Spanish or Portuguese.

Students pursuing science studies may fulfill program requirements by taking a number of approved courses in ecology and evolutionary biology and environmental studies.

No course may be taken Pass/D/Fail or audit for program credit.

3a. For students pursuing the Brazilian Studies track, satisfactory completion of four courses across several disciplines, and at least one of the following courses must be a seminar.

• One humanities course cross-listed with LAS or with strong Brazilian content
• Three courses from any field cross-listed with LAS or with strong Brazilian content

Courses that are not focused entirely on Brazil must be preapproved by the program director, and the final written work must be Brazil-related.

With the program director's permission, a maximum of two courses from study abroad may count toward fulfilling the course requirements. 

In agreement with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, only one course can be used toward both the certificate in the Program in Latin American Studies and a certificate in Spanish or Portuguese.

No course may be taken Pass/D/Fail or audit for program credit.

4. For students pursuing the Latin American Studies track: Completion of a senior thesis on a Latin American subject. Normally it should be written under the supervision of a faculty member associated with the program. If this is not the case, students are encouraged to consult a faculty member associated with the program about available sources or professional contacts some time during their junior year. If the senior thesis is not devoted exclusively to a Latin American topic, the director and relevant program faculty will determine its acceptability. Ordinarily, at least half of the thesis content will deal with Latin America, or a substantial portion of the research for the thesis will require proficiency in a language—other than English—spoken in Latin America.

4a. For students pursuing the Brazilian Studies track: Completion of a senior thesis on a Brazilian subject. Normally, it should be written under the supervision of a faculty member associated with the program. If this is not the case, students are encouraged to consult a faculty member associated with the program about available sources or useful professional contacts some time during their junior year. If the senior thesis is not devoted exclusively to a Brazilian topic, the director and relevant program faculty will determine its acceptability. Ordinarily, at least half of the thesis content will deal with Brazil, and a substantial portion of the research for the thesis will be conducted in Portuguese.

5. Students whose thesis cannot be devoted to a Latin American or Brazilian topic may complete the program requirements either by writing a research paper of sufficient complexity and length to substitute for the thesis requirement (the topic should be determined in consultation with the director and relevant program faculty) or by taking an additional approved course.

Certificate of Proficiency

Upon graduation, students who have met all the program requirements will receive a certificate of proficiency in Latin American studies along with their diploma.