Our Programs

The department promotes interdisciplinary, hemispheric, and transnational approaches that consider the ways in which, U.S. Latino and Caribbean populations, as well as their intellectual, cultural, and artistic productions, have been and continue to be shaped by the legacies of colonialism, slavery, globalization, and social, artistic, and intellectual mobilization, while maintaining localized historical legacies. Students are exposed to a wide range of perspectives drawn from multiple fields.

We offer a major (36 credits) and a minor (18 credits) that students may pair with other majors or minors in the School of Arts and Sciences or professional schools to prepare them for employment or graduate studies. We also offer a departmental Certificate in Latino and Caribbean Studies (9 credits) to all Rutgers students. The certificate helps students demonstrate competency in one of the most important areas of change in the United States in the 21st century: the formation of an increasingly multicultural society.

The Department has a close relation to other units such as the Rutgers Advanced Institute for Critical Caribbean Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Center for Latino Arts and Culture. It also works closely with student organizations such as the Latin American Student Organization, the Latino Student Council, the Unión Estudiantil Puertorriqueña, the Haitian Association at Rutgers (HARU), and West Indian Student Organization at Rutgers, among others.