About the Center

Mission

The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) serves as a home for the interdisciplinary study of the Latino experience in the United States as well as Latin America and the Caribbean. Our curricular offerings in the humanities, arts, and social sciences are enhanced by our academic and cultural programming and community outreach activities. We seek to help students develop their critical thinking, research, writing, and oral communication skills, and encourage them to consider their responsibilities to their local and global communities.

Location

In 1999 we moved into the Latino Center, a building that is located near the center of campus and that CLLAS shares with the Latino Resource Center (LRC). Together we host a computer lab, a smart classroom, a library, study areas, administrative offices and an atrium suitable for art exhibits.

Focus

Latino and Latin American Studies Undergraduate Minor

Undergraduate students pursuing any major can declare a minor in Latino and Latin American Studies (LATS) and learn through interdisciplinary curricular offerings about the history and social, economic, and political issues facing Latinxs in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States.

Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies

Graduate students pursuing any major simultaneously pursue a certificate in Latin American Studies and gain through interdisciplinary curricular offerings advance knowledge about the history and social, economic, and political issues facing Latinxs in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States.

Research Programs

CLLAS supports individual and collaborative research projects conducted by faculty and students who come from a range of academic disciplines. Research and travel grants for faculty associates and graduate students are available.

NIU Latinx Oral History Project

The NIU Latinx Oral History Project is a collection of interviews with NIU faculty, students and staff, undocumented migrants, community activists, leaders and other Latinxs in the region. The collection documents the lives and experiences of Latinxs in the Midwest.

Academic and Cultural Programming

CLLAS also coordinates and partners with the NIU community to present lectures, discussions and workshops that feature the groundbreaking research and artistry of NIU faculty and scholars from across the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Scholarships

The center offers a number of scholarships geared towards Latinx students and students minoring in Latino and Latin American Studies. Most applications are due around March 1.

Contact Us

Center for Latino and Latin American Studies
Northern Illinois University
515 Garden Rd.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-1531
latinostudies@niu.edu

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