Latina/Latino Studies, BALAS
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences Major in Latina/Latino Studies
The Undergraduate Major in Latina/Latino Studies explores the experiences and lives of Latinas/os in the context of the United States. The major provides a broad and deep approach to theory, research, and multidisciplinary study of the Latina/o experience. Students will complete 34 hours of required and elective courses, and a minimum of 18 hours of supporting course work or a minor in an area outside of the major. Students majoring in Latina/Latino Studies receive excellent preparation for graduate study or careers in education, social and welfare policy, counseling, law, public policy, and other fields that address Latino issues.
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences Major in Latina/Latino Studies
Advising: The Department of Latina/Latino Studies provides advising for students. Students will also be assigned a faculty advisor to help plan a coherent program in their selected area of study.
Departmental distinction: To graduate with distinction in Latina/Latino Studies, a student must have at least a 3.25 overall GPA, a minimum 3.5 GPA in the major, and complete a senior honors thesis. To complete the honors thesis requires a student to enroll in four hours of LLS 495, normally distributed evenly across two consecutive semesters. Students graduating with at least a 3.5 GPA in the major (and meeting the other conditions) will be awarded Distinction; those with at least a 3.7 GPA in the major will be given High Distinction.
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours required for graduation: 120
Minimum required major and supporting course work: 52 hours required, including 34 hours in Latina/Latino Studies courses. Twelve hours of 300- and 400-level in the major must be taken on this campus.
University Requirements
Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree. Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.
The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.
General Education Requirements
Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in the program.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Composition I | 4-6 | |
| Advanced Composition | 3 | |
Fulfilled by LLS 385 | ||
| Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | 6 | |
Fulfilled by LLS 100 and any other course approved as Social & Behavioral Sciences | ||
| Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
Fulfilled by LLS 100 | ||
| Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | 6-10 | |
| Language Requirement (Completion of the fourth semester or equivalent of a language other than English, or completion of the third semester in two different languages other than English is required) | 0-20 | |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation and Professional Development | ||
| LAS 101 | Design Your First Year Experience | 1 |
OR | ||
| LAS 100 & LAS 101 | Success in LAS for International Students and Design Your First Year Experience | 3 |
OR | ||
| LAS 102 | Transfer Advantage | 1 |
| Total Hours | 1 or 3 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LLS 100 | Intro Latina/Latino Studies | 3 |
| LLS 385 | Theory and Methods in LLS | 3 |
| Thematic Areas | ||
| Students must take two courses in each of the following three areas: | ||
| A. Literature, Media and Culture | 6 | |
| Latina/o Popular Culture | ||
| Intro to Latina/o Literature | ||
| Latina/os on the Bronze Screen | ||
| Latina/o Anthropology | ||
| Literatures of the Displaced | ||
| Contemporary US Latina/o Lit | ||
| Chicana/Latina Autobiography, Memoir, Testimonio | ||
| Latina/o Media in the US | ||
| Writing Latina/o Chicago | ||
| Commodifying Difference | ||
| Latina/o Performance | ||
| Border Latina, Latino Cultures | ||
| B. Race, Gender, and Sexuality | 6 | |
| Latina/o Genders & Sexualities | ||
| Race and the Politics of Reproduction | ||
| Gender & Latina/o Migration | ||
| Race and Mixed Race | ||
| Race, Gender and the Body | ||
| Chicanas&Latinas: Self&Society | ||
| Latina Literature | ||
| Race, Sex, and Deviance | ||
| Race, Medicine, and Society | ||
| C. History, Politics, and Society | 6 | |
| Latina/o Migration | ||
| Latina/o Social Movements | ||
| Mapping Latina/o Inequalities | ||
| Mexican-American History | ||
| Caribbean Latina/o Migration | ||
| Criminalization and Punishment | ||
| Latinas/os & Public Policy | ||
| Latina/o Ethnography | ||
| Latina/os and the City | ||
| Race and Migration in Chicago | ||
| Latinas/os & the Law | ||
| Immigration, Health & Society | ||
| LLS 490 | Research and Writing Seminar | 4 |
| or LLS 495 | Senior Honors Thesis | |
| LLS Electives selected from the list of all LLS and cross-listed LLS classes | 6 | |
Remaining courses to total 6 hours minimum may be selected from any of the area courses listed above (not used to fulfill the Thematic Areas requirement) or chosen in consultation with an academic advisor | ||
| Supporting coursework (six hours must be at the 300-/400- level) chosen in consultation with an advisor; may be a campus approved minor | 18 | |
| Total Hours | 52 | |
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences Major in Latina/Latino Studies
Sample Sequence
This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.
Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a fourth level of a language other than English. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree General and Education Requirements page.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| Free elective course | 1 | Thematic Area A course | 3 |
| LLS 100 | 3 | Thematic Area C course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Language Other Than English (3rd level) | 4 | Language Other Than English (4th level) | 4 |
| Comp. I orGeneral Education course | 4 | General Education course or Comp I | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| Thematic Area A course | 3 | Thematic Area B course | 3 |
| Thematic Area B course | 3 | Thematic Area C course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Supporting coursework | 3 | Supporting coursework | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Free elective course | 3 | LLS elective course | 3 |
| LLS elective course | 3 | Supporting coursework | 3 |
| Supporting coursework | 3 | Free elective course | 4 |
| Supporting coursework | 3 | Free elective course | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| LLS 385 | 3 | LLS 490 or 495 | 4 |
| Supporting coursework | 3 | Free elective course | 3 |
| Free elective course | 3 | Free elective course | 3 |
| Free elective course | 3 | Free elective course | 3 |
| Free elective course | 3 | ||
| 15 | 13 | ||
| Total Hours 120 | |||
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences Major in Latina/Latino Studies
- Intellectual Reasoning and Knowledge: Students will become proficient in the field of Latina/Latino Studies, which includes, but is not limited to, interdisciplinary, intersectional, and transnational knowledge about:
- sociohistorical, political, economic and cultural processes that affect Latina/Latino groups in contemporary society;
- Latina/Latino social movements;
- Latina/Latino cultural productions;
- the relationship between class, gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity and migration in the construction of Latina/Latino cultural and racial formations; and
- Latina/Latino Studies theories and methods. Students will learn that Latina/Latino Studies is a body of critical inquiry that encompasses a wide range of topics and objects of study, and that leverages multiple forms of knowledge production.
- Critical and Creative Inquiry: Students will apply Latina/Latino Studies theories in developing their capacities for critical and creative inquiry. Specifically, students will exercise their oral and written communication skills as they express new ideas and generate projects that build upon Latina/Latino Studies theories and draw from the range of interdisciplinary Latina/Latino Studies methods.
- Self-Reflexivity and Community Engagement: To help promote effective leadership and community engagement, students will demonstrate self-reflexivity about their ideas as well as about their social and political positions in their classrooms and communities. They will also learn to build and sustain relationships and take leadership towards the elimination of social inequities at the local, national, and global levels.
- Social Awareness and Understanding Power: Student will recognize that Latina/Latino lives and communities unfold within historically unequal and racialized social, cultural, economic, and political power relations. Students will become familiar with Latina/Latino theories and social movements that consider indigeneity, race, class, gender, sexuality and citizenship to understand and intervene on historical and contemporary power formations.
- Global Consciousness: Students will understand how complex and interdependent historical and contemporary global forces—environmental, social, cultural, economic, and political— impact and are impacted by Latinas/Latinos. They will learn to apply Latina/Latino Studies critiques to these forces, including but not limited to those related to migration and transnationalism.
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences Major in Latina/Latino Studies
department website: https://lls.illinois.edu/
department faculty: Latina/Latino Faculty
email: lls-studies@illinois.edu or aprodrig@illinois.edu
overview of college admissions & requirements: Liberal Arts & Sciences
college website: https://las.illinois.edu/