The study of a world region is intended to provide students with a broad, integrated overview of the influences that have shaped, and continue to shape, its internal evolution as well as the role it plays in the world. The Latin America Studies major introduces students to the cultural, economic. historical and political forces, arising inside and outside the continent, that have combined to determine the past, present and future of Spanish-and Portuguese-speaking areas of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
Students pursuing both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree or Bachelors of Science (BS) degree are required to complete a minimum of two years of foreign language study in a language appropriate to the chosen specialization. Ohio State currently offers courses in Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish.
To learn more about major requirements, check out the links below. Requirements and course offerings do change, so if you have any questions please reach out to internationalstudies@osu.edu or contact your academic advisor.
Bachelor of Arts
Foreign Language Requirement
This major requires completion of a minimum of two years of language study. Coursework completed at OSU or abroad and/or appropriate placement test results can document this.
To fulfill the foreign language requirement students have three options:
- Complete two years (4 semesters) of a single language
- Complete a foreign language minor
- Complete a second major in a language
For those opting to complete two years in a single language, OSU offers courses in Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish. After completing 1101, 1102, 1103, you must complete one advanced language course at the 2000 level.
Embedded Literacies: 3 courses (9 hours)
Students must complete at least one course each in Advanced Writing (AW), Data Analysis (DA) and Technology (TECH). These courses are part of the major and courses which fulfill the requirements are indicated below.
Required Foundations: 2 courses (6 hours)
- INTSTDS 3850 - Introduction to Globalization
- INTSTDS 4852 - Research in Globalization (AW)
Methods & Analysis: Choose one course (3 hours)
- Geography 4103 - Introductory Spatial Data Analysis (DA)
- INTSTDS 3400 - The Analysis & Display of Data (DA)
- Political Science 3780 - Data Literacy & Data Visualization (DA)
- Sociology 5650 - Presenting & Communicating Quantitative Data (DA)
Primary Specialization & Secondary Specialization
If Latin American Studies is your Primary Specialization, choose five courses (15 hours). You will choose an additional 3 courses (9 hours) for your Secondary Specialization.
If Latin American Studies is your Secondary Specialization, choose three courses (9 hours).
- ANTHROP 3416 - Latin American Peoples & Cultures
- ANTHROP 3419 - Latin American Culture & Migration in Global Perspective
- ANTHROP 5701 - Health & Healing in Latin America & the Caribbean
- COMM 3554 - Social Implications of Communication Technology (TECH)
- HISTORY 3100 - Colonial Latin America
- HISTORY 3106 - History of Mexico
- INTSTDS 2100 - Introduction to Latin America
- INTSTDS 3703 - Ethical Issues in Information Technology (TECH)
- INTSTDS/HISTART 3905 - The Developing World on Screen
- INTSTDS 4242 - The (Un)Rule of Law in Latin America
- INTSTDS 4701 - The Development & Control of Weapons of Mass Destruction (TECH)
- INTSTDS 5640 - Globalization & Latin America
- POLITSC 4240 - Latin American Politics
- SOCIOL 3302 - Technology and Global Society (TECH)
- SPANISH 4516 - The Formation of Bolivian National Cultures
Foreign Language Requirement
This major requires completion of a minimum of two years of language study. Coursework completed at OSU or abroad and/or appropriate placement test results can document this.
To fulfill the foreign language requirement students have three options:
- Complete two years (4 semesters) of a single language
- Complete a foreign language minor
- Complete a second major in a language
For those opting to complete two years in a single language, OSU offers courses in Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish. After completing 1101, 1102, 1103, you must complete one advanced language course at the 2000 level.
Embedded Literacies: 3 courses (9 hours)
Students must complete at least one course each in Advanced Writing, Data Analysis and Technology. These courses are part of the major and courses which fulfill the requirements are indicated below.
Required Foundations: 4 courses (12 hours)
- AEDECON/INTSTDS 4534 - Comparative Challenges to Economic Development
- Geography 5751 - New Worlds of Latin America
- INTSTDSs 2100 - Introduction to Latin America
- Political Science 4240 - Latin American Politics
Critical Perspectives: Choose 4 courses (12 hours), must include one EL Technology, one EL Advanced Writing & one EL Data Analysis
- Anthropology 3419 Regional Survey of Latin American Cultures
- Anthropology 3555 New World Prehistory: Ancient Maya Civilization
- Geography 3752 Geography of Latin America
- International Studies 3400 Analysis & Display of Data (EL Data Analysis)
- International Studies 3450 Human Rights: An Introduction
- International Studies 3703 Ethical Issues in the Information Age (EL Technology)
- International Studies 4242 The (Un) Rule of Law in Latin America
- International Studies 4700 Terror & Terrorism (EL Advanced Writing)
- International Studies 4701 Weapons of Mass Destruction (EL Technology)
- International Studies 4852 Research in Globalization (EL Advanced Writing)
- Political Science 3780 Data Literacy & Data Visualization (EL Data Analysis)
- INTSTDS or SPANISH 5640 Globalization and Latin America
- WGSST 5624 Women and Social Change in Latin America
Electives: Choose 2 courses (6 hours)
For electives, students can choose any combination of two courses from other International Studies specializations, the list below and unused courses from the Critical Perspectives.
- AAAS 3451 - Themes in Francophone African and Caribbean Literature
- Comparative Studies 3675 - Religions of Mesoamerica
- History 3100 - Colonial Latin America
- History 3101 - South America Since Independence
- History 3102 - Central America and the Caribbean Since Independence
- History 3105 - History of Brazil
- History 3106 - History of Mexico
- History 3107 - History of Argentina
- History 3110 - The Jewish Experience in Latin America
- History of Art 3603 - Introduction to Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art
- INTSTDS 4195 - Selected Problems in International Studies
- INTSTDS 5191 - Student Internship Program
- WGSST 4576 - Women and Visual Culture in Latin America
Foreign Language Requirement
This major requires completion of a minimum of two years of language study. Coursework completed at OSU or abroad and/or appropriate placement test results can document this.
To fulfill the foreign language requirement students have three options:
- Complete two years (4 semesters) of a single language
- Complete a foreign language minor
- Complete a second major in a language
For those opting to complete two years in a single language, OSU offers courses in Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish. After completing 1101, 1102, 1103, you must complete one advanced language course at the 2000 level.
Required Foundations: 4 courses (12 hours)
- AEDECON/INTSTDS 4534: Comparative Challenges to Economic Development
- Geography 5751: New Worlds of Latin America
- INTSTDS 2100 - Introduction to Latin America
- Political Science 4240 - Latin American Politics
Critical Perspectives: Choose 4 courses (12 hours)
- Anthropology 3419 - Regional Survey of Latin American Cultures
- Anthropology 3555 - New World Prehistory: Ancient Maya Civilization
- Geography 3752 - Geography of Latin America
- INTSTDS 4100 - Impunity, Corruption and Crime in Latin America
- INTSTDS 4242 - The (Un)Rule of Law in Latin America
- INTSTDS 4451 - The Immigration Controversy through Film
- INTSTDS/SPANISH 5640 - Globalization and Latin America
- Political Science 4241 - Special Topics in Latin American Politics
- WGSST 5624 - Women and Social Change in Latin America
Electives: Choose 2 courses (6 hours)
For electives, students can choose any combination of two courses from other International Studies specializations, the list below and unused courses from the Critical Perspectives.
- AAAS 3451 - Themes in Francophone African and Caribbean Literature
- Comparative Studies 3675 - Religions of Mesoamerica
- History 3100 - Colonial Latin America
- History 3101 - South America Since Independence
- History 3102 - Central America and the Caribbean Since Independence
- History 3105 - History of Brazil
- History 3106 - History of Mexico
- History 3107 - History of Argentina
- History 3110 - The Jewish Experience in Latin America
- History of Art 3603 - Introduction to Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art
- INTSTDS 3400 - The Display and Analysis of Data
- INTSTDS 4195 - Selected Problems in International Studies
- INTSTDS 5191 - Student Internship Program
- WGSST 4576 - Women and Visual Culture in Latin America
Bachelor of Science
Foreign Language Requirement
This major requires completion of a minimum of two years of language study. Coursework completed at OSU or abroad and/or appropriate placement test results can document this.
To fulfill the foreign language requirement students have three options:
- Complete two years (4 semesters) of a single language
- Complete a foreign language minor
- Complete a second major in a language
For those opting to complete two years in a single language, OSU offers courses in Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish. After completing 1101, 1102, 1103, you must complete one advanced language course at the 2000 level.
Embedded Literacies: 3 courses (9 hours)
Students must complete at least one course each in Advanced Writing (AW), and Technology (TECH), and complete a 3- course sequence in Data Analysis (DA). These courses are part of the major and courses which fulfill the requirements are indicated below.
Required Foundations: 2 courses (6 hours)
- INTSTDS 3850 - Introduction to Globalization
- INTSTDS 4852 - Research in Globalization (AW)
Data Analysis: 3 courses (9 hours), Choose 1 3-course sequence)
- Series 1
- Geography 4103 - Introductory Spatial Data Analysis
- Geography 5103 - Intermediate Spatial Data Analysis
- Geography 5210 - Fundamentals of Geographic Information System
- Series 2
- INTSTDS 3400 - The Analysis & Display of Data or Political Science 3780 - Data Literacy & Data Visualization
- Political Science 4781- Data Literacy in Political Science I
- Political Science 4782 - Data Literacy in Political Science II
- Series 3
- Statistics 2450.01 or 2450.02 Introduction to Statistical Analysis I
- Statistics 3301 - Statistical Modeling for Discovery I
- Statistics 3302 - Statistical Modeling for Discovery II
Specialization: Choose 6 courses (18 hours)
- ANTHROP 3416 - Latin American Peoples & Cultures
- ANTHROP 3419 - Latin American Culture & Migration in Global Perspective
- ANTHROP 5701 - Health & Healing in Latin America & the Caribbean
- COMM 3554 - Social Implications of Communication Technology (TECH)
- HISTORY 3100 - Colonial Latin America
- HISTORY 3106 - History of Mexico
- INTSTDS 2100 - Introduction to Latin America
- INTSTDS/GEOG 3650 - A World Divided? Place, Space, and Regions in World Affairs
- INTSTDS 3703 - Ethical Issues in Information Technology (TECH)
- INTSTDS/HISTART 3905 - The Developing World on Screen
- INTSTDS/POLITSC 4242 - The (Un) Rule of Law in Latin America
- INTSTDS 4701 - The Development & Control of Weapons of Mass Destruction (TECH)
- INTSTDS/SPANISH 5640 - Globalization & Latin America
- POLITSC 4240 - Latin American Politics
- SOCIOL 3302 - Technology and Global Society (TECH)
- SPANISH 4516 - The Formation of Bolivian National Cultures
Foreign Language Requirement
This major requires completion of a minimum of two years of language study. Coursework completed at OSU or abroad and/or appropriate placement test results can document this.
To fulfill the foreign language requirement students have three options:
- Complete two years (4 semesters) of a single language
- Complete a foreign language minor
- Complete a second major in a language
For those opting to complete two years in a single language, OSU offers courses in Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish. After completing 1101, 1102, 1103, you must complete one advanced language course at the 2000 level.
Embedded Literacies: 3 courses (9 hours)
Students must complete at least one course each in Advanced Writing, Data Analysis and Technology. These courses are part of the major and courses which fulfill the requirements are indicated below. The Stats 2450.01 prerequisite satisfies the EL Data Analysis.
Required Minor:
Students must complete one of the following minors, or a second major in the same field:
- Agribusiness: 4-5 courses (minimum 12 hours)
- Prerequisite: AEDECON 2001, or Econ 2001.01 or 2001.02
- Business: 5 courses (15 hours)
- Prerequisites: Econ 2001.01 or 2001.02, CSE 1110 or higher, Math 1130 or 1148 or math placement in M or L.
- City and Regional Planning: 4 courses (12 hours)
- Environmental Science: 5 courses (15 hours)
- Geographic Information Science: 6 courses (18 hours)
- Global Public Health: 5 courses (15 hours)
- Information Security: 6 courses (16 hours)
- Consult INTSTDS advisor for prerequisites and scheduling
- International Business: 6 courses (15 hours)
- Quantitative Economics: 5 courses (15-16 hours)
Required Foundations: 4 courses (12 hours)
- AEDECON/INTSTDS 4534 - Comparative Challenges to Economic Development
- Geography 5751 - New Worlds of Latin America
- INTSTDS 2100 - Introduction to Latin America
- Political Science 4240 - Latin American Politics
Critical Perspectives: Choose 4 courses (12 hours), must include one EL Technology & one EL Advanced Writing
- Anthropology 3419 - Regional Survey of Latin American Cultures
- Anthropology 3555 - New World Prehistory: Ancient Maya Civilization
- Geography 3752 - Geography of Latin America
- INTSTDS 3450 - Human Rights: An Introduction
- INTSTDS 3703 - Ethical Issues in the Information Age (EL Technology)
- INTSTDS 4242 - The (Un)Rule of Law in Latin America
- INTSTDS 4700 - Terror & Terrorism (EL Advanced Writing)
- INTSTDS 4701 - The Development and Control of Weapons of Mass Destruction (EL Technology)
- INTSTDS 4852 - Research in Globalization (EL Advanced Writing)
- INTSTDS/SPANISH 5640 - Globalization and Latin America
- WGSST 5624 - Women and Social Change in Latin America
Foreign Language Requirement
This major requires completion of a minimum of two years of language study. Coursework completed at OSU or abroad and/or appropriate placement test results can document this.
To fulfill the foreign language requirement students have three options:
- Complete two years (4 semesters) of a single language
- Complete a foreign language minor
- Complete a second major in a language
For those opting to complete two years in a single language, OSU offers courses in Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish. After completing 1101, 1102, 1103, you must complete one advanced language course at the 2000 level.
Embedded Literacies: 3 courses (9 hours)
Students must complete at least one course each in Advanced Writing, Data Analysis and Technology. These courses are part of the major and courses which fulfill the requirements are indicated below. The Stats 2450.01 prerequisite satisfies the EL Data Analysis.
Required Minor:
Students must complete one of the following minors, or a second major in the same field:
- Agribusiness: 4-5 courses (minimum 12 hours)
- Prerequisite: AEDECON 2001, or Econ 2001.01 or 2001.02
- Business: 5 courses (15 hours)
- Prerequisites: Econ 2001.01 or 2001.02, CSE 1110 or higher, Math 1130 or 1148 or math placement in M or L.
- City and Regional Planning: 4 courses (12 hours)
- Environmental Science: 5 courses (15 hours)
- Geographic Information Science: 6 courses (18 hours)
- Global Public Health: 5 courses (15 hours)
- Information Security: 6 courses (16 hours)
- Consult INTSTDS advisor for prerequisites and scheduling
- International Business: 6 courses (15 hours)
- Quantitative Economics: 5 courses (15-16 hours)
Required Foundations: 4 courses (12 hours)
- AEDECON/INTSTDS 4534 - Comparative Challenges to Economic Development
- Geography 5751 - New Worlds of Latin America
- INTSTDS 2100 - Introduction to Latin America
- Political Science - 4240 Latin American Politics
Critical Perspectives: Choose 4 courses (12 hours)
- Anthropology 3419 - Regional Survey of Latin American Cultures
- Anthropology 3555 - New World Prehistory: Ancient Maya Civilization
- Geography 3752 - Geography of Latin America
- INTSTDS 4100 - Impunity, Corruption and Crime in Latin America
- INTSTDS 4242 - The (Un) Rule of Law in Latin America
- INTSTDS 4451 - The Immigration Controversy through Film
- INTSTDS/SPANISH 5640 - Globalization and Latin America
- Political Science 4241 - Special Topics in Latin American Politics
- WGSST 5624 - Women and Social Change in Latin America
Electives: Choose 1 course ( 3 hours)
For the elective, students can choose from the list below, unused courses from the Critical Perspectives, or a courses from other International Studies specializations.
- AAAS 3451 - Themes in Francophone African and Caribbean Literature
- Comparative Studies 3675 - Religions of Mesoamerica
- History 3100 - Colonial Latin America
- History 3101 - South America Since Independence
- History 3102 - Central America and the Caribbean Since Independence
- History 3105 - History of Brazil
- History 3106 - History of Mexico
- History 3107 - History of Argentina
- History 3110 - The Jewish Experience in Latin America
- History of Art 3603 - Introduction to Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art
- International Studies 3400 - The Display and Analysis of Data
- International Studies 4195 - Selected Problems in International Studies
- International Studies 5191 - Student Internship Program
- WGSST 4576 - Women and Visual Culture in Latin America