Graduate 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 inter-disciplinary studies to enhance their professional development.

Certificates are issued twice a year:

• December (deadline November 15)
• May (deadline May 1)

Requirements:

• A minimum of two semesters of residence at UNC-CH.
• Four graduate courses on Latin American topics.
• 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 member of the faculty of the Department of Romance Languages. For Portuguese, consult Professor Monica Rector. For Spanish, consult Professor Glynis Cowell.

To apply, please fill out and sign both the Application and the Language Evaluation Form.

Submit all materials to: Beatriz Riefkohl Muñiz, ISA Associate Director, 3200 Fed Ex Global Education Center, 301 Pittsboro St, CB 3205, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3205.

Working Groups

The UNC-Duke Consortium sponsors research and training working groups designed to combine an innovative form of interdisciplinary inquiry with apprenticeship-style opportunities for graduate students. The working groups encourage collaboration among Latin Americanist faculty and graduate students across disciplines and between campuses. Learn more.

Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC)

The Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) Program offers LAC course options (independent seminars, discussion sections, combined discussion sections, and research components) in numerous languages including Spanish in a wide variety of disciplines. Learn more.

Students interested in strengthening their marketability on the academic job market can register for INTS 789 Teaching LAC and/or pursue the  Graduate Certificate in LAC Instruction, the only professional training program in LAC pedagogy offered nationwide. For more information, visit the LAC Website.

Graduate Student Forum

Every year, a representative group of UNC graduate students is nominated to serve on the ISA Graduate Student Forum. The Forum works with ISA to coordinate activities of particular interest to graduate students working on Latin American issues across campus. Events organized by the Forum can be diverse. The Forum has served as host to short-term Cuban scholars and coordinated interdisciplinary lectures by members of the Argentinean Colectivo Situaciones.