Course Catalog: 2015-16

The Five College Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies Certificate is issued by the Five College Council on Latin American Studies. To earn a Cer­tificate, students must complete successfully a minimum of eight one-semester courses selected from five different areas, fulfill a language requirement, and achieve at least a grade of B in the minimum number of courses taken towards the certificate. Students are encouraged to plan their program of study in con­sultation with the Amherst College Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies Certificate advisor. Completed applications for the certificate must be signed by the home campus advisor, who will bring the application to the Five College Latin American Studies Certificate Program committee.

Requirements: The eight one-semester courses must be taken within the follow­ing five areas and the student must earn a B or better in each course:

1. A broadly based, introductory course on the social and political history of Latin America;
2. One course in the social sciences that focuses substantially on Latin America (including courses in anthropology, economics, geography, po­litical science, etc.);
3. One course in the humanities that focuses substantially on Latin Amer­ica (including courses in art, art history, dance, folklore, literature, music, philosophy, religion, or theater, etc.);
4. Four other courses on Latin America, the Caribbean, or U.S. Latinos (one of these courses can be replaced by a senior honors thesis on a Latin American, Caribbean, or U.S. Latino topic);
5. A seminar which gives the student’s coursework in Latin America an in­terdisciplinary focus.

Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one of these certificate requirements through the Five Colleges or while studying abroad.

Language requirement: Proficiency through second-year college level in an of­ficial (other than English) or indigenous language of Latin America and the Caribbean.

During 2015-16 the Amherst faculty advisor is Professor Javier Corrales of the Political Science Department. For more informa­tion see the Latin American Studies website at www.fivecolleges.edu/sites/ latinamericanstudies.