A major in Latin American Studies provides you with the solid liberal arts skills useful in most professions, as well as specialized language and knowledge desirable for a career related to the region of Latin America. In addition, majoring in Latin American Studies can prepare you for graduate education in the social sciences, humanities, law, and business.
All majors are required to participate in a study abroad program in a Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking nation in Latin America. Students are encouraged to spend a semester or longer abroad, but with prior approval a summer program may be substituted. Study-abroad programs exist in most Latin American nations.
Students use the methodologies of multiple academic fields and develop a more profound political, social, historical, economic, and cultural knowledge of the region than could be realized in a single department. The major requires coursework in Spanish language, history, politics, cultural geography, and other fields, as well as a senior thesis of 25-30 pages.
From your first year on campus, you can get off campus—with Travel-Learning Courses. Journey to a distant land and immerse yourself in another culture. Learn how classroom theory truly connects with real-world experience.
Many classes include travel experiences to Mexico, South America, and Central America.
As a first-year, Alexander Sanchez '20 presented an original research project titled "Ana de Mendoza: Her Role as a Mother in the Court of Phillip II of Spain" at the 2017 Student Symposium.
During spring break, mission teams travel to Latin America and other areas of the U.S., allowing students to combine their interests in the region with their desires to complete worthwhile projects such as homebuilding, tutoring children, and caring for orphans of natural disasters.
The student Latin American cultural club VIVA kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month with a Heritage Dinner, and they sponsor an Hispanic film series.
Students may choose to participate in the Language Exchange Alliance of Delaware, which pairs OWU students with members of the Delaware Hispanic/Latino community for one-to-one language and cross-cultural exchanges.
Latin American Studies majors take classes in Geography, Religion, Spanish, Politics and Government, History, Philosophy, and Economics to meet their major requirements. This makes double majors or minors simple.
Carolyn Thompson '14 earned a Publishing certificate from New York University and currently works as an Engagement and Implementation Services Supervisor with John Wiley and Sons in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Ohio Wesleyan Student, Future Teacher Spends Semester in Australia
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Ohio Wesleyan Junior Spends Fall Semester Studying in Czech Republic, Denmark
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Class in Chiapas, Mexico.
Valentina Marginean describes her OWU Connection experience in Haiti.
Matthew Mehaffy '17 spent three months in Bolivia in 2016, using a Theory-to-Practice Grant titled “The Right to Live: Impact of Water Privatization on Bolivian Inequality” to fund his research.
