Latin American Studies Minor

The Latin American Studies Minor is designed for students who wish to deepen their knowledge of Spanish and Latin American Culture and Civilization, with focus on Spain and all Latin American Countries. The minor offers students of all majors an opportunity to explore Spanish speaking countries from different perspectives of history, politics, geography, society, literature, culture, art, film, science, economics, and business as well as language. Students are encouraged to study abroad in Spain or in Latin America.

The Latin American Studies Minor consists of 18 credits (six 3-credit courses). Students are required to take three credits MLG 305 Spanish and Latin American Culture course and five Latin American component courses chosen with the approval of the program’s coordinator. Students need to take 3 language basic courses for this minor, Spanish 101 to 243. Courses taken abroad or in Latin American-focused internship will be considered by the coordinator to determine appropriateness for the minor.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will gain knowledge of Spanish and Latin American culture from historical, literary, and artistic perspectives.
Students will acquire an interdisciplinary appreciation of the importance of Latin America and its role and contributions to the global society - past and/or present.
Students will develop intercultural competencies that will prepare them for travel, business, or study in Spain or Latin America.

If interested please fill out the Application for an Academic Minor and return it to Registrar.

About Academic Minors

Farmingdale State College students are invited to enhance their studies with an "Academic Minor." A minor is a cluster of thematically related courses drawn from one or more departments. In addition to department based minors (e.g. computer programming & info systems), interdisciplinary minors are also available (e.g. legal studies).

Academic minors are approved by the College-Wide Curriculum Committee and the Provost. Students must make application for an academic minor through the department offering the minor in conjunction with the Registrar's Office Specific course work must be determined in consultation with a faculty member in the department offering the minor. A statement of successful completion of the academic minor will appear on the student's transcript at the time of graduation.

A minor is considered to be an optional supplement to a student's major program of study.
Completion of a minor is not a graduation requirement and is subject to the availability of the courses selected. However, if the requirements for a minor are not completed prior to certification of graduation in the major, it will be assumed that the minor has been dropped. Consequently, the student will only be certified for graduation in their primary major.
Only students in 4 year baccalaureate programs can apply for a minor.
A minor should consist of 15 to 21 credits.
At least 12 credits must be in courses at the 200 level or higher.
At least 9 credits must be residency credits.
Specific requirements for each minor are determined by the department granting the minor.
Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 in their minor. Some minors may require a higher GPA.
Students are prohibited from declaring a minor in the same discipline as their major (e.g. one cannot combine an applied math minor with an applied math major). Academic minors may not apply to all curricula.
Students are permitted to double-count courses.
Students are only permitted to take more than one minor with appropriate written approval of their department chair or curriculum Dean.

Admission to Farmingdale State College - State University of New York is based on the qualifications of the applicant without regard to age, sex, marital or military status, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.

Modern Languages | Javier Muñoz-Díaz | munozdj@farmingdale.edu | 934-420-5794

Fall 2026

Subject to revision

Required:
MLG 305 Hispanic and Latin American Culture and Civilization
SPA 243 Spanish III (Intermediate)

The four additional courses for the minor may be chosen from the following:

ART 303 MesoAmerican Art History

ANT 211 Caribbean Cultures

HIS 280 Caribbean History

HIS 312 Latin American Popular Culture in the 20th Century

MLG 302 Spanish and Latin American Cinema

MLG 310* Latin American Women Writers

MLG 314 Hispanic Fiction to Film

MLG 315 Art, Culture and Civilization of Spain

MLG 320* Latino Writers in the U.S.

MLG 322 The Latin American Novel

SPA 244 Spanish IV (Intermediate)

*Students can take a maximum of two literature courses.