Mexico is the second largest trade partner of the United States and millions of people share ancestry and current ties. Over 20 million people live in the immediate border region, 12 million of them in the United States. Border communities, trade, and interactions provide a vast range of career opportunities in business, government, and non-profits. The size and importance of the region ensures jobs. The minor provides regional suitability to a diverse range of major-based careers.

Marketable Skills

Students will develop the following marketable skills:

1. Communication: The minor enhances communication across national and cultural borders. Numerous binational and bicultural communication experiences occur.
2. Critical thinking: Border challenges, opportunities, and issues provide outstanding practice in critical thinking because they are complicated and important. This program offers a relevant, contemporary, and realistic view of Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x communities.
3. Global awareness: The minor includes a language component (Spanish or Portuguese) and cultural skills suited to bicultural, binational situations. This minor specifically addresses Latin America in connection to the United States. It is a great way to explore personal heritage or learn about a new part of the world.
4. Leadership: Leaders of tomorrow will need to step across conventional borders and barriers. You are not stuck in the crowd in this minor.
5. Research: The program is dedicated to research experience for undergraduates and community-engaged research. Many students do such work.
6. Social responsibility: Border challenges, opportunities, and issues provide outstanding practice in social responsibility. The program is dedicated to hands-on community engagement.

The minor provides bicultural/binational relationship-building skills. The minor also provides global business and governance skills.

The minor in Latin American and Border Studies is structured to serve as a complement for the widest possible variety of major fields and thus prepare students for careers in business, industry, government, education, public service, research, law, and health, as well as the demands of citizenship in a complex, inter-related world. The minor includes courses that are broadly integrated and problem-based as well as those that are more narrowly focused. It is envisioned as a means for integrating the specialized majors with a cross-disciplinary and international context.

The 18-hour minor in LABS can be combined with any major.