Latin American Studies

Public Policies in Latin America

Students choosing Public Policies will get a programme on public policies and social development. They learn what is currently being done by Latin American governments and international agencies in the form of specific public policies to tackle major social problems which are affecting Latin American societies today (in fields such as poverty alleviation, education, health care, housing, and public security). During their fieldwork students will come in contact with state officials, NGOs, citizens’ organizations and other involved actors.

Cultural Analysis in Latin America

Cultural Analysis looks at verbal and visual expressions emerged in Latin American contexts. Culture expresses itself through language and images: stories and fictions which create communities and imagine identities. In this programme, we study works drawn from a broad range of fields: from literature to art, film and popular culture (soap operas, comic strips, song lyrics), new and old media (blogs), as well as social discourses articulated in political programmes and manifestos.

Language Variation and Bilingualism

During the master main theoretical and methodological issues will be discussed based on examples drawn from studies of bilingualism and language variation in Spanish and Portuguese. Several topics will be presented, from first to second language acquisition, individual to social bilingualism and finally language instruction and language policies concerning bilingualism.

Career preparation

Career preparation in Latin American Studies

In addition to offering you a solid university education, Leiden University aims to prepare you for today’s labour market. Your studies will contribute to the development of your employability. After finishing the programme, it will become easier for you to make the transition to the labour market, to remain employable in a dynamic labour market in a (career) job that suits your own personal values, preferences and development.

'Employability' consists of the following aspects that you will develop within your study programme, among others:

1. Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills specific to your study programme.

2. Transferable skills
These are skills that are relevant to every student and that you can use in all kinds of jobs irrespective of your study programme, for example: research, conducting analyses, project-based working, generating solutions, acquiring and developing digital skills, collaborating, oral communication, written communication, presenting, raising societal awareness, independent learning, and resilience.

It is important that, during your studies, you focus both on obtaining as much knowledge as possible and on being conscious of which skills you have acquired and which skills you’d still like to learn. In the course descriptions of the master in Latin American Studies and the Research Master Latin American Studies you will encounter several of the following ‘transferable skills’ that we will work on.

• Problem solving (recognizing and analyzing problems, solution-oriented thinking)

• Analytical skills (analytical thinking, abstraction, evidence)

• Project management (planning, scope, boundaries, result-orientation)

• Responsibility (ownership, self-discipline, bear mistakes, accountability)

• Motivation (commitment, pro-active attitude, initiative)

• Self-regulation (independence, self-esteem, aware of own goals, motives and capacities)

• Verbal communication (presenting, speaking, listening)

• Written communication (writing skills, reporting, summarizing)

• Collaboration (teamwork, group support, loyalty, attendance)

• Flexibility (adaptability, dealing with change, teachability, eagerness to learn)

• Critical thinking (asking questions, check assumptions)

• Creative thinking (resourcefulness, curiosity, thinking out of the box)

• Integrity (honesty, moral, ethics, personal values)

• Intercultural skills (communications between different cultures)

3. Self-reflection
This concerns self-reflection in the context of your (study) career, including reflecting on the choices you make as a student during your studies, esp. with respect to what you can do with your knowledge and skills on the labour market.
In addition, reflecting on your own profile and your personal and professional development. Who are you, what can you do well, what do you find interesting, what suits you, what do you find important, what do you want to do?

4. Practical experience
Gaining practical experience through internships, work placements, projects, practical (social) assignments, which are integrated into an elective, minor or graduation assignment.

5. Labour market orientation
Gaining insight into the labour market, fields of work, jobs and career paths through, for example, guest speakers and alumni experiences from the work field, career events within the study programme, the use of the alumni mentor network, interviewing people from the work field, and shadowing/visiting companies in the context of a particular subject.

Employability in Latin American Studies

You will also find these employability elements in your study programme.

Activities to prepare for your career alongside / outside the curriculum

Every year, various activities take place, within, alongside and outside of your study programme, which contribute to your preparation for the labour market, especially where it concerns orientation towards the work field/the labour market, (career) skills and self-reflection. These activities could be hosted by your study program to discuss the key decision stages within your program. Furthermore, you may want to attend career workshops and events organised by the Humanities Career service or your study association.

You will be notified via the Humanities website and by email about further activities in the area of career preparation. The following activities will help you to thoroughly explore your options, so we advise you to take careful note of them:

• Seminar career orientation in November

• Research abroad (in Latin America)

• Humanities Career Event

• Seminar career orientation in April

• Various workshops

• Research seminar Public Policies/Methods of Cultural Analysis and Critical Readings/Methods: Putting Theory into Practice (Language Variation and Bilingualism) (MA)

Humanities Career Service, LU Career Zone and Career Workshops Calendar

Humanities Career Service
The Humanities Career Service offers information and advice on internships, study (re)orientation and master's choice, orientation on the labour market and careers.

Leiden University Career Zone
The Leiden University Career Zone is the website for students and alumni of Leiden University to support their (study) career. You can find advice, information, (career) tests and tools in the area of (study) career planning, career possibilities with your study, job market orientation, job applications, the Alumni Mentor network, job portal, workshops and events and career services.

Workshops and events
On the Workshops calendar you will find an overview of career and application workshops, organised by the Humanities Career Service.

Meer info

Objectives

The programme has the following objectives:

1. to enable students to acquire academic knowledge, understanding and skills, and train them in the use of scientific methods in the field of Latin American Studies;
2. to enable students to develop the following academic and professional skills: – independent academic reasoning and conduct, – the ability to analyse complex problems, – academic reporting;
3. to prepare students for an academic career and further education;
4. to prepare students for a career outside academia.

Programme

At the start of the programme, students choose in which discipline they want to specialize: Public Policies, Cultural Analysis or Language Variation and Bilingualism.

In the first semester students follow a theoretical seminar (10 EC) and a methodological seminar (10 EC). The Theoretical seminar introduces you to relevant debates within the choosen discipline. The methodological seminar helps the student to discide on their thesis topic and prepare the research project. From mid November until the end of January students have time to travel to a choosen country within Latin America to conduct research (10 EC).

In the second semester students will choose one of the electives within the programme (10 EC). Students will also write their thesis (20 EC) based on the results of their research in Latin America.

Students who start in February follow the same programme but in a slightly different order. In their first semester the follow the methodological seminar and choose one elective. Research will take place between May and the end of August. In their second semester they will follow the theoretical seminar and write the thesis.

Master’s thesis and requirement for graduation

The master’s programme is concluded with a master’s thesis containing the results of the individual research. The thesis must approximate 20,000 words. It is evaluated by the supervisor and a second reader.

Requirements for graduation are:

• Successful completion of all courses (30 EC)

• Successful completion of a Research project (10 EC)

• Successful completion of MA Thesis (20 EC)

Please note that you are also asked to fulfill certain administrative procedures, as can be found on the website of Latin American Studies.