Wichita State University is now offering a certificate program in Latin American and
Latinx Studies at the undergraduate level.
“Students can learn about their culture, as well as Latino cultures in the United
States or Latin America,” said Rocio Del Aguila, assistant professor of Spanish. “The
certificate’s interdisciplinarity also helps them learn different ways of doing things.
It can also help them develop global competency and global citizenship.”
The Latin American and Latinx Studies certificate is 12 credit hours and will give
students specialization in an area that may enhance their employability in a broad
variety of occupations, including the international business, social services, public
health and education sectors.
Anyone pursuing the certificate may take courses from several departments, ranging
from anthropology and art to music performance, philosophy and political science.
Basic understanding of Spanish or Portuguese languages is required, and students may
use approved study abroad credits to partially fulfill the requirements.
In the case of Latinx studies, del Aguila said, it is important to understand how
the Hispanic population has always been an integral part of the United States. Spanish
was spoken here before other modern languages, and the southern half of the United
States was Mexico until 1848.
“We need to learn more about the Latinx community in order to better understand our
own reality,” del Aguila said.
The U.S. Census Bureau found that in 2010, 12.2 percent of people in Kansas identified
as Hispanic or Latino. Pew Research has determined that in 2019, the number of Hispanics
in the U.S. reached a record 60.6 million, or 18 percent of the population.
Wichita State University serves as the Kansas urban-based research university, enrolling
more than 20,000 students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries.
Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation
driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in
the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),
Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of
applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one
of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing
over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
