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First-Year Focus

Bienvenidos Class of 2028!

Welcome to the Latina and Latino Studies Program (LLSP) website at Northwestern University. Students at Northwestern may take a variety of courses pertaining to the histories, political experiences, cultural, artistic and material expressions, and intellectual traditions of Latinas and Latinos living in the United States. In referring to US Latino/as we mean the wide diversity of communities, cultures, and backgrounds from all parts of the United States and their complex relationships to diasporic homelands.

Why Study Latina and Latino Studies?

While our program and its students benefit from the rich Latino cultures and communities that reside and flourish in Chicago, the program also delves into the experiences of Latino communities nationwide. Our courses may discuss the realities of Puerto Rican and Mexican communities in Chicago, second generation Dominicans in New York, or generations of Mexican Americans in Houston.

Our curriculum engages in the productive tension between the common interests and differences affecting U.S Latina and Latinos. Students may expect to explore such commonalities/ differences in areas such as social movements, transnationalism, electoral politics, expressive cultures, race and comparative processes of racialization, immigration, queer theory, and gender and sexuality. Our classes are diverse in content, teaching methods, and student body.

In order to engage students in discussions outside of a classroom setting, our program hosts panel discussions, movie screenings, and lectures from visiting speakers and experts of the field of Latino and Latina studies. The Latina and Latino Studies Program is committed to enhancing a student’s critical thinking, analytical skills, and community involvement skills.

Exam Credit

Exam Type Credit
AP Exam Credit Not Applicable
Placement Exam Credit Not Applicable
Contact Mérida Rúa, Director of Undergraduate Studies
mrua@northwestern.edu

Good Classes for First-Year Students

 

Fall 2024 Quarter

Winter 2025 Quarter


Spring 2025 Quarter


Questions?

Students interested in declaring a major or minor in Latina and Latino studies should make an appointment with Prof. Merida Rúa, Director of Undergraduate Studies. Thereafter, students will continue to consult with the DUS about their course selection, their progress in fulfilling the major or minor requirements including approval of their immersion experience. Students will see the DUS of the Latina and Latino Studies program for study abroad review, approval, and signature, typically late fall and early winter of their sophomore year. The student will also meet with the program DUS for the completion of their "Application to Graduate" form during the spring of their junior year.

Learn more about new degree requirements by visiting Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences page.

To sign up for an advising appointment for the LLSP Major and Minor, click here.