University of California, Santa Barbara
Latin American and Iberian Studies Program

Course Requirements

Undergraduate Course Requirements

Course requirements

LAIS Major

Preparation for the Major:  

  • Spanish 6 or Portuguese 6, or a written translation test from Spanish or Portuguese into English  
  • Native-speaking knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese or credit in courses demanding a comparable level of proficiency, such as Spanish 25 with a grade of C or higher 
  • LAIS 10 or History 8 is a requirement in preparation for the major.

Upper-division Major:

  • A minimum of 40 units, including Latin American and Iberian Studies 100, 101 (LAIS 101 counts toward Area 1 or Area 3), or 102 (LAIS 102 counts towards Area 2 or Area 4),
  • At least 16 upper-division units in one of the four areas (1-Social Sciences; 2-Music, Art, Film, and Drama; 3-History; and 4-Literature and Language)
  •  20 units to be distributed among the other three areas, with a minimum of one course in each area. 
  •  In addition, no more than 12 units of LAIS 194AA-ZZ may be applied to the major.

Consult the UCSB General Catalog for the prerequisites to all listed courses.  Regulations for the Major are:

  • P/NP grading is not allowed for any major course (Preparation or upper-division major)
  • Substitutions in the major is permissible only by petition to the program director and dean
  • Residence requirements – at least 20 of the upper-division units for the major while in residence at UCSB
  • GPA requirements –At least 2.0 overall UC average in all upper-division major courses and all courses (Prep and UD) for the major, including courses in excess of minimum requirements
  • Double majors – With the approval of each department chair or program director, up to a total of 8 units may be applied simultaneously to both upper-division majors.

Honors Program. Seniors who have maintained a 3.6 grade-point average in courses in the major are eligible for the LAIS honors program. With approval of the director, students will select an advisor who will direct the project. In two quarters, the student will pursue research and writing on a topic of importance and complexity, resulting in an honors thesis.

LAIS Minor

All courses to be applied to the minor must be completed on a letter-grade basis. This includes both courses offered in Latin American and Iberian Studies and those offered by other departments and applied to the minor. 

Preparation for the Minor:

  • Spanish 6 or Portuguese 6, or a written translation test from Spanish or Portuguese into English
  • Equivalents are defined as native speaking knowledge of one of these languages or credit in courses demanding a comparable level of proficiency, such as a grade of C or higher in Spanish 25
  • LAIS 10 or History 8 is a requirement in preparation for the minor.

Upper-division Minor:

  • A minimum of 24 upper-division units are required, distributed as follows: LAIS 100, 101, or 102 (4 units)
  •  20 upper-division in the four areas  Area 1-Social Sciences; Area 2- Music, Art, Film, and Drama; Area3- History; and Area 4- Literature and Language. Note: Courses may be applied to one area
  • No more than 12 units of LAIS 194AA-ZZ may be applied to the minor.  Substitutions and waivers are subject to approval by the program director.

 Consult the UCSB General Catalog for prerequisites to required courses. The following conditions must also be met for official recognition of the Minor:

  • The sponsoring program reports completion of the minor prior to the posting of the degree
  • At least 18 upper-division quarter units are completed for the minor. (Waivers cannot reduce the requirements below this number.)
  • At least 12 of the upper-division units for the minor are completed while in residence at UCSB
  • The UC grade-point average in ALL applicable upper-division courses, including those in excess of minimum requirements, is 2.0 or higher
  • No more than 5 upper-division units overlap between this minor and the upper-division portion of the major(s) or other minor(s). If overlap is greater with the major(s), completion of the minor will not be formally recognized; if overlap with other minor(s) is greater, only the first minor reported will be recognized
  • No reference will be made to the minor on any progress checks or degree clearance forms.