Latin American and Caribbean Studies Major

Requirements for the Major

Prerequisite: SPAN 044  or equivalent profiency in Portuguese, Nahuatl, Kreyol, Quichua, or other Indigenous language.

The student will build courses around a disciplinary focus while maintaining interdisciplinary breadth. A Latin American and Caribbean Studies major requires a minimum of 10 courses including a senior thesis.

Requirements toward the major are distributed as follows:

• Foundation: HIST143 SC ; or HIST031 CH  or HIST032 CH  at Pomona College.
• Depth: Four courses in Latin American offerings in a single discipline such as history, literature and cultures, or politics.
• Breadth: Four elective courses outside the chosen focus, from such fields as Africana Studies, anthropology, music, sociology, media studies, or environmental studies.

One of the above courses must cover the period prior to 1800 (examples include but are not limited to: HIST031 CH  , HIST036 PO , HIST040A SC , etc).

HIST040A SC or HIST140B SC, or HIST031 PO or HIST032 PO can double count as a history course as listed above.

• A Senior Seminar selected in consultation with the Program Chair.
• Senior Thesis: LAST191 SC  

Note: One course from the Intercollegiate Department of Chicanx Latinx Studies (IDCLS) may be used to satisfy depth, breadth, or period requirements listed above. Additional IDCLS course(s) may be used in consultation with the Program Chair. IDCLS courses are identified in the course schedule with a CHST course prefix.

Honors Requirements

Students with a strong interest in Latin American and Caribbean Studies are encouraged to apply for an Honors Program as early as the first semester of the junior year. Students may also be invited to apply for the program by a faculty member who teaches in the major. The Honors Program includes an honors thesis based on a year’s research followed by a successful thesis defense before faculty in the field. Students intending to graduate with honors need a minimum cumulative GPA of 9.0 and a GPA of 11.0 (A-) or above in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. There is a senior thesis grade requirement of A– (11.0).