Program Overview

Overview

The Latin American and Hemispheric Studies program at GW begins with a foundation in political science, economics, history, and anthropology that prepares students to deal with issues that cross political and cultural boundaries. Students in the program explore a wide variety of subjects beginning with international politics and policy, moving through trade and economics, development and human rights, culture, and regional studies. Benefiting from a faculty of leading scholars and senior international affairs practitioners, students have access to a number of internships, diverse study-abroad opportunities, and more than 250 events each year. Program graduates also have access to numerous career opportunities within Washington, DC. Many go on to serve as senior policymakers and diplomats, international business executives, and global nonprofit leaders.

Admissions

For information about the admission process, including deadlines, visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website. Applications can be submitted via the Common Application.

General Requirements

Elliott School bachelor's degrees engage students with global issues through multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches. Students begin their studies with foundational courses in political science, economics, history, and anthropology or geography. They supplement these courses with others in the traditional liberal arts categories of writing, oral communication, natural or physical science, mathematics or statistics, and the humanities/creative arts, plus two writing in the disciplines courses. Language study also is emphasized early to enable students to satisfy the third-year language proficiency requirement of the bachelor's degree in a timely manner.

• University General Education Requirement
  • One course in critical thinking in the humanities.
  • Two courses in critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, or scientific reasoning in the social sciences.
  • One course that has an approved oral communication component.
  • One course in quantitative reasoning (must be in mathematics or statistics).
  • One course in scientific reasoning, with lab (must be in natural and/or physical laboratory sciences).
  • UW 1020 University Writing (4 credits).
  • After successful completion of UW 1020, 6 credits distributed over at least two writing in the discipline (WID) courses taken in separate semesters.
• Elliott School introductory requirements
  • IAFF 1001: First-Year Experience
  • IAFF 1005: Introduction to International Affairs
  • ECON 1011: Principles of Economics I
  • ECON 1012: Principles of Economics II
  • HIST 1011: World History from 1500 to Present
  • PSC 1001: Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • One of the following introductory anthropology or geography courses:
    • ANTH 1002: Sociocultural Anthropology
    • ANTH 1004: Language in Culture and Society
    • GEOG 1001: Introduction to Human Geography
    • GEOG 1003: Society and Environment
  • One additional course from the University General Education critical thinking in the humanities course list or from the GPAC creative or critical thinking in the arts course list.

Major Requirements

In addition to the University General Education requirement and Elliott School introductory requirements, Elliott School students must complete the specific requirements for their major. See below. Students must earn a grade of C- or above in all courses counted toward major requirements.

• Foundation (3 credits)
  • IAFF 2090: Latin America: Problems and Promise
• Language (credits vary)
  • Students must demonstrate third-year Spanish proficiency by examination or coursework.
  • If taking coursework, students can satisfy the language requirement by taking a course that is equivalent to third-year proficiency, or by taking a course beyond the third year which has a listed prerequisite of the second semester of the third year.
• Regional Foundations (3 credits)
  • One course from the following in any region other than Latin America:
    • Africa:
      • ANTH 3708: Anthropology of Africa
      • GEOG 3164: The Geography of Africa
      • HIST 2001: Special Topics (Pan-Africanism in Africa)
      • HIST 3530: Women in Africa
      • IAFF 2093: Africa: Problems and Prospects
      • IAFF 3189: Special Topics in African Studies
      • PSC 2381: Comparative Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa
      • PSC 2482: African International Politics
    • Asia:
      • ECON 2169: Introduction to the Economy of China
      • GEOG 3165: Geography of South Asia
      • HIST 3611: History of Modern China
      • HIST 3615: History of Chinese Communism
      • HIST 3621: History of Modern Japan
      • HIST 3631: History of Modern Korea
      • HIST 3640: History of Southeast Asia
      • IAFF 2091: East Asia-Past and Present
      • IAFF 3186: Special Topics in Asian Studies
      • PSC 2373: Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia
    • Europe and Eurasia:
      • GEOG 3197: Special Topics in Regional Geography
      • HIST 2125: Twentieth-Century Europe
      • HIST 3168: Divided and United Germany Since 1945
      • IAFF 2092: Russia and Eastern Europe: An Introduction
      • IAFF 2094: Europe in Transition
      • IAFF 3185: Special Topics in European and Eurasian Studies
      • PSC 2330: Comparative Politics of Western Europe
      • PSC 2331: Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe
      • PSC 2332: European Integration
      • PSC 2366: Russian Politics
    • Latin America:
      • ANTH 3702: Anthropology of Latin America
      • ANTH 3791: Topics in Regional Anthropology
      • HIST 3701: Topics in Latin American History
      • HIST 3710: History of Latin America I
      • HIST 3711: History of Latin America II
      • IAFF 2090: Latin America: Problems and Promise
      • IAFF 3187: Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
      • PSC 2383: Comparative Politics of Latin America
    • Middle East:
      • ANTH 3707: Anthropology of the Middle East
      • GEOG 3154: Geography of the Middle East and North Africa
      • HIST 3801: Topics in Middle Eastern History
      • HIST 3825: Land and Power in Israel/Palestine
      • IAFF 2095: The Middle East in International Affairs
      • IAFF 2190: Special Topics
      • IAFF 3188: Special Topics in Middle East Studies
      • PSC 2377: Comparative Politics of the Middle East
      • PSC 2476: The Arab-Israeli Conflict
      • PSC 2478: International Relations of the Middle East

Research Methods (3 credits)

One course pertaining to qualitative or quantitative social science research methods, computer programming, or other analytical competencies, from the following:

• ANTH 3531: Methods in Sociocultural Anthropology
• APSC 3115: Engineering Analysis III
• CSCI 1012: Introduction to Programming with Python
• DATS 1001: Data Science for All
• DNSC 1001: Business Analytics I: Statistics for Descriptive and Predictive Analytics
• DNSC 2001: Business Analytics II: Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics
• ECON 2123: Introduction to Econometrics
• ECON 3105: Economic Forecasting
• GEOG 2104: Introduction to Cartography and GIS
• GEOG 3198: Special Topics
• IAFF 2101: Qualitative Methods in International Affairs
• IAFF 2102: Quantitative Methods in International Affairs
• IAFF 3190: Special Topics in International Affairs
• IAFF 4191W: Research and Writing Seminar
• IAFF 4192: Team-Based Applied Learning Seminar
• ISTM 3119: Introduction to Programming
• PSC 2101: Scope and Methods of Political Science
• PSC 2990: Selected Topics
• PSYC 2101: Research Methods in Psychology
• PUBH 2140: Foundations of Research Methods
• PUBH 2142: Introduction to Biostatistics for Public Health
• PUBH 3131: Epidemiology
• PUBH 4201: Practical Computing
• SMPA 2151: Research Methods
• SOC 2101: Social Research Methods
• SOC 2102: Techniques of Data Analysis
• STAT 1051: Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics
• STAT 1053: Introduction to Statistics in Social Science
• STAT 1111: Business and Economic Statistics I
• STAT 1127: Statistics for the Biological Sciences
• STAT 1129: Introduction to Computing
• STAT 2112: Business and Economic Statistics II
• STAT 2118: Regression Analysis
• STAT 2123: Introduction to Econometrics
• STAT 2183W: Intermediate Statistical Laboratory: Statistical Computing Packages
• STAT 4157: Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I
• SUST 3097: Culminating Experience in Sustainability

Latin American Literature (3 credits)

One course from the following:

• PORT 4800: Independent Study
• SPAN 3100: Texts and Contexts of the Spanish-Speaking World
• SPAN 3410: Latin American Short Fiction
• SPAN 3520: Decolonizing the Empire: Colonial Latin America
• SPAN 3600: Special Topics
• SPAN 4410: Contemporary Narrative in Latin America
• SPAN 4800: Independent Study

Multi-disciplinary Core Courses

• History (3 credits)
  • One course selected from the following:
    • IAFF 3187: Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
    • HIST 3701: Topics in Latin American History
    • HIST 3710: History of Latin America I
• Political Science (3 credits)
  • One course selected from the following:
    • IAFF 3187: Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
    • PSC 2383: Comparative Politics of Latin America
• Economics (3 credits)
  • One course selected from the following:
    • IAFF 3177: Political Economy of Latin America
    • IAFF 3187: Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
• Geography (3 credits)
  • One course selected from the following:
    • IAFF 3187: Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
• Anthropology (3 credits)
  • One course selected from the following:
    • ANTH 3702: Anthropology of Latin America
    • ANTH 3791: Topics in Regional Anthropology
    • ANTH 3991: Special Topics
    • IAFF 3187: Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
• International Affairs (6 credits)
  • Two courses selected from the following:
    • IAFF 3187: Special Topics in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies
    • PSC 2484: International Relations of Latin America

Related Coursework

• 6 credits
• Two courses related to Latin America taken in any discipline, including International Affairs (IAFF).
• Courses that are approved for other Latin American and Hemispheric Studies requirements automatically satisfy this requirement, but no course can be double counted.
• Courses taken for this requirement must be taken for a letter grade and receive a final grade of C- or above.
• Courses that focus on language instruction cannot be counted toward this requirement.
• Course selection can be discussed with the program director or academic advisor; additional course options can be considered via the course substitution request process.

Study Abroad

Students are encouraged to study in Latin America through one of GW's formal partnerships with a regional university or an approved self-designed study abroad program.