Latin American Studies Certificate

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The Certificate in Latin American Studies (CLAS) is a collaborative program of the University System of Georgia and the Americas Council. It is open to students in all majors. To apply for acceptance into this program, a student must first complete 30 credit hours, maintain a 2.8 GPA (or above) and complete one 3-credit hour course that focuses on contemporary Latin America or a 3-credit hour course on Latin American culture and civilization. Applications are available from the CLAS coordinator.

To earn a CLAS, students must complete 18 credit-hours in specific courses. First three credit-hours must be in a foreign language spoken in Latin America (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole or Quechua) at or above the 2000-level. Second, the remaining 15 credit-hours must be in courses that focus on Latin America.

Language requirement (three credit-hours)

To satisfy the language requirement, the student must fulfill any one of the following three options:

Option 1

1) Taking and passing with a minimum grade of “C” or better in any of the courses listed below:

SPAN 2001 - Intermediate Spanish I (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 2002 - Intermediate Spanish II (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 3010 - Spanish Conversation and Composition (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 3020 Latin American Cultures and Civilization
SPAN 4020 - Survey of Latin American Literature (3) Credit Hours
FREN 2001 - Intermediate French I (3) Credit Hours
FREN 2002 - Intermediate French II (3) Credit Hours
A course in Portuguese, Haitian Creole, or Quechua at or above the 2000-level with a minimum grade of “C” transferred into GGC.

Option 2

Taking an approved Latin American study abroad program as long as the course is beyond the intermediate level

Option 3

Demonstrating written and oral proficiency in any of the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Haitian Creole or Quechua. Demonstration of language proficiency above the intermediate level as defined by ACTFL (or CLEP) standards through examination or successful completion of an oral and written examination evaluated by a qualified University System of Georgia faculty member.

Latin American studies requirement (15 credit-hours)

To fulfill the Latin American course requirements, the student should do the following two requirements:

Complete any of the courses listed below (3 credit hours)

ANTH 3000 - People and Culture of Latin America (3) Credit Hours
HIST 3510 - History of Colonial Latin America (3) Credit Hours
HIST 4670 - Social Revolutions in Modern Latin America (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 3020 Latin American Cultures and Civilization
Note: If SPAN 3020 was the student’s option in B.1 above, s/he will have to select any of the other three options above (HIST 3507 , HIST 4670 or ANTH 3000 )

Latin American Studies (12 credit hours)

Complete 12 credit hours in Latin American studies from the list below. Two of these courses must be outside the student’s major.

ANTH 3000 - People and Culture of Latin America (3) Credit Hours
BIOL 3050 - Tropical Biology (3) Credit Hours
BIOL 3450 - Conservation Biology (3) Credit Hours
FILM 3180 - International Cinemas (3) Credit Hours
HIST 2500 - Survey of Latin American History (3) Credit Hours
HIST 2550 - Introduction to the Atlantic World (3) Credit Hours
HIST 3507 - History of Modern Mexico (3) Credit Hours
HIST 3510 - History of Colonial Latin America (3) Credit Hours
HIST 4575 - The Atlantic Slave Trade (3) Credit Hours
HIST 4670 - Social Revolutions in Modern Latin America (3) Credit Hours
HIST 3515 - Modern Latin America (3) Credit Hours
MUSC 2020 - Survey of Latin American Music (3) Credit Hours
POLS 3100 - Comparative Politics (3) Credit Hours
POLS 4040 - Comparative Foreign Policy (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 2001 - Intermediate Spanish I (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 2002 - Intermediate Spanish II (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 3010 - Spanish Conversation and Composition (3) Credit Hours
SPAN 3020 Latin American Cultures and Civilization
SPAN 4020 - Survey of Latin American Literature (3) Credit Hours
Special Topics Courses as approved

Additional Requirements

Up to 6 hours of upper-division Latin American courses offered in the University System of Georgia may be counted if approved by Certificate of Latin American Studies faculty.
No more than six hours from study abroad or internships will be credits.

Note

The campus Certificate in Latin American Studies coordinator must approve all courses, study abroad programs, and internships. All courses require a grade of “C” (2.0) or better. The student must not take more than one course at the 1000-2000 level. The student will obtain his CLAS upon graduation from GGC. S/he cannot receive it before his/her graduation.