My name is Dr. John Twichell, Director of the Latin American Studies Program (LAS) in the College of Arts & Sciences here at the University of Miami. On behalf of our LAS faculty, staff, and students, I would like to welcome you and thank you for your interest in our program of study. Whether you are a high school student in the process of exploring degree options and deciding on a university, a prospective transfer student, a future graduate student who is preparing to take the next step to build your regional expertise, or a current undergraduate student at Miami considering doing a cognate, minor, or major our program, we hope that LAS will be the place where you explore your interests and expand the boundaries of your knowledge.
In terms of the academic program and curriculum, LAS is composed of several tracks both at the undergraduate and graduate level, with the BA, the 4+1 Fellowship in Latin American Studies (FILAS) degree, the MA, or dual degrees such as the combined MPH/MA or JD/MA. These tracks offer students exposure to expertise in the cultures, economics, history, languages, politics, and societal dimensions of Latin America and the Caribbean, in addition to preparing students for a world that requires multidisciplinary skills. More than 200 members of University of Miami faculty focus their work on Latin America and the Caribbean through different lenses of inquiry ranging from medicine to law, the social sciences, the humanities, and the fine arts. Student access to these faculty through our interdisciplinary program allows you to choose from a variety of courses that will enable you to develop a stronger multi-dimensional understanding of the Caribbean and Latin America.
Beyond the classroom, the location of our program here in cosmopolitan Miami, places our students at the crossroads of the Western hemisphere, where the largest Latinx population outside of Latin America can be found living in a mixture of diasporic communities. In Miami, our students take courses, do research, intern, and volunteer in service, all within a global city central to the Americas that is also host to business headquarters as well as non-governmental organizations and media corporations that specialize in Latin America and the Caribbean. The University of Miami serves as the academic center of this great cultural, economic, and social crossroads, and through LAS, you can connect with these organizations as you progress towards your degree objectives.
We hope that you will explore the LAS website to discover more about us, and should you have any questions, please write to us at las@miami.edu.
With best wishes,
John Twichell
Director, Latin American Studies Program
