CLAS Academic Programs > The Honors Program in Latin American Studies

Requirements for Honors Program in Latin American Studies

Honors Program application in PDF format

Guidelines for Completing LAS Honors, 2008-09

The Honors Program in Latin American Studies is open to majors in any field. The aim of the honors program is to prepare students to pursue individualized research on Latin America, culminating in the preparation of an honors thesis written under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The honors program is particularly suited to the student who wishes to go on to graduate school or pursue employment in an institution emphasizing research and independent work. Although not required, students are encouraged to undertake independent field research in Latin America for their thesis. It is strongly recommended that students enroll in HISTORY 299X, Design and Methodology for International Field Research (1 unit), in the sophomore or junior year for an overview of research design and methods for international field research.

Admission to the honors program is by application by the end of the junior year. Applications are reviewed and approved by the CLAS director and associate director. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 (B+) or higher, and maintain this average in courses taken to satisfy the requirements. All courses must be taken for a letter grade where that option is available. Courses credited toward LAS honors may be double counted toward the student's major requirements.

To graduate with interdisciplinary honors in Latin American Studies a student must:

1. Complete a total of 35 units in courses certified for honors by the Center for Latin American Studies, distributed as follows:

A survey: HISTORY 70, Culture, Politics, and Society in Latin America. This is normally taken in the sophomore year.
For breadth: two 4-5-unit courses at the 100 level or above with a focus on the region. These courses are normally taken during the sophomore and junior years.
For depth: one 4-5-unit course at the 100 level or higher with a focus on the region that explores an issue in depth of particular interest to the student, approved by the honors advisor.
LATINAM 198, Honors Thesis (1-10 units), under the supervision of the student’s faculty honors advisor. Normally these units are spread over two or three quarters of the senior year and are devoted to the completion of the honors thesis.
LATINAM 201 (same as HISTORY 275F), Social Change in Latin America: Social Policy and Demographic and Social Change Since 1900 (5 units). This Fall Quarter honors seminar must be taken in the senior year.
Enough additional courses focusing on Latin America to bring the total to 35 units. These must be at the 100 level or higher, except that up to 5 units may also come from study of Spanish or Portuguese beyond the seventh quarter, or of a second language of Latin America at any level, as outlined in the Foreign Language Requirement.
Of the courses applied to 'b' and 'c' above, 10 units may be completed in Overseas Studies and 5 units may be taken as directed individual study.

2. Fulfill the Foreign Language Requirement (see below).

3. Submit an Honors thesis which meets standards of scholarly excellence and is approved by the thesis adviser. If graduating in June, please participate in the LAS honors symposium at the end of May.

A typical honors student takes the survey course (for example, HISTORY 70) in the sophomore year, while also fulfilling the Foreign Language Requirement. During the junior year, the student completes 15 additional units of coursework (requirements 1B and 1C, above), attends one of the overseas campuses in Latin America (Santiago or another program approved by the University and the Center), secures an advisor, and works with that advisor to complete a thesis proposal and honors program application by the end of the winter quarter. The student also applies for research funding through the Undergraduate Research Programs (URP). After the research period is over, the student attends the LAS Honors College, and, in the senior year enrolls in LATINAM 198 Honors Thesis, for 1-3 quarters.

Foreign Language Requirement

The minimum requirement for completion of either the minor or honors certificate is advanced proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese by any one of the following means:

Completion of seven quarters of college-level study of Spanish or Portuguese.
Completion of a course on Spanish or Portuguese language or literature, or on some other subject but taught in Spanish or Portuguese, at the 100-level or higher, with a letter grade of ‘B’ (3.0).
Achievement of advanced low or better on the ACTFL scale in a test administered by the Language Center.

Honors College

The LAS honors college, sponsored along with many other departmental and interdisciplinary honors colleges by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, is an intensive three-week residential program offered directly preceding autumn quarter. It affords returning LAS honors students who have completed field work a debriefing and a focused series of presentations by a member of the CLAS-affiliated faculty and other Stanford instructors on advisor interaction, data preservation, bibliographic resources, writing strategies, statistical analysis, organizational techniques for completing the thesis process, and opportunities to socialize with other honors students in the college, all without cost to the students. Ample time is provided for library research, individual faculty consultations, and data analysis. Applications for honors colleges are available in spring quarter prior to the senior year.