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High School Preparation
In addition to completing the courses required for admission to the University of California, high school students who plan to major in LALS at UC Santa Cruz should try to acquire as much proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese as possible before coming to UC Santa Cruz.
Transfer Preparation
As early as possible in the course of their studies, it is important that transfer students acquire some breadth of information and an introduction to the variety of approaches available for the study of Latin America and Latino populations. For this purpose, three lower-division courses are required of all majors: LALS 1, Introduction to Latin American and Latino Studies (recommended for frosh and transfers who have never taken an LALS course before) or LALS 10, Bridging LALS (recommended for transfer students who have already taken an LALS course) and two other lower-division electives. Without exception, LALS 1 and/or LALS 10 must be taken at UC Santa Cruz. Courses with similar content taken at a community college or other institution may be substituted for the other two lower-division courses with the approval of the LALS Department upon declaration of the major.
While it is not a condition of admission, students from California community colleges may complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz.
Transfer course agreements and articulation between the University of California and California community colleges can be accessed on the ASSIST web site.
Careers
Bilingual-multicultural education
Business
Community organizing
Government and community service
Higher education
International relations
Law
Literature
Politics
Public health
Public policy
Social work
Teaching
Translating
Travel industry
Urban/regional planning
These are only samples of the field's many possibilities.
Recognition
Professor of LALS Patricia Zavella has co-edited a new book, Women and Migration in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: A Reader (Duke University Press, 2007) and shared in the 2002 Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award for her contribution to Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios. Professor Rosa Linda Fregoso was awarded the MLA prize in United States Latina/o and Chicana/o Literary and Cultural Studies for her book, MeXicana Encounters: The Making of Social Identities on the Borderlands (University of California Press, 2003). Professor Jonathan Fox’s Accountability Politics: Power and Voice in Rural Mexico, will be published in November, 2007 by Oxford University Press. He also co-edited, with three colleagues, Mexico’s Right-to-Know Reforms: Civil Society Perspectives (Woodrow Wilson Center, 2007), also published in Mexico City as Derecho a Saber: Balance y Perspectivas Civicas (Fundar, 2007). Professor Gabriela Arredondo’s new book, Mexican Chicago: Race, Identity and Nation, 1916-1939, will be published in January of 2008 by Illinois University Press. She also co-edited a previous book, Chicana Feminisms: A Critical Reader (Duke University Press, 2003). Susanne Jonas’ book Of Centaurs and Doves (Westview Press, 2000) was designated an Outstanding Academic Title for 2001 by Choice magazine.
Language Requirements
All LALS majors are expected to learn to speak, read, and write Spanish or Portuguese and to make use of these skills on a regular basis in their academic work.
Majors must take at least two upper-division courses taught in Spanish or Portuguese. Before taking an upper-division course taught in Spanish or Portuguese, students must demonstrate proficiency in the language equivalent to completion of Spanish 6, or Spanish 56, Advanced Readings in Different Genres, or Spanish for Spanish Speakers 63. Students who have achieved fluency in Spanish or Portuguese through life experience may be exempt from this recommended preparatory course work. While language instruction courses do not satisfy major requirements per se, they are necessary preparation to fulfill major requirements.
Field-Study and Internship Opportunities
All majors are strongly encouraged to undertake either a field study in Latin America, the Caribbean, or a Latino/a community in the U.S., or formal academic study abroad through the Education Abroad Program (EAP). These paths are the best ways to improve language skills, explore the nature and direction of specific academic and career interests in relation to Latin American and Latino studies, and deepen cross-cultural understanding and relationships based upon personal experience.
Field studies are independent, community-based study projects for academic credit, done under faculty sponsorship and arranged on an individual basis. Local opportunities for internships and field study in Latino/a communities on California’s Central Coast are numerous. Credit for up to three upper-division courses may be applied toward the major from field study; however, course credit from field study and study abroad combined may not exceed three upper-division courses. Students should check the LALS Department web site for further information regarding the field-study process and course credit. A listing of local field-study programs and petition forms are available at the LALS Department office, 32 Merrill.
Study Abroad
Students may apply to study at foreign universities through EAP. EAP offers opportunities for students to study at universities in Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico; San José, Costa Rica; Santiago and Concepción, Chile; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Madrid, Córdoba, Alcalá, Granada, and Barcelona in Spain. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors with two years of university-level Spanish may apply. In addition, during fall and spring quarters, the EAP Field Research Program (FRP) in Mexico is an experiential program geared toward juniors and seniors who want to explore the “real” Mexico outside the classroom and at the same time receive research training. EAP has research sites in states such as Jalisco, Yucatán, Oaxaca, or Michoacán (final site choice depends on the research topic). Application deadlines are generally several months to a year in advance of the program, so students should come to the office early to plan their study abroad programs. The department will approve courses for upper-division credit toward the major courses taken abroad which cover topics appropriate to the LALS curriculum. All credit for EAP classes transfers back to students’ UCSC transcripts. Financial aid applies to all but summer programs and includes airfare and living costs. Before departure, students should present a proposed study plan for courses abroad to the department adviser for review. Credit for up to three EAP courses can be applied toward the major.
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The Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Department integrates the study of Chicano/a and Latino/a communities in the United States with analysis of the histories, politics, cultures, and societies of Latin America and the Caribbean. The LALS Department prepares students for multi-lingual and multi-cultural participation in a rapidly changing world. LALS courses deal with changing political, social, economic, and cultural realities, including immigration and transnational communities; gender, sexual, and racial identities; social movements; diverse forms of cultural expression; ongoing political and economic restructuring in Latin America; and the challenges of political and economic empowerment for Latino communities in the U.S. To understand these processes, we draw from interdisciplinary perspectives that include the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. In addition to academic knowledge, LALS also provides opportunities for students to acquire practical, real-world skills. Through program-related internship and field-study experiences, students can acquire useful, pre-professional skills in key areas such as: community development/advocacy, public policy, education, journalism, media, performance, and research/writing, among others.
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