Requirements for PhD Students

Students can select from among dozens of LACS courses or equivalent non-cross-listed courses approved by CLACS. See this sample of cross-listed courses.

Proficiency for PhD students should be equal to two years of language study and can be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

1. Passing the Practical Language Proficiency Assessment administered by the Chicago Language Center. This certification documents what a student can do with the language in a meaningful and impactful way and how their language abilities—listening, reading, speaking, and writing—will serve them in their professional and academic careers. The Practical Language Proficiency Certification also strengthens students’ resumes and expands their career opportunities. Students may take the exam either in the Autumn or in the Spring quarter.
2. Completing a UChicago course beyond the second-year level (above 20300) in a regional language.
3. Having received a high school diploma or undergraduate degree from an institution in which the language of instruction is one of the languages listed above (e.g., a BA degree from a university in Latin America or Iberia).
4. Completion of relevant graduate program language requirements plus an interview with appropriate faculty.

This typically takes the form of a seminar or longform research paper, MA thesis, or PhD Dissertation. The project should be advised by a faculty member affiliated with CLACS or approved for that purpose by the LACS certificate adviser.

Doctoral students must participate in at least 3 relevant events and submit reflections of the specific events with their application; 

Event reflections will respond to questions about the content and context of the event(s), and aligned with learning objective 4, to show that students effectively employ their literacy about the politics, ecologies, and cultures of the region to produce generative knowledge and perspectives on the places and peoples Greater Latin America.