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

Course Requirements

Undergraduate Course Requirements

Meet our revised major and minor!

Beginning in Fall 2025, the LAIS major and minor have been streamlined to give students greater flexibility and a clearer path to completion. The language requirement has been reduced to three quarters of Spanish or Portuguese (down from six), the four areas of concentration have been consolidated into three — Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, and Language — and total upper-division units have been reduced. A redesigned LAIS 10 now serves as the gateway course to both programmes, introducing students to the interdisciplinary breadth of Latin American and Iberian Studies across campus.

For questions about requirements or course planning, contact our Undergraduate Advisor, Elena Baez.

LAIS Major, B.A. — 2025–2026

Preparation for the Major

  • Completion through quarter 3 (or equivalent) of Spanish or Portuguese (0–12 units). Students with prior proficiency in the language should contact the programme for information on appropriate placement or testing out of the language requirement.
  • LAIS 10 (5 units)
  • One course from the following: Art History 6H; History 8A, 8B; LAIS 2*, 7*, W 13*; or by petition Global 2 (only with Barandiarán or Cerpa Vielma) (5 units)

Upper-Division Major

36 upper-division units are required, distributed as follows:

A. LAIS 100* (or 100S) or LAIS 101* (or 101S) or LAIS 102* (or 102S) or LAIS 103 — 4 units

B. A minimum of 16 units must be taken from one of the 3 areas below — 16 units

C. 16 additional units selected from the remaining 2 areas, with a minimum of 1 course in each area — 16 units

Area A: Social Sciences
  • Anthropology 113, 117, 129MG, 133, 134, 135, 137, 141, 150B–C, 164, 194, 197AA–ZZ
  • Black Studies 191AA–ZZ
  • Chicana/o Studies 107, 109, 135, 140, 141, 142, 170A, 171, 172, 174, 176, 177, 178A, 189
  • Education 124
  • Geography 155
  • Global Studies by petition 111 (Brysk only), 120 (Thaler only), 124 (Thaler only), 130 (Cerpa Vielma only), 132 (Cerpa Vielma only), 162 (Amar only), 173 (Barandiarán only)
  • LAIS 101* (or 101S), 103
  • Linguistics 130, 175
  • Political Science 106AA–ZZ, 109, 134, 147
  • Portuguese 125A
  • Religious Studies 110E, 191A
  • Sociology 128, 130GR, 130LA, 134RC, 144, 155W
  • Spanish 109, 119A, 129, 141, 143, 149, 149E, 177, 178
Area B: Arts and Humanities
  • Art History 109B–C–I, 130A–B–C–D–F–G, 131CM, 185AE, 186L–O–P
  • Black Studies 130A, 138, 161
  • Chicana/o Studies 125B, 137, 146, 148, 149, 168A–B–E–I, 180, 181, 183, 184A, 185, 186A, 188C
  • Film and Media Studies 126, 127, 127M
  • History 118B, 136CA–M–W, 144B, 144F, 150CL, 151FQ–G–R, 156B, 168A–B
  • LAIS 101* (or 101S), 102* (or 102S), 103, 151A*–AS*–B*–C*–CU*–Q*, 153A*, 154LA*–LB*–R*, 156A*, 165*, 174*, 189, 194
  • Music 175X
  • Portuguese 105, 105E, 106, 106E, 115AA–ZZ, 125A–B, 128AA–ZZ, 183AA–ZZ, 189
  • Religious Studies 124G
  • Spanish 110A–B–C–D, 111A–B–C, 119A, 120A–B, 123A, 126, 126E, 129, 130, 131, 136, 137A–B, 138, 139, 140A–B, 141, 143, 148AA–ZZ, 149, 149E, 151A–B–C, 152, 153, 153E, 155A–B, 156, 163, 168, 169, 175, 177, 178, 179, 180AA–ZZ, 181, 183AA–ZZ, 184, 185, 186AA–ZZ, 187A, 188, 190
  • Theater 180D–E, 185MX
Area C: Language
  • Black Studies 130A–B
  • Chicana/o Studies 137, 180, 181, 183, 184A
  • History 150CL
  • LAIS 101S, 102* (or 102S), 103, 145*, 151AS, 174*, 189*, 194*
  • Portuguese 102A–B, 105, 105E, 106, 106E, 115AA–ZZ, 125A–B, 183AA–ZZ, 189
  • Spanish 100, 102A–B, 103, 104, 109, 110A–B–C–D, 111A–B–C, 114A–B–C, 115, 116, 117B–C, 119A, 120A–B, 121, 123A, 126, 129, 130, 131, 136, 137A–B, 138, 140A–B, 141, 143, 147, 148AA–ZZ, 149, 149E, 151A–B–C, 152, 153, 153E, 154A–B–C, 155A–B, 156, 157, 163, 168, 169, 175, 180AA–ZZ, 181, 183AA–ZZ, 184, 185, 186AA–ZZ, 187A, 188, 190, 197

*Cross-listed courses can be taken through either department.

Note: Courses may be applied to only one area. In order to fulfil their three areas of study, students are strongly advised to take their courses across different departments.

Major Regulations

  • Prerequisites — Check the General Catalog for the prerequisites to all listed courses.
  • P/NP grading — Not allowed for any major course (Prep or UD major).
  • Substitutions — In the major requirements, permissible only by petition to the programme director and dean.
  • GPA requirements — At least 2.0 overall UC average in all upper-division major courses and all courses (Prep and UD) for the major.
  • Double majors — With the approval of each department chairperson or programme director, up to a total of 8 units may be applied simultaneously to both UD majors.

LAIS Minor — 2025–2026

All courses 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

  • Completion of quarter 3 (or equivalent) of Spanish or Portuguese (0–12 units). Students with prior proficiency in the language should contact the programme for information on appropriate placement or testing out of the language requirement.
  • LAIS 10 (5 units)
  • One course from the following: Art History 6H; History 8A, 8B; LAIS 2*, 7*, W 13*; or by petition Global 2 (only with Barandiarán or Cerpa Vielma) (5 units)

Upper-Division Minor

20 upper-division units are required, distributed as follows:

A. LAIS 100* (or 100S) or LAIS 101* (or 101S) or LAIS 102* (or 102S) or LAIS 103 — 4 units

B. 16 upper-division units with at least one course in each of the three areas (A, B, and C) listed above — 16 units

Note: Courses may only be applied to one area. In order to fulfil their three areas of study, students are strongly advised to take their courses across different departments.

Substitutions and waivers are subject to approval by the programme director. Consult the General Catalog for prerequisites to required courses.

Conditions for Official Recognition of the Minor

  • The sponsoring programme 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 requirement below this number.)
  • The UC grade-point average in all applicable upper-division courses 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 recognised; if overlap with other minor(s) is greater, only the first minor reported will be recognised.