The Undergraduate Minor in Latin American Area Studies provides students with a solid foundation of instruction on Latin American topics to supplement their primary field. Student usually one of two general shapes to their studies: a general area path or a indigenous studies path.
The general shape of the minor is for students from several departments and schools who do not wish to concentrate in language studies, but who are interested in the history, culture, geography, anthropology, art history, politics, business or journalism of Latin America. This minor will be a great complement to a degree in, for example, business or architecture. There is great flexibility for students who wish to create their own program in order to acquire knowledge in various disciplines. The indigenous studies focus in the minor is for similar students who are particularly interested in indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere and wish to study an indigenous language. Specifically, this focus allows students to integrate coursework on indigenous populations of what is now the United States with coursework on such populations elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.
The Undergraduate Minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies provides students with a basic foundation of knowledge on Latin America & the Caribbean to complement their primary area(s) of expertise, potentially including indigenous language study. A LACS minor is for students interested in building knowledge of Latin America & the Caribbean in such areas as anthropology, art history, business, film, geography, history, indigenous studies, literature, journalism, politics, and theater.
Latin America and Caribbean Studies Minor
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| 6 |
| Latin American Culture and Society | |
| Interdisciplinary Themes in Latin American Studies | |
| Language and Society in Latin America | |
| Indigenous Traditions of Latin America | |
| Indigenous Traditions of Latin America |
| Total Hours | 18 |
Upper-Division Latin American and Caribbean Electives (12 hours/4 units)
Students may take any upper-division LAC course or its cross-listed number as an elective. Furthermore, if a student finds any Latin American/Caribbean course on the schedule that is not an LAC/crosslist course, they can seek approval to include it as an elective from the GIST Director of Undergraduate Studies by sharing the syllabus. A minimum of 12 credit hours must be taken at the 300+ level to complete the minor.
Moreover, students interested in studying Indigenous languages may consider taking courses from the following list to fulfill their elective requirement:
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| LAC 302 | Topics in Latin American Area Studies:_____ | 3 |
| LAC 602 | Topics in Latin American Studies: _____ | 3 |
| KQKL 110/LAC 602 | Elementary Kaqchikel Maya I | 3 |
| KQKL 114 | Elementary Kaqchikel Maya II | 3 |
| KQKL 230 | Intermediate Kaqchikel Maya I | 3 |
| KQKL 234 | Intermediate Kaqchikel Maya II | 3 |
| KQKL 350 | Advanced Kaqchikel Maya I | 3 |
| KQKL 360 | Advanced Kaqchikel Maya II | 3 |
| KQKL 500 | Directed Studies in Kaqchikel Maya | 3 |
Other indigenous Latin American languages, such as Quechua, Yucatec, Miskitu, Guaraní, and Me’phaa, may be substituted with approval of Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Minor Hours & Minor GPA
While completing all required courses, minors must also meet each of the following hour and GPA minimum standards:
Minor Hours
Satisfied by 18 hours of minor courses.
Overlapping Courses
No more than 2 course may be counted both in the minor and another degree or minor program.
Minor Hours in Residence
Satisfied by a minimum of 9 hours of KU resident credit in the minor.
Minor Junior/Senior Hours
Satisfied by a minimum of 12 hours from junior/senior courses (300+) in the minor.
Minor Graduation GPA
Satisfied by a minimum of a 2.0 KU GPA in all departmental courses in the minor. GPA calculations include all courses in the field of study including F’s and repeated courses. See the Semester/Cumulative GPA Calculator.
