2026-2027 Course Catalog

Source: https://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/las/latina-latino-studies-balas/ Parent: https://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/

for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences in Latina/Latino Studies

The Undergraduate Major in Latina/Latino Studies explores the experiences and lives of Latinas/os in the context of the United States. The major provides a broad and deep approach to theory, research, and multidisciplinary study of the Latina/o experience. Students will complete 34 hours of required and elective courses, and a minimum of 18 hours of supporting course work or a minor in an area outside of the major. Students majoring in Latina/Latino Studies receive excellent preparation for graduate study or careers in education, social and welfare policy, counseling, law, public policy, and other fields that address Latino issues.

for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences in Latina/Latino Studies

Advising: The Department of Latina/Latino Studies provides advising for students. Students will also be assigned a faculty advisor to help plan a coherent program in their selected area of study.

Departmental distinction: To graduate with distinction in Latina/Latino Studies, a student must have at least a 3.25 overall GPA, a minimum 3.5 GPA in the major, and complete a senior honors thesis. To complete the honors thesis requires a student to enroll in four hours of LLS 495, normally distributed evenly across two consecutive semesters. Students graduating with at least a 3.5 GPA in the major (and meeting the other conditions) will be awarded Distinction; those with at least a 3.7 GPA in the major will be given High Distinction.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum hours required for graduation: 120

Minimum required major and supporting course work: 52 hours required, including 34 hours in Latina/Latino Studies courses. Twelve hours of 300- and 400-level in the major must be taken on this campus.

University Requirements

Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree.  Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.

The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.

General Education Requirements

Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in the program.

Course List

 | Code | Title | Hours |

| --- | --- | --- | | Composition I | | 4-6 | | Advanced Composition | | 3 | | Fulfilled by LLS 385 | | | | Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | | 6 | | Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | | 6 | | Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | | 6 | | Fulfilled by LLS 100 and any other course approved as Social & Behavioral Sciences | | | | Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Fulfilled by LLS 100 | | | | Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | | 6-10 | | Language Requirement (Completion of the fourth semester or equivalent of a language other than English, or completion of the third semester in two different languages other than English is required) | | 0-20 |

Course List

 | Code | Title | Hours |

| --- | --- | --- | | Orientation and Professional Development | | | | LAS 101 | Design Your First Year Experience | 1 | | OR | | | | LAS 100 & LAS 101 | Success in LAS for International Students and Design Your First Year Experience | 3 | | OR | | | | LAS 102 | Transfer Advantage | 1 | | Total Hours | | 1 or 3 |

Major Requirements

Course List

 | Code | Title | Hours |

| --- | --- | --- | | LLS 100 | Intro Latina/Latino Studies | 3 | | LLS 385 | Theory and Methods in LLS | 3 | | Thematic Areas | | | | Students must take two courses in each of the following three areas: | | | | A. Literature, Media and Culture | | 6 | | LLS 240 | Latina/o Popular Culture | | | LLS 242 | Intro to Latina/o Literature | | | LLS 250 | Latina/os on the Bronze Screen | | | LLS 259 | Latina/o Anthropology | | | LLS 357 | Literatures of the Displaced | | | LLS 360 | Contemporary US Latina/o Lit | | | LLS 365 | Chicana/Latina Autobiography, Memoir, Testimonio | | | LLS 375 | Latina/o Media in the US | | | LLS 410 | Writing Latina/o Chicago | | | LLS 435 | Commodifying Difference | | | LLS 458 | Latina/o Performance | | | LLS 472 | Border Latina, Latino Cultures | | | B. Race, Gender, and Sexuality | | 6 | | LLS 230 | Latina/o Genders & Sexualities | | | LLS 235 | Race and the Politics of Reproduction | | | LLS 320 | Gender & Latina/o Migration | | | LLS 355 | Race and Mixed Race | | | LLS 387 | Race, Gender and the Body | | | LLS 392 | Chicanas&Latinas: Self&Society | | | LLS 442 | Latina Literature | | | LLS 465 | Race, Sex, and Deviance | | | LLS 479 | Race, Medicine, and Society | | | C. History, Politics, and Society | | 6 | | LLS 220 | Latina/o Migration | | | LLS 238 | Latina/o Social Movements | | | LLS 278 | Mapping Latina/o Inequalities | | | LLS 279 | Mexican-American History | | | LLS 280 | Caribbean Latina/o Migration | | | LLS 343 | Criminalization and Punishment | | | LLS 368 | Latinas/os & Public Policy | | | LLS 370 | Latina/o Ethnography | | | LLS 379 | Latina/os and the City | | | LLS 382 | Race and Migration in Chicago | | | LLS 468 | Latinas/os & the Law | | | LLS 473 | Immigration, Health & Society | | | LLS 490 | Research and Writing Seminar | 4 | | or LLS 495 | Senior Honors Thesis | | | LLS Electives selected from the list of all LLS and cross-listed LLS classes | | 6 | | Remaining courses to total 6 hours minimum may be selected from any of the area courses listed above (not used to fulfill the Thematic Areas requirement) or chosen in consultation with an academic advisor | | | | Supporting coursework (six hours must be at the 300-/400- level) chosen in consultation with an advisor; may be a campus approved minor | | 18 | | Total Hours | | 52 |

for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences in Latina/Latino Studies

Sample Sequence

This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.

Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a fourth level of a language other than English. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements page.

Total Hours: 120

for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences in Latina/Latino Studies

1. Intellectual Reasoning and Knowledge: Students will become proficient in the field of Latina/Latino Studies, which includes, but is not limited to, interdisciplinary, intersectional, and transnational knowledge about:
2. sociohistorical, political, economic and cultural processes that affect Latina/Latino groups in contemporary society;
3. Latina/Latino social movements;
4. Latina/Latino cultural productions;
5. the relationship between class, gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity and migration in the construction of Latina/Latino cultural and racial formations; and
6. Latina/Latino Studies theories and methods. Students will learn that Latina/Latino Studies is a body of critical inquiry that encompasses a wide range of topics and objects of study, and that leverages multiple forms of knowledge production.
7. Critical and Creative Inquiry: Students will apply Latina/Latino Studies theories in developing their capacities for critical and creative inquiry. Specifically, students will exercise their oral and written communication skills as they express new ideas and generate projects that build upon Latina/Latino Studies theories and draw from the range of interdisciplinary Latina/Latino Studies methods.
8. Self-Reflexivity and Community Engagement: To help promote effective leadership and community engagement, students will demonstrate self-reflexivity about their ideas as well as about their social and political positions in their classrooms and communities. They will also learn to build and sustain relationships and take leadership towards the elimination of social inequities at the local, national, and global levels.
9. Social Awareness and Understanding Power: Student will recognize that Latina/Latino lives and communities unfold within historically unequal and racialized social, cultural, economic, and political power relations. Students will become familiar with Latina/Latino theories and social movements that consider indigeneity, race, class, gender, sexuality and citizenship to understand and intervene on historical and contemporary power formations.
10. Global Consciousness: Students will understand how complex and interdependent historical and contemporary global forces—environmental, social, cultural, economic, and political— impact and are impacted by Latinas/Latinos. They will learn to apply Latina/Latino Studies critiques to these forces, including but not limited to those related to migration and transnationalism.

for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences in Latina/Latino Studies

Department of Latina/Latino Studies

Latina/Latino Faculty\ lls-studies@illinois.edu

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

overview of college admissions & requirements: Liberal Arts & Sciences

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