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Five College LACLS Certificate Requirements

To earn a FCLACLS Certificate, students must complete successfully a minimum of eight one-semester courses selected from five different areas; fulfill a specified language requirement; and achieve at least a grade of B in the minimum number of courses taken towards the Certificate. Courses may be taken at any of the campuses but must be approved in advance by the student's home-campus adviser for the program. Completed applications for the Certificate must be signed by the home campus adviser, who will bring the application to the Five College LACLS Certificate Program Committee. For 2009 graduates, the Certificate applications are due by April 10th. To download an application, please click on the "More Information" link at the bottom of the page.

Courses
The eight one-semester courses must be taken within the following five areas:

1. A broadly-based introductory course on the social and political history of Latin America or U.S. Latinos
   
2. One course in the social sciences that focuses substantially on Latin America or U.S. Latinos (including courses in anthropology, economics, geography, political science, etc.)
   
3. One course in the humanities that focuses substantially on Latin America or U.S. Latinos (including courses in art, art history, dance, folklore, literature, music, philosophy, religion, or theater, etc. )
   
4. Four other courses which should be more advanced and more specific in focus
   
5. A seminar which gives the student's course work in Latin America and/or U.S. Latinos an interdisciplinary focus

Language requirement
Proficiency through second year college level in an official (other than English) or indigenous language of Latin America.

Minimum standard
To receive the Certificate, the student must receive a grade of B or better in every course that qualifies for the minimum certificate requirement.

Links to official Five College course catalogs:

The Five College Course Catalog
Guide to Programs at UMass
Amherst College Course Catalog
Smith College Course Catalog
Mount Holyoke Course Catalog
Hampshire College Course Catalog

More Information
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