The Department of Iberian and Latin American Cultures at Stanford University has long been recognized as a pioneer in the development of groundbreaking approaches to the literature and cultures of the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, Brazil and Lusophone Africa, and Latina/o populations in the United States.
With world-renowned and actively engaged specialists in a variety of areas and periods, the Department offers innovative courses and programs that help students to meet and exceed their intellectual and professional goals.
The Department is committed to three main educational goals: 1) to provide students with a contextualized knowledge of the literatures and cultures of the Iberian Peninsula from the medieval period to the present, of the Spanish-speaking communities of Latin America, of Portuguese-speaking communities throughout the world, and of the Spanish-speaking communities of the United States; 2) to prepare undergraduate students for advanced study in those areas and/or in a range of professional fields; and 3) to provide doctoral students with the very best advanced training as research scholars and teachers, in preparation for careers as university professors or in related roles. In each of these areas, the faculty of the Department is committed to providing students with a nearly unprecedented level of mentoring and support.
The Department frequently organizes conferences and talks by distinguished guest speakers, and we also regularly host visiting faculty, such as the Juníper Serra Visiting Chair in Catalan Studies and the Eusko Ikaskuntza Visiting Professor in Basque Culture. As an integral part of the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, our faculty and students also organize and participate in divisional focal groups, initiatives sponsored by the DLCL Research Unit, and interdepartmental programs and centers across the Stanford campus. As part of a broader Stanford Humanities community recently ranked the best in the world, the Department is a highly dynamic, open, and supportive site for the study of Iberian and Latin American cultures, whether one is a beginning student or an advanced scholar.
The Department awards a Bachelors in Arts, two undergraduate minors, a one-year terminal Master of Arts, and a Doctor of Philosophy. For more information, please visit the Graduate and Undertraguate Program sites and contact us at ilac@stanford.edu.
