The Undergraduate Certificate in Latin American Studies for Public Health Majors is designed to supplement the Public Health major by developing skills and knowledge connected with Latin American/Latinx, and/or the Caribbean (including diasporas).

Students strengthen regional expertise within their major field through (1) language study; (2) public health electives on Latin America/Latinx populations and/or cultural context of infectious disease; (3) through an introduction to Latin America (LAST 1010) and (4) interdisciplinary coursework with core Latin America content.

This program is for students who wish to internationalize their studies, deepen their awareness of Latin America and the Caribbean, and to hold a certificate that makes them increasingly competitive for work and advanced studies enhanced by regional understanding and intercultural competency.

The program certifies that students have:

• Obtained a basic comprehension of a Latin American language;
• Taken course work in the field of public health on Latin America, the Latinx population in the US, or on societal and cultural influences more broadly as they affect health and disease behavior beyond strictly biological mechanisms;
• Completed an introduction to Latin America survey course (LAST 1010); and
• Advanced their understanding of public health in the region with two Latin American-content electives.

Course List

Course ID	Title	Credits
Latin American Language (two courses required) 1		6
LAST 1010	Introduction to Latin American Studies	3
Latin American Studies Electives (Choose 2) 2		6
Public Health Elective (choose 1) 3		3
SPHU 2016	Infectious Disease Outbreaks
SPHU 2400	Global Health in Action
SPHU 3120	Issues & Strategies in Public Health
SPHU 4220	Latino Health in the US
SPHU 4330	Resilience in International Disasters

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Spanish or Portuguese – 2 classes beyond the 2030 level or 2 semesters of Haitian Creole, Kaqchikel or other Indigenous language. Students who enter the program fluent in a Latin American language will take at least 2 semesters of an additional language.

²

Suggested LAST electives:
AFRS 3300 Issues in Africana Diaspora Studies (3 or 4 c.h.), ANTH 3750 Bones, Bodies and Disease (3 c.h.), ANTH 3091 Selected Cultural Systems (3,4 c.h.) when taught as Politics of Fieldwork, ANTH 3092 Selected Cultural Systems (3,4 c.h.) When taught as Sex Work or Race and Migration, ECON 4600 Inequality & Poverty in Latin America (3 or 4 c.h.), HISL 2910 Special Topics (1-3 c.h.), HISL 3910 Special Topics (1-4 c.h.) LAST 3010 Approaches to Latinx Studies (3 c.h.),LAST 6200 Health & Inequality Latin Amer (3 c.h.) POLC 4390 Political Economy of Development (3 or 4 c.h.), POLI 6530 International Human Rights (4 c.h.), PSDV 4320 Migrants Refugees & Development (3 or 4 c.h.),SOCI 2600 Environmental Sociology (3 c.h.), SOCI 6012 Adv Special Topics: SOCI (3 or 4 c.h.) when taught as Sociology of Food. 

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Other courses may count in consultation with the Latin American Studies Undergraduate Advisor.

For more information, contact the School of Liberal Arts.