Latin American Studies Certificate

Graduate students seeking to document their area expertise are encouraged to earn a Certificate in Latin American Studies in conjunction with an advanced degree in any UNC-CH graduate program. Candidates demonstrate expertise in Latin America through their graduate or professional field but are also encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary studies to enhance their professional development.

Course Requirements

Core Courses
Please note, there are no core courses that are required; rather, students build their list of courses that fulfill the credit hours requirement through Director approval.
Minimum Hours12

Non-Course Certificate Requirements

  • A thesis, dissertation proposal, or major departmental paper on a topic related to Latin America.
  • An oral defense of the thesis or dissertation prospectus/proposal. For students in professional schools or departments that do not require defense of a thesis, a letter from the student’s adviser indicating that graduate level coursework and research on a Latin American topic was successfully completed will be sufficient to waive the requirement.
  • Language competence in Spanish or Portuguese. Non-native speakers must have the Language Evaluation Form filled out by a qualified language instructor.
  • A minimum of two semesters of residence at UNC-CH.