Including classroom and online courses in Quechua, the most spoken native language in the American continent.
Specializations in Latin American and Caribbean Studies are administered by the director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
Candidates for the master's degree who elect a specialization in Latin American and Caribbean Studies must complete 8 graduate hours from the courses prescribed by the center. Doctoral candidates who elect a specialization in this area must complete 16 graduate hours for one specialization or 8 graduate hours for a split specialization. Courses must be taken in at least two departments; a list of courses fulfilling the specialization is available from the center. A specialization in agricultural economics and foreign areas studies (in this case, Latin American and Caribbean Studies) is also available. A high level of proficiency in one or more languages of the region (Spanish, Portuguese, and Amerindian Indian languages) is required. For course information, requirements, and methods used to establish the level of proficiency, contact the center's academic programs coordinator.
Students in technical and professional colleges and schools of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who seek knowledge of the Latin American and Caribbean region and languages are invited to consult with the director of the center or with their adviser in order to develop programs suited to their individual needs. Such a program may often be adopted as a specialization under existing regulations if the student so desires. These courses are of particular value to students who intend to undertake technical or professional work in the Latin American and Caribbean area for government, private business, publishing, or religious organizations.
September 2025
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
2090 Lincoln Hall,
702 South Wright Street,
URBANA,
Illinois,
61801, United States
Applicants must have earned at least a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college in the United States or a comparable degree from a recognized institution of higher learning abroad. A grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (A=4.0), or comparable GPA for an international applicant, for last two years of undergraduate study is a minimum requirement for admission.
English Language Requirements:
TOEFL iBT - 79-102
TOEFL CBT - 213-253
TOEFL PBT - 550-610
IELTS (academic exam) - 6.5-7.0
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.