Department Office: 1205 Boylan Hall
Phone: 718.951.5561
Full-Time Faculty
Professor(s): Aja, Pérez y González
Associate Professor(s): Mitchell
Assistant Professor(s): España, Mena, SantamarÃa
The Department of Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies, formerly the Department of Puerto Rican Studies, was established in 1970. Engendered by the civil rights movements and student activism, it is an academic unit committed to excellence in teaching and scholarship focusing on Latinxs*, Puerto Ricans, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The Department promotes transformative education encompassing active citizenship and leadership, providing students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and critical skills to live in a rapidly changing and globally interdependent 21st century.
The department offers a bachelor of arts degree in Puerto Rican and Latinx studies (PRLS) with several options: Puerto Rican and Latinx studies; Puerto Rican and Latinx studies - Education tracks (double major for early childhood education teacher; childhood education teacher; or childhood bilingual education teacher); or PRLS and Business as well as a minor in PRLS and a minor in Latin American studies. It participates in the interdepartmental minor in Global Studies. In addition, the department offers a double major for the bachelor of arts in adolescence education: social studies teacher. It also offers a concentration for education majors in the following programs: early childhood education teacher (birth-grade 2); childhood education teacher (grades 1-6); and childhood bilingual education teacher (grades 1-6). PRLS offers courses with the following college departments and programs: Africana studies; American studies; Anthropology; Archival Studies (library); Caribbean Studies; Children and Youth Studies; Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship; Comparative Literature (English); History, Interdisciplinary Studies (Communications); Studies in Religion; Sociology; Television, Radio & Emerging Media; Women's and Gender Studies as well as the Conservatory of Music. Furthermore, several PRLS courses can be used to satisfy Pathways general education requirements.
An internship credit course is available for students who acquire an internship while exploring their career options. Via the Brooklyn College Maria E. Sanchez Center for Latinx Studies, the CUNY Center for Puerto Rican Studies, the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, and the CUNY Jaime Lucero Mexican Studies Institute at Lehman College, students are encouraged to engage in research. Our graduates pursue varied careers in government, public and private schools and universities, and the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Many of our students pursue advanced degrees to further their career goals. PRLS graduates can obtain careers in social services, counseling, youth work, pediatrics, public health and well-being, juvenile justice and the law, the arts, and education, to name but a few of the diverse career options available to these majors.
Department honors
To qualify for honors in Puerto Rican and Latino studies, a student must complete course and course with a grade of A- or higher and must have an academic index of 3.70 or higher in the major.
Department recommendations
All Puerto Rican and Latino studies majors should consult the chairperson or designated departmental advisers in planning the sequence of required courses.
Courses in Puerto Rican and Latinx studies and elementary education
The School of Education and the Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies Department offer courses for majors in the areas of early childhood education, childhood education, and bilingual education.
Students interested in teaching Spanish-speaking children may qualify for certification in bilingual education in Spanish by completing the sequence of courses approved and advised by counselors in the School of Education and the Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies Department.
Graduate Studies
The Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies Department offers graduate courses for students in other fields. For information, students should consult the department chairperson.
Departmental Policies
The department chairperson or designee may allow substitutions consistent with the educational goals of the program for one or more requirements in any concentration.
Puerto Rican & Latinx Studies BA
Puerto Rican & Latinx Studies Minor
Concentration(s) for majors in early childhood and childhood education teacher programs
Courses
Courses listed below are not counted toward the requirements in advanced courses for majors and minors in this department.
Independent work means not less than three additional hours each week of conference, research, independent reading, and writing as assigned by the instructor. The student's grade is determined in part by the successful completion of this independent work.