Major & Minor Requirements

Through its diverse program offerings on campus and a variety of opportunities abroad, the Department of Latin American, Latino, & Iberian Studies (LALIS) offers students a curriculum that embraces the cultural and linguistic diversity and complexity of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. The Spanish language and Hispanic literatures comprise the core of the department’s program; yet the LALIS curriculum also brings students into contact with Portuguese, Basque, Catalan, and Galician languages, literatures, and cultures. The program is broad in scope and conceptualization but at the same time offers students a vast number of opportunities to explore specific areas of the world and specific areas of knowledge.

  • Major

    The Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Major

    Note: The grade point average of the coursework comprising the major must be no less than 2.00 with no course grade below C- (1.70).

    9.5 units, including

    • Two units chosen from LAIS300 -LAIS309 Spanish in Context

    • One unit of an Area of Inquiry in LAIS

    • Three units above LAIS310 (excluding LAIS388 and LAIS389)

    • Three units 400-level seminars

    • .5 units: LAIS496 Student Research Symposium

    Additional requirements for majors

    1. For students studying abroad for a semester or year, at least one 400-level LAIS seminar must be taken upon return to the University of Richmond. Visit lais.richmond.edu/program/study-abroad.html for all study abroad requirements and policies.

    2. A maximum of three non-University of Richmond courses can be transferred toward the LAIS major

    3. All LAIS majors need to have completed previously at least two 300-level LAIS courses in order to receive LAIS credit from a study abroad program. Visit lais.richmond.edu/program/study-abroad.html for all study abroad requirements and policies.

    4. A maximum of three courses with a C-LAC component may be counted toward the major. Only one of these courses may be taken outside the Department of Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies.

  • Minor

    The Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Minor

    Note: The grade point average of the coursework comprising the minor must be no less than 2.00 with no course grade below C- (1.70).

    Six units, including

    Additional requirement for minors

    1. All LAIS minors need to have previously completed at least two LAIS courses at the 300 level at the University of Richmond in order to transfer credit from a study abroad program.  Visit lais.richmond.edu/program/study-abroad.html for all study abroad requirements and policies.

    2. For students studying abroad for one semester or one year, at least one course must be taken upon return to the University of Richmond. Visit lais.richmond.edu/program/study-abroad.html for all study abroad requirements and policies.

    3. “A maximum of two courses with a C-LAC component may be counted toward the minor. Only one of these courses may be taken outside the Department of Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies.”

The Luso-Brazilian Studies Minor

Note: Students must receive a C (2.0) or above for these courses to count toward the minor. Courses taken for less than 1 unit will not count towards the minor.

5-5.75 units, including:

  • LAIS390 Portuguese for Romance Language Speakers or another comparable intermediate/advanced course in Portuguese language.  The requirement in Portuguese language can be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

    • LAIS390 Portuguese for Romance Language Speakers

    • Exemption through a placement test that measures oral, writing, reading, and comprehension skills. Exempted students must still take a total of 5-5.75 units to complete the minor; thus, they may substitute  LAIS390 with an elective

    • Completion of Portuguese language coursework at one of our partner institutions abroad (PUC Rio, SIT, CIEE Brazil, or CIEE Portugal).

  • LAIS314 Luso-Brazilian Studies: A Global Perspective with optional C-LAC component in Portuguese language

  • Three interdisciplinary electives

Students fulfilling their electives on campus will choose from course offerings within the specific field of Luso-Brazilian Studies or related courses in other academic disciplines as listed below.  For courses in other disciplines that are not listed, students are encouraged to consult with the program coordinator. As a general rule, advanced courses in other disciplines may be taken for credit for the Luso-Brazilian Studies minor as long as the student seeks prior approval and fulfills a corresponding C-LAC (Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum) component in Portuguese language or culture (worth 0.25 units). Students may fulfill the C-LAC component in different ways: students with no prior knowledge of Portuguese may choose to take a basic Portuguese language mini-course or submit a short project -in English- focusing on a Lusophone topic that intersects with the scope of the specific course (e.g., a student enrolled in PLSC 349 Politics of Latin America and the Caribbean may choose to complete a project on Brazil’s democratic transition and the challenges it faces in the 21st century).  Students with prior knowledge of Portuguese may choose to hold weekly conversation sessions on the topics covered in the main course.  If a Luso-Brazilian Studies elective is taken abroad with Portuguese as the language of instruction, then the C-LAC requirement will be waived.

The following courses are content-specific and do not require a C-LAC:

  • HIST262 The Making of Modern Brazil

  • LAIS313 Building Brasilia: Idea to Reality

  • LAIS329 The African Novel

  • LAIS339 Stories From Elsewhere: Africa, Asia Brazil, Portugal

  • LAIS391 Conversations on Luso-Brazilian Film

The following courses are general electives that require a C-LAC:

  • ANTH271 Covid-19 in International Perspective

  • ANTH279 Selected Topics in Anthropology

  • ANTH300 Sexuality and Gender Across Cultures

  • ANTH302 Health Inequities in International Perspective

  • ANTH306 Tourism and Anthropology

  • ANTH307 Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

  • ANTH308 Latin America: An Ethnographic Perspective

  • ANTH328 Anthropology of Human Rights

  • ANTH329Anthropology of Race

  • ECON210 The Economics of the European Union

  • ECON211 Economic Development in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

  • GEOG220 Ecotourism

  • GEOG325 Latin American Geographies: Transnational and Local Connections

  • ENVR333 Geographies of Amazonia

  • ENVR345 Global Sustainability: Society, Economy, Nature

  • HIST370 Global Climate Investment

  • HIST260 Colonial Latin America

  • HIST261 Modern Latin America

  • HIST265 Gender and Sexuality in Latin American History

  • HIST281 Africa, c. 1500 to c. 1900

  • HIST282 Africa in the Twentieth Century

  • HIST390 Food and Power in Africa and Asia

  • PLSC343 Politics of Asia

  • PLSC344 Europe Today

  • PLSC348 Politics of Africa

  • PLSC349 Politics of Latin America and the Caribbean

  • PLSC351 Globalization

  • SOC306 Social Change in a Global Perspective

Contact Dr. Dixon Abreu, dabreu@richmond.edu