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Study Abroad for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Minors

Can I study abroad as a Latin American and Caribbean Studies minor?

Yes! Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) minors can and do study abroad during their time at Northwestern. You are strongly encouraged to study abroad in a Latin American or Caribbean country.

When can I study abroad as a Latin American and Caribbean Studies minor?

Most Northwestern students choose to study abroad during the Fall Quarter of their third year, but you may prefer to study abroad during the summer or at another point in your Northwestern career.

Students pursuing a LACS minor are expected to have an effective reading knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese, or another language spoken in the region. You are encouraged to complete intermediate language courses at Northwestern prior to study abroad.

The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program also offers the LACS undergraduate research grant to encourage summer research in or about the region. Past study abroad experience in your proposed research subject and country will increase your competitiveness for the award.

What classes can I take abroad?

Many study abroad programs for Latin American and Caribbean Studies minors include opportunities to take classes, conduct community-engaged research, or participate in service-learning to explore topics related to Latin America and the Caribbean or U.S.-Latin American relations. As the LACS minor is designed for students with broad and interdisciplinary interests in areas such as language, politics, art, and culture, a variety of study abroad courses may be of interest.

Students can also take courses to help fulfill other degree requirements, learn or improve on a language, or just to take advantage of the opportunity to learn something new that is not offered at Northwestern.

You can read more about academic planning and choosing courses abroad on the GLO website.

What type of credit can I get from study abroad?

You can apply study abroad courses toward the elective requirements for Latin American and Caribbean Studies minor, subject to approval by the Director.

You are encouraged to meet with the Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program during the application process to get advising about your study abroad course plans, rules and policies for earning major credit, and remaining degree requirements. Be sure to review and complete the Minor Worksheet for LACS before meeting with the program director.

Your academic advisers can help you identify what distribution requirements or major credit could be best taken abroad and your GLO adviser can help you identify programs that offer these types of credit.

Suggested Programs for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Minors

Interested in other programs or other types of credit? Search for more study abroad options.

Next Steps

Unsure where to start? Check out the Get Started page for some helpful next steps.

We also encourage you to meet with your Latin American and Caribbean Studies adviser to discuss your academic course plan and with a GLO adviser to learn more about the programs you're considering.