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Studies & Degrees in Latino Studies

Latino Studies is the interdisciplinary study of people of Latin American descent in the United States: their history, cultures, politics and everyday lives. Northwestern University defines the field as focusing on the historic and contemporary circumstances that shape Latina and Latino lives, spaces and politics in the United States, with attention to how these communities connect to their cultural or geographical origins across the Americas. According to the US Census Bureau, the Hispanic population of the United States was 68 million on 1 July 2024, 20% of the total population and the country's largest racial or ethnic minority.

The field has several names: Latino Studies, Latina and Latino Studies, Latinx Studies, and Chicano/Latino Studies where Mexican American history is central. It is not the same as Latin American Studies, which looks at the countries of Latin America themselves, although many universities house both in one department. Northwestern notes that, like other ethnic studies fields, it began outside universities, in social movements led by organisers, artists, students, workers and teachers.

What students learn

Courses draw on the humanities and the social sciences. The Department of Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine, groups its teaching into three areas:

  • humanities: history, film, music, performance, art, dance and literature
  • social sciences: education, politics, sociology, culture, immigration and law
  • Latina/o health: psychology, public health and medicine

The communities studied include people with heritage from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America, the Dominican Republic and other Latin American nations. Typical topics are migration and borders, race and identity, language, labour, education, and media and the arts.

Qualifications and levels

Latino Studies is mainly an undergraduate subject at US universities, taken as a major, a minor or a certificate alongside another field.

  • Major. At UC Irvine the major is built on history; literature, arts and media; and contemporary inequalities and social issues. Its requirements include five core courses, a Spanish language requirement that can be met through placement or AP credit, and one comparative course on African American or Asian American communities. Northwestern University, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania also offer majors and minors, at Dartmouth and Penn within Latin American and Latino or Latinx studies.
  • Minor. A minor adds a smaller set of courses to a different major. UC Irvine lists one in its catalogue.
  • Certificate. Duke University offers a certificate in Latino/a Studies in the Global South that is open to all undergraduates from any major.
  • Graduate level. Specialised postgraduate degrees are less common. Students usually take a master's or PhD in a discipline such as history, sociology or literature and add a specialisation: UC Irvine lists a graduate emphasis in Chicano/Latino Studies, and the University of Southern California a graduate certificate in Latinx and Latin American Studies.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 12 active schools for Latino Studies. Nine are in the United States; Spain, Argentina and Italy have one each.

The US schools are universities and colleges. Besides those named above, Fordham University in New York has its Latin American and Latino Studies Institute, founded as the Puerto Rican Studies Institute and expanded in the early 1990s, with faculty from nine departments. The University at Albany, part of the State University of New York (SUNY), teaches Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies, including the relationships between those nations and the United States. Fort Lewis College in Colorado is also listed.

The three schools outside the United States are not university departments. Ailola Buenos Aires is a Spanish language school, Centro Machiavelli in Florence teaches Italian language courses, and Educatrip in Granada organises educational travel in Spain. They suit students who want language and cultural immersion, not a degree in Latino Studies.

University programmes are taught in English. Spanish is useful and sometimes required, as in the UC Irvine major.

Careers

Latino Studies does not lead to one profession. Duke University describes its certificate as useful for careers in law, business, marketing, education, public policy, medicine and healthcare, journalism and communications, and the non-profit sector. Graduates who combine the subject with another major, or who continue to law school, teaching qualifications or a postgraduate degree, use it as knowledge of a large community and its languages. No official statistics track employment for this subject on its own.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Latino Studies and Latin American Studies?

Latino Studies looks at people of Latin American descent in the United States. Latin American Studies looks at the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Many universities, such as Dartmouth College and Fordham University, teach both in one department or institute.

Do I need to speak Spanish to study Latino Studies?

Classes at US universities are in English. Some programmes add a Spanish requirement: at UC Irvine it can be met with AP Spanish credit or a placement test.

Can I study Latino Studies as a second subject?

Yes. Many students take it as a minor or certificate. The Duke University certificate is open to undergraduates from any major.

Is Latino Studies offered outside the United States?

As a degree subject it is taught almost only in the United States. The schools listed in Spain, Argentina and Italy offer language courses and educational travel.